Adoption of Variable Rate and Site Specific Technologies of Nitrogen Application in the Victorian Grains Industry
Our Rural Landscapes Key Project 2 Sub-project 2.5 Future Farming Systems; Optimising Production and Environmental Outcomes
Milestone Report
December 2004
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Victorian State Government, through it’s Our Rural Landscapes project ‘Future Farming Systems - Optimising Production and Environmental Outcomes’, has invested in examining the use of variable rate and site specific technologies (VR & SST) for nitrogen fertiliser application. VR & SST are an element of precision farming, which accounts for spatial variability in farm paddocks.
This study specifically addressed the utilisation of Precision Agriculture (PA) technology for efficient and effective variable rate application of nitrogen on cereal crops. The aim of this social research study was to:
- identify the drivers and barriers to the adoption of VR & SST;
- develop an understanding of the likelihood of VR & SST adoption and;
- recommend strategies to increase the rate of adoption of VR & SST.
A total of twenty-two qualitative interviews were conducted with grain growers in three major grain growing regions in the State of Victoria.
Growers in all three regions followed a consistent decision making process to determine the required nitrogen fertiliser application rate. When making decisions growers go through a well-informed, rational procedure before adopting innovations. In line with this, results indicated that the high risk involved in adopting VR & SST due to VR & SST’s current unreliability, cost and sophistication outweighed possible benefits to be gained through its on-farm adoption. This study also established that, using existing farming practices, grain grower’s applied fertiliser between paddocks but not within paddocks. Results indicated that highly sophisticated VR & SST, in a Victorian context, is still in its early days in terms of its usefulness to grain growers in all three regions. Hence adoption of VR & SST, for both within and between paddocks, are considered by many growers to be unwarranted at this stage. It would seem that currently variable rate application within a paddock level was not a top priority for grain growers. Therefore there are well thought out reasons as to why non-adoption is a logical choice for some grain growers.
In light of these findings the following recommendations are made;
- due to the great deal of uncertainty about VR and SST usefulness it is recommended that research continue to focus on significant benefits, such as economics, time saving, reliability etcetera, to be obtained from the adoption of VR and SST.
- it is recommended that future research concentrate on understanding the reliability of predicting seasonal outcomes.
- at this stage extension activities should be minimal. As DPI research is not about usage of VR and SST but rather the ‘trialing’ of this technology, efforts should be concentrated around this aspect rather than short-term route-to-market strategies.
- growers are currently using variable rate applications of nitrogen via existing technologies, although not within a paddock level. Variable rates are applied between paddocks. Therefore VR and SST is not a new concept. Hence researchers should consider this when dealing with grain growers and for future research.
The above four recommendations are applicable across all three studied regions.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. BACKGROUND
3. METHODOLOGY
4. RESULTS
- 4.1; AREA CHARACTERISTICS
- 4.2; NITROGEN APPLICATION RATES
- 4.3 CURRENT FARMING CONTEXT
- 4.4 OTHER PA TECHNOLOGIES
5. DISCUSSION
- 5.1 AREA CHARACTERISTICS
- 5.2 CURRENT ADOPTABILITY OF VRT AND SST
- 5.3 TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
6. FUTURE DRIVERS FROM LITERATURE REVIEW
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
8. REFERENCES
1. INTRODUCTION
The grains industry is one of Victoria’s major food industries. The Victorian grains industry accounts for nearly 15% of the gross value of the State’s agricultural production (Department of Primary Industries, 2004). In 2000, grain exports contributed $1.2billion towards Victoria’s economy. The gross value of production for Victoria is approximately $1billion per year and represents 8.2% of Australia’s total grain production (Department of Primary Industries, 2004). To ensure the continued prosperity, viability and sustainabilty of the grains industry, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and industry partners invest significant amounts in research, development and extension (Department of Primary Industries, 2004a). Our Rural Landscapes (ORL) is a current initiative of the Victorian Government highlighting it’s commitment to investing in science to aid in creating viable primary industries in rural Victoria.
