Machinery Management Using

Precision Agriculture Technology

An Online Non-Credit Course

Offered via Interactive TeleVision (ITV) and the Internet

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.

Full Day Hands-On Lab Session to be Offered

at Columbia and Portageville, Missouri

Course offered from January 12 through March 4

Three training options available:

ITV, ITV and the Internet, or the

Internet alone

"EEO/AA/ADA institution"

Outline of Course by Session

(8 week course meeting 2 times per week for 16 sessions)

1. Introduction to Precision Agriculture

2. GPS Systems

3. Overview of Machinery Management Concepts

4. The Nuts and Bolts GPS Guidance – Aided (Lightbars), Assisted Steering, and Automatic Guidance

5. 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.

6. Overview of Variable-Rate Technologies

7. Planters

8. Fertilizer Application Equipment

9. Sprayers

10. Combines – Harvesting Equipment

11. An Introduction to Mapping (GIS) Technologies

12. 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 13, 14, 15 and 16 will be Hands-On Labs

This will be a full day of 4 hands-on lab sessions. The day will include 1 lab on GPS equipment; setup and diagnostics with various equipment, 1 lab on GPS guidance/auto steer setup and operation, 1 lab on RTK GPS setup and operation, 1 lab on maximizing the use of precision ag technologies from yield monitoring—combine applications to variable rate applications. The lab session will run from 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. on February 25 at the Delta Center, Portageville, Missouri and March 4 in Columbia, Missouri. Final details of the lab session actual location are yet to be determined.

Training options will include either viewing the program the 12 course sessions via ITV at the Mexico TCRC at Mexico, Missouri or the Delta Center TCRC at Portageville, Missouri. ITV sessions are scheduled for 9:00 – 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays from January 12 through February 23. Doing a combination of utilizing ITV and the Internet, or utilize the Internet complete for the 12 course sessions. A high-speed Internet connection is necessary to participate in the Internet portion of the course.

For a complete program go click here

For registration form click here

For course brochure click here

For More Information Contact:

Kent Shannon, Natural Resource Engineer, University of Missouri Extension-Boone County, shannond@missouri.edu, 573-445-9792