Areca and their associations are educating farmers on the use of precision agriculture and vrt tools. there is significant interest by farmers to better utilize agronomic information due to their rising input costs.  

The Precision Tools for On Farm Research project involved staff from six applied research Associations and fourteen farmers working to learn about field scale research. In 2009, there were thirteen fields, seventeen fields in 2010 and ten fields in 2011 committed to the study. All farm co-operators had combine yield monitors and provided crop yield data to Association staff. Clearly, there is interest and technology available to do this type of applied research throughout Alberta.

Precision Tools for On Farm Research Summary

Precision Tools Final Report

Precision Tools Final Report without Appendices

Precision agriculture utilizes new technologies such as variable rate technology (VRT) which combines GPS, GIS and electronic controllers in the cab to alter the rate of product being applied to the field to optimize productivity. Precision agriculture and vrt rely on variability within the field.

Training farmers how to use the technologies of precision agriculture and variable rate technology (VRT) is complicated. ARECA and its Associations were pleased to offer training workshops throughout Alberta during March, 2010. To complement these workshops, a resource manual was written to support the presentations delivered at the workshops. The manual provides an overview of precision agriculture, GIS, GPS, VRT, economics, service providers, yield monitoring, remote sensing and websites/references.

VRT Resource Manual - See the Publications and Manuals Tab under Projects