Machinery Management
Using
Precision Agriculture
Technology
An Online Non-Credit
Course
Course Description: This course focuses
on agricultural equipment that is commonly used in conjunction with GPS
technology. Planters, combines,
fertilizer application equipment and sprayer application equipment are commonly
equipped with GPS equipment to control and record operational parameters. These
parameters focus around the equipments geographic location and can be recorded
simultaneously with the volume of product applied and weather information
(wind, temperature, humidity, etc.). GPS
guidance is one of the main technologies to be studied throughout the
course. The management of this equipment
and the GPS technologies used to control and record this information is the
focus of the course.
Online Portion of the Course
Offered from January 17 through March 1, 2012
Two Full Days of Hands-On Lab Session to be Offered at Columbia and Albany, Missouri
"EEO/AA/ADA institution"
Outline of Course by Session
(The online portion of the course is setup to formally
run for 7 weeks covering the following 13 sessions.)
1.
Introduction
to Precision Agriculture
2.
GPS
Systems
3.
Overview
of Machinery Management Concepts
4.
An
Introduction to Mapping (GIS) Technologies
5.
Precision
Ag Data Management – Field Identification – A Key Component
6.
The
Nuts and Bolts GPS Guidance – Aided (Lightbars),
Assisted Steering, and Automatic Guidance
7.
Tractor
Issues – The main items of discussion will be GPS Guidance/Auto Steer,
utilizing control systems - factory installed or aftermarket, data collection
issues during the growing season – agronomic and machine data.
8.
Overview
of Variable-Rate Technologies
9.
Planters
10.
Fertilizer
Application Equipment
11.
Sprayers
12.
Combines
– Harvesting Equipment
13.
Why
Adopt GPS / Precision Ag Technologies?
Development of a plan to incorporate
precision agriculture technology into an existing equipment line will be a
central theme through the course.
Sessions
14, 15, 16, and 17 will be offered as hands-on lab sessions
There will be two full days of 2 hands-on lab sessions each day. Day one will include a lab 14 on GPS equipment; setup and diagnostics and a lab 15 on RTK GPS setup and operation. Day two will include lab 16 on GPS guidance/auto steer setup and operation and a lab 17 on maximizing the use of precision ag technologies from yield monitoring—combine applications to variable rate applications.
Each day’s lab session will run from 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. and be offered in two locations. Lab sessions will be held on February 12 and March 2 at the Hundley Whaley Research Farm at Albany, MO and February 24 and March 16 at the Bradford Research and Extension Center at Columbia, MO.
For a complete program - click here
For a course brochure - click here
For a fillable registration form - click here
For More Information Contact:
Kent Shannon, Natural Resource Engineer, University of Missouri Extension-Boone County, shannond@missouri.edu, 573-445-9792