MOUNDRIDGE, Kan. (KSNW) — Researchers at K-State are using innovative ways to make farming more efficient. Dr. Ignacio Ciampitti is the director of the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics.
“Our main concept is to be more precise on how you use resources,” Dr. Ciampitti said. “So think about very, very simple. So when you are thinking about applying water to the field, if you are applying water to the entire field, there are many sections of the field. Most likely they’re going to need different water needs, mainly based on the size of the plants.”
An autonomous irrigation system is precise in how much water and nutrients are placed in one spot.
“This machine, what it’s basically doing in the field right now is helping to be better at using this limited resource, because water is a very limited resource,” Dr. Ciampitti said. “Trying to be as efficient as possible to make sure the water gets closer to the roots and minimize, basically, any losses.”
Plants are able to capture nutrients more easily by using this technology.
“Many farmers apply those nutrients before planting, so these are scenarios that basically help you to make corrections and, really, to become more efficient that you are applying those nutrients when the roots are really there,” Dr. Ciampitti said.
He says the innovative farming concepts have been around for years, but implementation has been more recent.
“When you look at the field today, we have Wi-Fi connectivity technology,” Dr. Ciampitti said. “So we have, basically, technology that is able to drive this machine and control this machine from the cellphone. The technology is as simple as, open the app, and I just press play and he can see at any moment if the machine is running, how much water it is, because we have some cameras on the machine, so you can almost see at any time.”
He says center pivots aren’t a competitor, they can become modernized too with sensors. Dr. Ciampitti says we are going to see this more in high value crops, especially as autonomous farming equipment becomes more popular.
Ray Flickner has implemented modern technology at his farm. He says he wants to leave the farm better than he found it by finding the best ways to do things.
“I don’t blame my great great-grandfather who homesteaded here back in 1874 for plowing the ground because if they hadn’t plowed the prairie, they wouldn’t have made a living, they would have never survived,” Flickner said. “We do know now that there’s more technology, and we can do things a lot smarter than that. So, you know, societies advanced. We’ve come up with new, different concepts, and I’ve always been one that has been crazy enough to try something new and different, to try to lead the charge.”
Flickner says, although it comes with a big price up front, in the end you gain profitability. He expects better quality and more quantity.
“Last year I had corn on this field, dryland corn that made about 40 or 50 bushels to the acre,” Flickner said. “I’ve had people come in here taking an assessment of this one, and they say they think it’s probably 200-220 bushels of corn. So you’ve got a 150-bushel increase in terms of production. Now, that’s not in the bank yet. I haven’t harvested it, but we’ll get there. So, now there’s increased production, which is what we try to do in the agricultural world is how are we going to feed and clothe our growing population in the world.”
Flickner says his autonomous irrigation machine is able to irrigate all 75 acres where a center pivot can only water about 40.
“The center pivot has got a center location, and it goes around that central location,” Flickner said. “That’s why they call it the center pivot. If you have a square field and you’re running a circle, you have corners that don’t get water because the pivot doesn’t work that way. The Rain 360 will fit in in odd shape field.”
Flickner says it also works well with limited water, running on less than 200 gallons a minute.
“In the world of irrigation, that’s a low production situation, and you need probably about 450 to 500 gallons a minute to make a center pivot work. And that was not option here.”
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