Survey, Irrigation, and Crop Circles: The New GPS based Farmer

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/drKVs)

Using GPS tracking devices to run businesses more efficiently is not a new concept. These tracking systems have been used successfully for several years in many areas of industry from cutting down on vehicle abuse on company vehicles to insuring that expensive construction equipment doesn’t get stolen from a job site. And now these GPS trackers are being used in farming.

GPS tracking devices come in two forms: real time and passive trackers. Real time trackers might be the more expensive kind of tracking device, but they are extremely convenient and easy to use. Once the tracker is put in place, it sends out regular signals to satellites giving information on the trackers location, direction, and speed. The information that the tracking unit gathers can then be viewed on any computer with internet access. These trackers have to be removed from the item that they are tracking periodically for charging, but the batteries last longer than passive GPS tracking devices. Passive trackers are the less expensive kind of tracking device, but they are not as convenient to use. These trackers record the information instead of sending it to a satellite, which means that the tracking device has to be retrieved before the information can be viewed. Passive devices are also not helpful for protecting items from theft, because they cannot be located like a real time tracker could be.

Farmers in the United Kingdom are now using these GPS tracking devices to keep their crops properly watered. Irrigation and drainage have always been a problem for farmers. If plants are not getting too little water, they seem to be getting too much. Finding the right balance can be difficult, but it is crucial to getting a good crop, so it is very important that the farm’s drainage system is well designed.

Before farmers thought to use GPS trackers to help design their irrigation and drainage systems, they spent days trying to map out the best water system. Now, GPS tracking devices allow them to survey the land more quickly and accurately, so they can design the water system in a matter of hours. Using GPS will also save the farmer money, because the quicker it takes to plan a water system, the less money the system will cost a farmer. Farmers will also be able to use in the extensive amount of information that the GPS tracker can provide to make any future changes or additions to the water system as easily as designing the initial water system.

Thanks to GPS technology, farmers can now have irrigation and drainage systems that fit the exact needs of their farm without the hassle that it formerly took to plan them. They can maximize their crop yield with minimal manual mistakes.

(Editor's note:  Now if we can just figure out if the use of gps tracking has increased the number of crop circle designs in recent years - or are aliens involved? My bet would be on GPS - no surprise there.  Farmers can get pretty creative with these new agricultural tools!)