ORL project 2.5 ‘Future Farming Systems - Optimising Production and Environmental Outcomes’ has invested in the development of three key primary industries namely dryland grains, irrigated dairy and irrigated horticulture. The aim of the grains component is to provide Victorian grain growing farmers with the technology and techniques to allow them to manage their nitrogen fertiliser inputs in a cost effective manner and reduce off site impacts associated with their use. To do this the ORL project 2.5 grains team is investigating the use of variable rate and site specific technologies (VR and SST) for nitrogen fertiliser application. VR and SST are an element of precision farming, which accounts for variability in the paddock.
A significant risk to the investment of any government or industry funded project in research, development and extension is the failure of end users to utilise or uptake the technology that is developed from the investment. The ORL 2.5 project has invested in social science to aid in the development of an exit strategy to reduce the risk of its investment in science.
The aim of this social research study was to:
- identify the drivers and barriers to the adoption of VR and SST for nitrogen fertiliser application in the Victorian grains industry;
- develop an understanding of the likelihood of VR and SST adoption and,
- recommend strategies to increase the rate of adoption of VR and SST.
2. BACKGROUND
Precision Agricultural (PA) technologies are management tools that can assist growers to manage their farms on a site-specific basis. PA uses an information based approach to farming that is enabled by the utilisation of various technologies. Instead of taking a whole farm system attitude, growers using PA are undertaking a sub-system, ’precision’ approach. Precision Agriculture technologies are a suite of tools which include Global Positioning Systems (GPS), yield maps, auto steer tractors, Controlled Traffic (CTF) systems and Variable Rate and Site Specific Technologies (VR and SST). PA tools are discrete products that can be adopted individually or as an entire package.
VR and SST are a subset of the PA suite of tools that allow growers to specifically treat areas within their cropping field. Grain growers usually treat individual paddocks on a uniform basis regardless of variation due to soil type, topography and historic variation in yields. Methods, such as VR and SST, allow growers to manage different areas within a paddock at a quasi-micro level, thereby applying inputs according to the specific sites potential. In doing so, inputs, such as nitrogen, can be applied more efficiently and effectively. The applied rate is changed according to preset maps or through real time sensors. Real time crop sensors are able to deduce the crop’s physiology and detect early stress signals. Sensing technologies can be used to assess nitrogen status in real time. Inputs are applied to alleviate crop stress. In this way inputs such as nitrogen fertiliser are applied at the right amount, at the right time, in the right place. The greatest benefits from the application of VR and SST are to be seen in areas of high variability.
To be able to use VR and SST grain growers may need to invest in one or more pieces of equipment which can range from basic yield maps and computers to more sophisticated, costly systems, which include real-time crop sensors such as thermal/ in-crop hyperspectral imaging systems. The more sophisticated, costly VR and SST systems are attached to ‘on-the go’ machinery, such as tractors, making it possible to ascertain real time crop requirements.
For the purpose of this study the term VR and SST refers to highly sophisticated, costly equipment that include real-time crop sensors such as thermal/in-crop hyperspectral imaging systems.
3. METHODOLOGY
Study area
 |
| Figure 1. Map of area covered in the study. |
The study area extended from Lascelles, to the north of Horsham to Lismore, to the southwest of Ballarat, and from Wonwondah South to the south of Horsham and Burrumbeet to the northwest of Ballarat (Figure 1).
As there were significant differences across the region, such as farm size and rainfall (Table 1), it was thought that these differences may have an influence on the adoptability of VR and SST so the study area was further divided into 3 sub regions - the Mallee, Wimmera and the Southwest (Figure 1).
Table 1. Average farm size, yield and average rainfall for the three regions under study.
| Region | Average farm size (ha)1 | Yield (t/ha)1 | Average Annual Rainfall (mm)2 | |
| Wheat | Barley | |||
| Mallee | 1773 | 1.63 | 1.64 | 330 |
| Wimmera | 815 | 2.84 | 2.22 | 490 |
| Southwest | 449 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 700 |
1(ABARE, 1999)
2 (DSE, 2004)
Study approach
This research study was conducted using personal interviews and employed standard laddering (Grunert and Grunert 1995) and convergent interviewing techniques (Dick 1998).
