Accurate machine guidance made affordable

The improved efficiency offered by machine guidance means that most of these systems ultimately pay for themselves. The question is, at what accuracy level and price should a farmer invest in such a system, particularly now that the market is becoming more competitive? Stehan Cloete explores these issues.

- Stehan Cloete

The benefits of agricultural machine guidance have been known in South Africa for more than two decades. I remember meeting one of the first farmers who used the technology, and everyone at the company I worked for at the time wanted to know why it made sense for him to invest in such a system.

He said that it was all about optimisation; he had never had the best-looking crop in the area, but still managed to realise a better profit than many other farmers. The guidance system on his machines was only one of the elements that contributed to his success, but it played a crucial role.

There are a number of major advantages to guidance systems.

Driver fatigue is reduced, leading to longer and more effective operating hours. Overlapping and skips are also reduced or eliminated, depending on the accuracy of the equipment; this, in turn, saves fuel and input material. Over- or under-application of any input material is detrimental to the crop, leading to a drop in yield.

RTK GUIDANCE

The accuracy level determines the results; the higher the accuracy, the higher the saving, but this comes at a cost. Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning is essentially technology that enhances positional accuracy derived from satellite-based positioning systems; it works by reducing position error with a fixed reference point on Earth. The ±2cm accuracy that RTK offers usually comes at a hefty price, though.