APPLICATION OF GIS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRECISION 
FARMING TECHNOLOGIES 
National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory 
University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experiment Station, PO Box 748 
Tifton, GA 31794 
Craig Kvien and Deborah Waters 
Coordinating Investigators 
ABSTRACT 
A multi-disciplinary team has been formed to investigate precision farming technologies appropriate 
for agricultural production systems in the southeast. In this paper we discuss data and information 
necessary to implement precision farming in southeastern crops. We also discuss the appropriateness 
of placing the data in a GIS to fully understand the interactions and correlations between all 
components of the cropping system. 
INTRODUCTION 
Agricultural ecosystems are inherently 
variable entities and management is an 
extraordinarily complex task. Our farmers are 
often commended for their abilities to deal with 
this complicated environmental resource. 
Chemical, physical and biological 
characteristics of the field are known to vary 
over small distances. The basis for precision 
farming lies in this field variability. Before 
the industrial revolution, farmers had intimate 
knowledge of the variability within their field 
and compensated ^y hoeing more in weedy 
areas and spreading less fertilizer in fertile areas. 
With the arrival of the industrial age and large 
scale, mechanized agriculture, our ability to deal 
with small subsections of a field was lost. 
Mechanization has demanded that fields be 
treated uniformly and without regard to 
individual areas of nonconformity. Fertilizers 
and pesticides are now applied at a single rate 
over an entire field which leads to localized 
under or over application and suboptimal yields 
and/or chemical waste and potential pollution 
problems. 
The arrival of affordable navigation and 
global positioning systems (GPS) linked to 
sensing technologies and integrated by 
computers is revolutionizing the way that we are 
now thinking about managing environmental 
variability. The integration of GPS with 
automated sensors and ground sampling allows 
the collection of spatially referenced data sets 
for many of the factors affecting crop 
production. A geographic information system 
(GIS) appears to be the most appropriate tool for 
management and analysis of these data. 
Management systems are currently being 
developed which allow farmers to quantify and 
manage variability. Benefits expected through 
use of such a system include: 
1. Precise placement of inputs should result 
in improvements in net return, food 
quality and global competitiveness. 
2. Environmental quality will be enhanced, 
through better management of inputs in 
accordance with landscape features. 
3. Comprehensive, spatially referenced data 
sets will be developed over the course of 
many seasons; farmers, consultants, and 
farm-supply dealers will become better 
resource managers. 
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