Soil Sampling Gets High-tech
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
The Falcon precision soil sampling system automates the process and provides high-quality samples to help growers improve their fertility decisions
Soil sampling can be key in understanding the nutrient variability throughout a field, and it's becoming more widely practiced in precision agriculture as farmers want more deÂtailed data about their fields.
While the key principles of soil sampling have remained the same for quite some time — getting adequate numbers of samples at the proper depth, and handling and storing them properly — the equipment used to get those samples has reÂcently become high-tech.
At theInfoAgprecision agriculture conference this sumÂmer in St. Louis, two companies presented new systems that they say are making the soil sampling process faster and more efficient. They even said they could change the way the industry — both service providers and farmers themselves — manage soil sampling.Farm Industry Newsspoke with both companies to learn about these innovative new systems.
The Falcon
Taking samples by hand has nothing on the new Falcon AutoÂmated Soil Sampling System. Users say they can take twice as many samples per acre in a day than if they were to sample by hand. From a tow vehicle's cab, an operator monitors the FalÂcon system with GPS-enabled soil-sampling software on a lapÂtop. A ground-driven stainless steel drum collects and mixes cores every 15 ft. A user selects the core depth, between 4 and 12 in. A wireless camera streams video to the laptop.
Users can sample at speeds of 8 to 12 mph, and the Falcon can travel at normal speeds on the road. The system generÂates data to help users make better fertility decisions, optiÂmize their input efficiency and improve fertilizer precision.
Allen Baucom, Falcon Technologies CEO, says the system can be used by agronomists, consultants and even growers that want to do sampling themselves. It's a tool that he says anyone can learn to run easily. "I think it offers tremendous opportunity for new developments in soil sampling. This takes soil sampling into a new arena — a new paradigm."
Source: Farm Industry News
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