RE SEARCH Higher income by using sustainable precision technology T ractors with futuristic aerials on the cabins, a battery of computer screens around the drivers’ Seats and, in addition, the many other machines such as fertiliser distributors, field crop sprayers, planting machines and lifters equipped with advanced sensors and cameras. All this wonderful machinery could be admired at the crop farm of the Claassen partnership where the field day took place. Visitors could learn about the functioning and research results of the state-of-the-art equipment during various presentations. An important question that came up was: is the investment in all this equipment cost-efficient? The person who could perhaps answer this question best is the partnership’s accountant, which is why NPLG [Noordelijke precisie Landbouwgroep] had also invited Harm-Jan Schipper of Accon Avm to show whether and when investments would become profitable. Harm-Jan Schipper’s calculations show that investing in precision equipment provides higher yields and saves costs. More acres of arable land, a higher yield Most of the figures are already available, Schipper tells his Audience at the start of his presentation. ‘In the cultivation of potatoes, the use of RTK GPS and steering robot systems on tractors can add one or two ridges per hectare. That is approximately 1.5 percent more acreage. Moreover, the possibility of variable planting, for example, brings in an average of 4 percent more profit. Saving on expenditure also has a positive result. For example, the average costs for fertiliser and plant protection chemicals may be 5 percent lower than without the use of precision technology. We also know what all the precision technology costs. The question now is, what are the final figures. To get an answer to that question, Schipper has done a test calculation. As a starting point he has taken fifty typical crop farms in the Wadden region that earn their main income from the cultivation of potatoes. The cropping plan, and the income and expenditure are as realistic as possible in his calculation, and the total farm surface is estimated at 100 hectares. The result is then a cropping plan of over 35 hectares of seed potatoes and 5 hectares of consumption potatoes, according to Schipper. A basic system of precision equipment that includes RTK-GPS, a steering robot system, an automatic stop on the field crop sprayer and a GPSready fertiliser distributor costs the arable farmer at least 26,500 euros. Potato World 2013 • number 1 11 Pagina 10
Pagina 12Voor club bladen, online clubbladen en reclamefolders zie het Online Touch beheersysteem systeem. Met de mogelijkheid voor een webwinkel in uw flyers.
Potatoworld 2013/1 Lees publicatie 27Home