The twenty-two interviewed growers were selected through contacts obtained from grower-driven organisations and the Department of Primary Industry staff. In certain circumstances, when nominated contacts were unable to do the interview, at the designated time, a ‘snowball approach’ was used to obtain other possible interview candidates. Six interviews were conducted in the Mallee, ten in the Wimmera and the remaining six in the Southwest of Victoria
Predetermination of the numbers of interviews to be conducted was not possible. Rather, for the sample size to be sufficient, consistency or ‘subject saturation’ in interview results is taken into account (Sarantakos, 1998). This was the case in this study, indicating that the sample size of 22 was sufficient for the research.
Interview responses were recorded manually by two interviewers, summarised, and analysed using case and cross cause analysis (Patton 1990). The themes and patterns were then categorised according to project objectives.
4. RESULTS
4.1 Area Characteristics
Growers in the Mallee suggested that their farms were larger and had less production per hectare than their counterparts in southern areas. This observation was supported in the Wimmera where growers suggested their farms were bigger than those further south but smaller than those north of them, this is consistent with ABARE (1999) (Table 1). While a figure is given in Table 1 for the average farm size, it is not consistent with the results reported by ABARE (1999). However figures given can only be taken as an indication that farm sizes in the northern part of the study are of a larger size than the southern section.
As stated by growers paddock sizes in the north tended to be bigger than those in the south. The Mallee had an average paddock size of 121ha, the Wimmera 61ha, and the Southwest 32ha (Table 2). Established paddocks were allotted, as much as possible, according to soil types. Interestingly, growers in all three areas stated that paddock sizes are increasing. This was because growers in mixed enterprises were moving away, due to better returns, from the livestock/wool industry (which required more fences) and were designating more land to cropping (which did not require fences).
Despite the obvious differences between the regions in variables such as land area, rainfall, and productivity, growers from all regions undertook a similar decision making process to determine the required nitrogen fertiliser application for each of their paddocks.
Table 2. Average and range of farm size, average paddock size and yield obtained from interviews for the three areas studied.
| Region | Farm size (ha) | Paddock size (ha) | Yield (t/ha) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Av. | Range | |||
| Mallee(6)* | 3575 | 1200 - 3500 | 121 | 2 |
| Wimmera(10)* | 1333 | 485 – 4000 | 61 | 2 |
| Southwest(6)* | 1158 | 404 - 1943 | 32 | 5 |
*Indicates the total number of grain growing farmers interviewed in the nominated area
Productivity per hectare varied from about 2t/ha in the Mallee and Wimmera to 5t/ha in the Southwest region (Table 2). Rainfall and soil types were stated to determine productivity. Growers stated that rainfall increased as you travelled south.
4.2 Nitrogen Application Rates
Interviewees from all regions stated that they applied nitrogen fertiliser to cereal crops to increase the yield and/or protein content of the grain. Growers in all three regions stated that until recently nitrogen fertiliser would probably have been their single greatest input cost. However, with a shift to no till and minimum till, due to changing seasonal conditions and continuous cropping systems, there has been a need to increase chemical spray inputs for weed management. Nonetheless nitrogen fertiliser remains a significant cost of cereal crop production.
Growers stated that in most cases they do not apply the annual amount of nitrogen application all at once. Rather a split application is used, that is two (or three in rare occasions) applications at specific times of the growing season. The first application would occur at either the pre-drill stage (two-three weeks before sowing) or at sowing. The second application would occur at the end of tillering, weather permitting. Growers suggested that the first application is designed to supply enough nitrogen to establish the cereal crop while the second application is designed to aid graining filling, which is when the crop has stopped the vegetative stage and its nutrients are concentrated on producing grain.
The Mallee growers gave a benchmark application rate of about 50kg/ha urea per application. Most Southwest growers, however, suggested they use application rates of about 100kg/ha urea per application. In the majority of cases, in all three areas, a uniform rate of fertiliser is spread over the same paddock per application. The decision by a grower to determine nitrogen application rates and timing were based on a mixture of intuitive (subjective) and hard (objective) evidence. The main factors to consider were the paddock’s history (eg fertiliser used, previous crop, current crop, and future crop), grower’s knowledge of the paddock (soil type, previous productivity), soil tests and current and predicted future climate. As each paddock has different variables such as soil, crop type or topography it was common to have varying application rates between paddocks.
