A key component of this evaluation will be the establishment, for strategically-located fields, of a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS) data base soil-crop-climate-management parameters to characterize the crop production system for each location. This data base will serve as valuable resource in setting research priorities and testing new management practices. It is estimated that a 4 to 5 year data set is needed to be able to establish a realistic yield goal and to determine the best management practices for a given location.
These characterized test sites will also be useful for determining the value of variable-rate input applications of individual inputs. The Oversight Committee will study the 1995 yield data, soil test maps, and other data to determine which factors warrant such variable rate studies.
The field work for the project will be subcontracted to a carefully selected researchers, who will conduct the comparisons on research farms and farmer cooperator's fields, and collect the necessary data for a detailed evaluation. (In FY96, Dr. Don Bullock, University of Illinois, will be the primary cooperator; others will be added as the project is extended to other states.) Emphasis will be focused on the use of detailed site-specific management and supportive technology. The development of a detailed, geographically-referenced (GIS) data base for each field will be the primary product for the first year, with some preliminary evaluation the comparison between site-specific and field-specific management systems.
The main thrust of the project will be to compare management systems put together using best management practices for the area. The site-specific systems will incorporate variable-rate inputs based on grid sampling and GPS-linked scouting, with practiced and rates adjusted according to the variability measured in the field. The field scale management systems being compared will be based on best management practices and rates for the field average.
It is difficult for individual farmers to conduct such detailed evaluations on their farms. As new technology is introduced, especially for the site specific management systems now being implemented, farmers need guidance on where it fits into their systems.
These projects will serve as a model for farmers wishing to implement site-specific management, showing the step-by-step approach needed, as well as the data collection and management required evaluation. A variety of soil and climate combinations will be included in the comparisons so that farmers will be able to more closely identify with a location similar to their own farms.
Successful implementation of site-specific management is going to require large amounts of data and information from a wide range of situations. This project will provide some of the background data bases that are not currently available, and serve as a guide for expansion of those data sets to individual farms. It can serve further as a model for cooperation in developing, maintaining, and interpretation of the extension data bases required for site-specific management.
There is not enough commercial incentive or potential proprietary interest in such systems for industry to justify funding this type of work. But the potential aggregate benefit to farmers is substantial enough to justify farmers' checkoff dollars being invested in getting a site-specific data management system setup.