Newssite NU.nl reports (in Dutch) that after a two-year test with GPS technology by eight Frisian farmers, potato production in euros per acre may increase by 4 to 5 %. The farmers have united themselves into a cooperation called “Precision farming De Wadden” (Precisielandbouw De Wadden). One of the famers, and head of the cooperation, Ate-Jo Oosterhof from the village of Westhoek, owns ‘mixed soil’ fields. These are fields with both heavy and light soil. In heavy soil more potatoes can be grown than in light soil. Until now the amount of potatoes that were put in the ground have been calculated using a mean average of what both soil types can have. By using a digital map of his plot however, the Frisian farmer can see exactly what soil he is driving on. He linked his machine that puts the potatoes in the ground to the GPS navigation system. This results in the exact amount of potatoes put in both soil types.
This is a nice example of a very practical application of GPS technology in combination with a kind ’self-navigating’ or ’self-thinking’ device, similar to the drawing robot we are developing for NomadicMILK.
source (picture & news article)