Improving the Efficiency of Field Operations

The course that a farmer follows while covering a particular field area has a significant effect on the efficiency with which chemicals, fuel, and time are consumed. In order to measure this effect the paths of several operators were monitored as they sprayed various fields. The paths were monitored by using a precise positioning system to record the co-ordinates of the spraying vehicles as they covered the relevant field areas and these co-ordinates were later analysed to determine the amount of overlapped and missed areas. From this study it was found that there is room for significant improvement in farming efficiency. It is suggested that precise tracking of predetermined efficient courses could reduce both overlapping and misses. A method of generating these field courses is presented. By using such courses to control a spraying applicator the distance travelled to cover a field could be reduced by 16% and the amount of inputs could be reduced by 10%.