Farmers use combine harvesters with satnav

The technology can also help map which parts of a field yield the best crop, to allow fertilisers to be targeted precisely where they are needed - cutting costs and environmental impacts of farming, farmers say.

So-called "precision farming" was developed in the 1990s and, according the National Farmers' Union (NFU), has now become a practical reality on millions of acres of agricultural land.

The NFU believes technological advances can help meet the demand by the Government for farmers to produce more while having a lower impact on the environment.
In a decade's time British fields could even see rows of robots making their way up and down fields efficiently delivering chemicals to crops, according to Clive Blacker, who runs a precision farming consultancy.

Mr Blacker, an arable farmer from the Vale of York, said the technological advances in agriculture were a win-win situation for the industry.

The global positioning system (GPS) in agricultural vehicles and automatic steering enables harvesting without the need for daylight, and will also help farmers get their winter crops in the ground as the nights draw in during the autumn.

"The GPS is very similar to a satnav system in the car but it's more integrated. We're able to integrate it precisely with the steering," he said.

The system means the vehicle's driver is not having to concentrate hard for hours on steering the combine harvester, relieving pressure on the farmers during busy periods such as harvests.

The technology also enables the farmer to measure and map exactly which part of the field is reaping the best yield, analysis which can then be used to target problems in those areas.
Mr Blacker said such precision could allow the targeting of fertilisers and other inputs, and prevent run-off of excess chemicals into the local environment.

"It can reduce the inputs and it's a win-win situation, both environmentally and profitably, for the farmer," he said.

In the future, machines could play an even bigger part in our agricultural systems, he said.
"In 10 years' time, you could deliver micrograms of chemicals with little robots going up and down the field."

He said the robots would be able to target the chemicals on the crops much more efficiently, reducing their use significantly.

There has always been a problem faced by farmers in the past. That is they have no idea which part of the field yields the most crop and the problem of pollution as a result of mass-usage of ferilisers and chemicals. However, with technology now, you can even pin-point the acre of land that yields the most crop and the best part is that you can distribute the pro rata fertilisers according to the effective output of the land.

Instead of "telling us not to turn left or right" the GPS helps set out a path across the field, and travels up and down with a degree of accuracy of up to 2cm to ensure the most efficient harvesting or sowing of the crop, he said.

It is similar to patrolling, just that it is now performed by robots and the farmers can then focus on harvesting rather than wasting effort to maneuver the truck. I believe that there is definitely more to come in the area of agriculture even though many industries have moved on to the manufacturing and tertiary sectors.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/6047467/Farmers-use-combine-harvesters-with-satnav.html