Potato World vision PW-ACTUA More or less precision farming? This question was not literally asked at the ‘Land for Farming’ Precision Farming Conference on 15 December 2016, but it could have been. There were some critical voices. What should I do with all that data about my crops? Are they accurate enough? My advisors don’t know this either. Am I not giving my customers more information than necessary? It’s not smart yet! How do I translate data into added value? If smart farming yields a profit, then we’ll all be going for it! Fortunately, there were also many positive research and practical developments in 2016. I talked to a grower in the US last summer who has satellite, drone, yield and soil data for every 10 square metres of his 11,000-hectare crop farm. He mainly cultivated maize, soya beans, cereals and cotton. He does his own big data analysis and makes his own rules about the variable dosage of inputs on his farm. What also emerged were some useful technical breakthroughs in the domains of sensor infection recognition and application techniques. The ‘Towards Precision Farming 2.0’ Conference produced the first results with Akkerweb apps, among other things. As far as I’m concerned, less is not an option. The Dutch agricultural sector must look for the most suitable type of precision farming. Yes, our farms and fields are smaller. And, we have a relatively high quantity of root crops in our rotation system, where yield measurement is still not precise enough. So big data analysis per farm won’t work in the Dutch situation because of its scale size. What will work for us is collaboration. We therefore need to find a safe way to share data which, after analysis, can result in new knowledge and decisionmaking rules that will work in the Dutch situation. As regards yield, we haven’t reached the ceiling yet. Investments will pay off. And if decision-making rules work in the Netherlands, they can also be internationally marketed in a crop like the potato. Collaboration between data suppliers, experts and technicians is also a must for the development of specific precision farming applications. And so let 2017 be the year of collaboration. In 2016 we saw too much polarisation as it was. Dr Corné Kempenaar Senior researcher/lector precision farming Wageningen Plant Research/Aeres College Seven months before PotatoEurope 2017, the vertical trade show for the entire international potato chain, opens its gates, 50 percent of the exhibition space has already been booked. ‘On 13 and 14 September, we can expect a really good turnout of exhibitors from the entire potato chain from the Netherlands and abroad’ according to show manager Paulien Hoftijzer from DLG Benelux. ‘In 2017, Emmeloord will again show that it’s the potato capital of the world’. This edition’s theme – Potatoes Feed & Meet the World – is all about the enormous potential the potato has in feeding the increasing world population. Also, in 2017, PotatoEurope is the potato platform for the exchange of knowledge in the domain of precision farming. This year, PotatoEurope will devote its attention to the possibilities and practical applications of precision farming for potato growers. The purpose of this largescale practical demonstration is to show the potato chain how drones and digital information can be to their advantage. In collaboration with head sponsor Case IH, the entire cultivation process will be demonstrated. To guarantee objectivity, students from the CHA (training centre for higher agricultural education) in Dronten will flesh out the information into practical recommendations. For the first time, this unique collaboration will fill in the knowledge vacuum in the domain of precision farming in the potato sector. Nurture knowledge The visitors can ‘nurture’ their knowledge even more during the high-quality knowledge sessions that are being held during the show. Both current and future potato professionals can expect interesting sessions whereby the chain partners will also take part in the discussions. These will partly focus on the public in general and partly on specific target groups from the potato chain, students for example. Moreover, the more familiar show elements will be represented as well. The machine demonstrations, the trial fields and the Innovation Award have attracted great interest for many years. ● PotatoEurope 2017 – precision farming in practice Potato World 2017 • number 1 11 Pagina 10
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