All growers stated nitrogen fertiliser applications were heavily reliant on seasonal conditions. Growers suggested this was because moisture was required to ensure the nitrogen was available to the crop. Therefore, as all the regions were under a dryland system, rainfall was essential for productive use of nitrogen fertiliser. It was suggested by the majority of growers that they had to either observe rain or at least feel confident of the probability of rainfall in late winter/ early spring before they would apply a second dressing of nitrogen. The majority of growers stated that if the rainfall outlook was not promising, they would not apply a second application of nitrogen. As nitrogen applications are so dependant on rainfall it was not surprising to discover that growers in the higher rainfall area of southwest Victoria chose to apply up to 50kg/ha more of urea per application compared to their Mallee and Wimmera counterparts. Therefore rainfall not only affected whether an application would occur but also the amount that was applied.
In most cases a decision on nitrogen fertiliser rates and timing were determined in consultation with one or more confidants, such as other growers or private agronomists. However growers stated that they use these confidents to gauge ideas and thoughts rather than wanting specific answers. Therefore it was common for the grower to change the agronomist’s recommendations, if they thought the advice was not quite right. In addition all growers stated that they would rather put more nitrogen on their cereal crops rather than not enough, stating that they would rather be safe than sorry.
Even though growers in all regions are applying nitrogen fertiliser at varying rates per paddock the large majority, in all regions, did not consider it beneficial to alter application rates below a paddock scale. This is despite all growers being aware that there was technology available to aid them in employing such a strategy.
The main reason for this appears to be a belief that the technology is unreliable. Hence the benefit achieved via the implementation of VR and SST is not proportional to the cost of investing in the technology. The ‘cost’ of investment included, money, time, risk and labour.
4.3 Current Farming Context
Growers suggested the initial outlay for VR and SST was too expensive. The outlay for the technology was thought to be too great when compared to the returns the growers perceived the technology would provide.
Growers indicated their experiences with PA technologies was that, commonly, the information acquired was too complex and too time consuming to implement for it to be of any value to them. At this stage they assumed that VR and SST could also be in this category.
Some growers mentioned that their current system would allow them to implement a form of VR and SST. However, all of these growers suggested that the time and labour requirement to utilise this technique was not worth the effort.
The ability of some growers to respond to the information provided also was an issue in some situations. For example, due to farm sizes or topography in some areas aeroplanes are used for fertiliser applications. Therefore in this context VR and SST is not applicable, even if deemed valuable.
4.4 Other PA Technologies
Grain growers seemed well informed of contemporary innovations to aid them on their farm. The majority of grain growers were able to give examples of certain PA technology that they were aware of, and/or had used on-farm and why, in some cases, it currently was of little use to them. PA technology such as yield mapping, VR and SST, controlled traffic and satellite imagery were all collectively mentioned by growers as potential innovations or methods that would be employ in the future. However, it was thought that currently the technologies were not mature enough to be commercially viable for them to use at this stage.
For example, the majority of growers stated that they had used yield maps but that they did not see enough benefits in using the maps against their current practices. The majority of growers also stated that when they had adopted new PA technology they had had difficulty in getting the technology to work. In fact one of the major reasons given for the non-uptake of new PA technology was that the growers stated the technology had too many flaws that needed to be ironed out first before they would contemplate going any further.
Cost was also another point that was raised. However when questioned further some growers stated that if there was excess in terms of disposable income then they would not necessarily invest in new technology, at this stage, but in other items such as off farm investment, children’s education, and land purchases. In many cases growers also stated that because of the size of their operations that they could not justify investing in precision agriculture technology such as variable rate technology. Growers did state that they would consider purchasing auto steer equipment because this equipment would reduce overlap and aid in the straightness of sowing.
The major reasons for the uptake of new technology, such as boom sprays with light bars, given by growers in all three areas was that it had improved their accuracy and reduced overlaps in terms of application of inputs. Some growers stated that the overlap had been reduced by 5%, which directly lowered their costs.
Controlled Traffic (CTF) was widely adopted in the Southwest. This was due to the adoption of raised beds which in turn have alleviated the major problem of waterlogging in an area where cropping was uncommon years ago.
5. DISCUSSION
5.1 Area Characteristics
The fact that growers in all three regions undertook a similar decision making process regarding the application of nitrogen, regardless of farm size, rainfall and productivity is a significant finding for VR and SST technology. This means that any extension message given can be applied universally across the three regions. However, while the decision making process is the same, the ability to employ the technology will be different as factors such as rainfall, farm topography, may inhibit adoption of VR and SST.
5.2 Current adoptability of VRT and SST
Growers follow a typical complex decision making process to determine the required nitrogen fertiliser application rate (Asseal 1998, Linehan and Kaine 2003, 2004). While the rigidity of these decisions may differ, the essence of the decision making process is consistent. Growers are concerned with providing enough nitrogen fertiliser to get a sustainable return on investment while attempting to ensure that any nitrogen fertiliser applied is not unduly wasted. However, grain growers are more likely, in their eyes, to over apply nitrogen fertiliser than under apply. This is because the risk of under usage is perceived to be a greater cost than over use. Grain farmers use multiple sources of information to determine the most appropriate nitrogen fertiliser application rate for their farm. This is typical of a high involvement decision in an attempt to obtain a return on and reduce the risk of their investment in nitrogen fertiliser (Asseal 1998, Linehan and Kaine 2003, 2004).
Currently grain growers are using, between paddocks, a variable rate of application for nitrogen fertiliser. However, the scale does not get lower than the paddock level. The application rate for each paddock is individually determined given the grain growers criteria for that particular paddock’s nitrogen requirements. This is done using a systematic approach and using a number of information sources to determine an application rate. There does not appear to be any suggestion that investing time to determine a nitrogen application rate below the paddock level, ie applying different rates within the one paddock is worth the investment of time.
The results of this project indicate that in the current situation the adoption of VR and ST will not be high. Growers do not see that making decisions below a paddock scale would be beneficial to their practice. However, the farming environment is constantly evolving suggesting that growers may be required to adopt technologies in the future that they have not adopted previously.
There are many factors that can change the farming context. For example, a dramatic price increase in nitrogen fertiliser, government or industry policy implementation or greater reliability in the prediction of rainfall. Any of these, or other factors, may lead to a change in grower’s perception as to the worthiness of considering the variable application of inputs below a paddock level, that is, within a paddock. However, it must be noted that capital costs may slowdown the adoption process of VR and SST.
For VRT and SST to be adopted it seems that time is a key attribute. It is proposed that growers may be able to use VR and SST in real time using various technologies. For VR and SST to be adoptable grain growers will not want to alter current farm management practices. That is, grain growers currently apply nitrogen by driving a tractor and spreader over the paddock applying a uniform amount. If VR and SST meant that the grain farmer could simply drive the tractor while a computer altered application rates then adoption is might be likely. Interestingly, currently certain tractors are fitted out with the capabilities for ‘manual’ variable rate application but growers are required to switch the variable rate component on and off. Very few growers are using this capability. Conversely if suggested application rates through VR and SST are far removed from grower’s current practice, then growers are less likely to adopt the technology.
With time, growers will need to be convinced that the proposed method of VR and SST application of nitrogen is more reliable than their current method. Therefore not only does the data that emanates from VR and SST need to be easy to interpret and reliable but growers must be able to see the benefits of applying VR and SST in their farming context. The ORL 2.5 project team will need to conclusively demonstrate that VR and SST provides at least economic and social benefits.
As rainfall appears to be the key determinant of nitrogen fertiliser application, any advances in the predicability of rainfall may increase the adoptability of VR and SST. If science could better predict rainfall the farming context would change and VR and SST may become more adoptable. This is because the uncertainty tied to the forecasting of rainfall is reduced, which in turn may increase the usefulness of VR & SST to growers.
5.3 Technology Adoption
The majority of growers were interested in new technology and many of the interviewed growers had adopted some form of PA technology. Many studies have shown that PA is being adopted albeit the uptake is slow. One of the reasons for the slow uptake of this innovative technology has been the problems encountered by growers with the application and implementation of the technology. Not only is the technology in its embryonic stage but the benefits that growers gained from the new technology applied had not provided them with enough benefits above their current situation (Stone, 2004). As one grower aptly stated regarding his tractor “it’s not a Rolls Royce but it’s a damn good Holden”. For this grower a ‘Rolls Royce’ tractor offered him the same benefits as his ‘Holden’ tractor. (Seelan et.al, 2003) (Fisher, 1999).
Industry will often state that the innovation developed will definitely ‘sell itself’ and then discover that even though it is selling, its not selling at the expected rate (Cribb and Hartomo, 2002). This is because industry is able to see the potential benefits of the innovation from their perspective. Innovations will sell themselves, if growers, not researchers, are seeking to fulfil a need and are unhappy in their current context (Johnson and Linehan 2001).
6. FUTURE DRIVERS FROM LITERATURE REVIEW
The above discussion points are valid in the current farming context. If current farm context were to change because of dynamic internal and external environments there will be an introduction of new drivers or barriers to adoption. Below are some points that could affect future changes for grain growers and possibly the adoption of VR and SST.
Extreme events
Seasonal outcome ‘efficiency and accuracy’ might also be another driver for the adoption of PA technology especially in terms of VR and SST. For example, this study found that grain growers had moved to no-till/ minimum tillage because of the drier seasons [not necessarily for conservation issues]. Carey and Zilberman (2002) found that growers often adopt new technology in response to extreme events. Citing another study they argue that the tomato harvester had its large-scale adoption occur because growers were facing higher labor costs and increased labour supply uncertainty. The study goes on to say that the uptake of cotton harvesters was driven by sudden changes in labour conditions.
An extreme/ sudden event within a Victorian context could be climate change, such as the increasingly unpredictable seasonal outcomes. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of VRT is dependent on reliable seasonal outcomes (Bongiovanni and Lowenberg-DeBoer, 2002, Welsh et. al., 2003). In Victoria one of these extreme and/or sudden events that could facilitate the adoption of PA technology is climate change. The Department of Sustainabilty and Environment (2004) cite CSIRO’s findings into climate change, stating that by the year 2070 Victoria will experience ‘warmer conditions will lead to increased evaporation, which combined with reduced rainfall, is likely to increase moisture stress. These climatic changes are already having an impact on grain growers, especially in the Mallee and Wimmera, and as time goes by this problem will compound. The drier seasons might reduce the adoption of VR and SST. On the other hand if scientists are better able to predict when rainfall is to occur than adoption of VR and SST might become feasible and beneficial to the grower.
Specialisation
The specialisation and intensification of the cropping system will require more technological input. Rural trends have indicated that rural farm landholdings are becoming bigger, with fewer players (Barr 2004). As these landholdings increase in size so will the demand for on-farm specialisation both in terms of skilled labour and machinery. With terms of trade decreasing, higher production is vital for economic efficiencies. The adoption of processes and technologies that give a positive economic return are important. This could possibly be a window of opportunity for VR and SST. However it should be noted that the continuing cost-price squeeze in intensive industries would not necessarily drive grain growers to the adoption of PA technologies. The economic situation will drive growers to continue the gathering of relevant information but it will not automatically guarantee greater adoption of PA technologies.
Government intervention/Market forces
Although environmental concerns such as nitrate leaching/ greenhouse gas emissions was mentioned, if only in one interview, in time this issue might be one catalyst for the increased rate of adoption of technology. Growers in the European Union adopted PA technology due to subsidies based on environmental criteria and consumers demanding that growers use less fertiliser. Rodriguez (2003) states that agriculture accounts for 18% of Australia’s total net greenhouse emissions. In Victoria the grains industry contributes the second highest amount of nitrous oxide emissions (+/- 28%), after the dairy industry, via the application of nitrogen fertiliser. Therefore if VR and SST offers the possibility of more efficient usage of nitrogen fertiliser and hence lessens the impact on the environment then government intervention might be required to increase the adoption of VR and SST. However, this assumes that currently growers are using nitrogen fertiliser in an inefficient and ineffective manner.
However it should be noted that environmental concerns are rarely amongst grower’s top priorities. Linehan and Kaine (2003) state that innovations relating to natural resource management issues are difficult to change because the public benefit is greater than the private benefit to the grower. Therefore marketing VR and SST application of nitrogen from an environmental perspective might not deliver the most successful extension strategy.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
VR and SST research, under Victorian conditions, is still in its early days. Overall, it is recommended that future research focus on the reliability of VR and SST for Victorian grain growers. In line with this, the following recommendations are made;
- as there is still a great deal of uncertainty about VR and SST usefulness it is recommended that research continue to focus on significant benefits, such as economics, time saving, reliability etcetera, to be obtained from the adoption of VR and SST.
- it is recommended that future research concentrate on the understanding the reliability of predicting seasonal outcomes.
- at this stage extension activities should be minimal. As DPI research is not about usage of VR and SST but rather the ‘trialing’ of this technology, efforts should be concentrated around this aspect rather than short-term route-to-market strategies.
- growers are currently using variable rate applications of nitrogen although not within a paddock level. Variable rates are applied between paddocks. Therefore VR and SST are not new concepts. Hence researchers should consider this when dealing with grain growers and for future research.
The above recommendations are applicable across all three studied regions.
8. REFERENCES
ABARE, 1999. Australian Grains Industry; performance by GRDC agroecological zones. ABARE Report prepared for the GRDC. April. ABARE, Canberra, ACT. Australia.
Assael H., 1998. ‘Consumer behaviour and marketing action’. South Western, Ohio.USA.
Barr N 2004. The micro-dynamics of change in Australian agriculture 1976-2001. Australian Census Analytic Program, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra. Australia.
Bongiovanni R. and Lowenberg-DeBoer J.2002 Economics of nitrogen response variability over space and time: results from the 1999-2001 field trials in Argentina [On line] Available at www.agriculturedeprecision.org/ingles/indice.htm Accessed 10/02/04
Carey J.M and Zilberman D., 2002. A model of investment under uncertainty: modern irrigation to technology and emerging markets in water. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 84(1) February: 171-183
Cribb J. and Hartomo T.S, 2002. Sharing knowledge; a guide to effective science communication. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria. Australia.
Department of Primary Industries, 2004. Grains Industry [On line] Available at http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/home. Accessed 7.06.04
Department of Primary Industries, 2004a. Corporate Plan 2004 -2007. Department of Primary Industries, Victoria.
Department of Sustainability and Environment., 2004. Climate change in the Wimmera [Mallee and Glenelg Hopkins Region]. State of Victoria.
Dick, B. 1998. Convergent interviewing a technique for qualitative data collection [On line]. Available at http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/iview.html. Accessed 16.02.04
Fisher R., 1999. Precision Farming Workshops 1999. Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria. Australia.
Grunert, K. and Grunert S. 1995. Measuring subjective meaning structures by the laddering method: theoretical considerations and methodological problems. International Journal of Research Marketing. 12:209-225
Johnson F and Linehan C 2001. Using a change framework to design a change program: adoption of water use efficiency improvements in the dairy industry. APEN International Conference Proceedings. Toowoomba. Queensland. Australia
Linehan C.J and Kaine G. 2003 The key to reducing the gap between research and application. Paper presented at the National Landcare Conference, Darwin, Northern Territory. Australia.
Patton M.Q. 1990. Qualitative evaluation and research methods 2nd ed. Sage Publications: USA
Rodriguez D., 2003. Fact sheet: Background study into greenhouse gas emissions from the grains industry. Department of Primary Industries, Victoria. Australia.
Sarantakos S. 1998. Social Research. 2nd Ed. Macmillan Publishers. Victoria. Australia.
Seelan S.K, Laguette S., Casady G.M., Seislstad G.A., 2003. Remote sensing applications for precision agriculture: a learning community approach. Remote Sensing and Environment. 88 (1-2): 157-169. