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Soil and Water Conservation

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View of farmland

Natural Resource Conservation Service

Trimble provides farmers with a guidance line. The smoothed contour line is transferred to the in-field display and can be used with an automated steering solution, enabling farmers to more efficiently install rice levees. (Images courtesy of Delta Positions Inc.)

As simple as one, two, three

February 13, 2014 //  by Tom Buman

Sometimes it is the simple things that can make a big difference. Take contouring, for example. It’s easy; so easy in fact that we often overlook it when we consider it in the context of conservation technology. I staked a lot of contour lines for farmers when I was a NRCS Soil Conservationist in the 1980’s.  It was easy; just me, my hand level, and a fist full of flags.  But it was also time consuming. It took hours to stake 160 acres of cropland, especially when I tried to minimize point rows. Today, my local conservation district no longer …

Category: Soil ErosionTag: LiDAR Data, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Precision Agriculture, Soil Conservation

Exciting possibilities ahead using 3D Machine Control

January 8, 2014 //  by Tom Buman

What good is Precision Conservation if it doesn’t help us apply conservation better and faster? We should expect that a part of Precision Conservation should simplify and automate the routine and the mundane, so the professional conservationists can engage in meaningful conservation planning. My new favorite Precision Conservation topic is fully automated 3D machine control. This will be one of the game changers we have been looking for, if private businesses and government entities can work together. Recently, I worked with Ryan Murguia of …

Category: Precision ConservationTag: LiDAR Data, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Precision Agriculture, Soil Conservation

So what is this thing they call Precision Conservation?

December 11, 2013 //  by Tom Buman

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert EinsteinIn 2003, Berry et al. defined precision conservation as "a set of spatial technologies and procedures linked to mapped variables, which is used to implement conservation management practices that take into account spatial and temporal variability across natural and agricultural systems.”  After reading this I thought to myself, wow, precision agriculture seems pretty complicated.Not that I disagree with Berry’s definition, but I think a more useful definition for …

Category: Precision ConservationTag: Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Precision Agriculture, Soil Conservation, Water Conservation, Water Resource Management

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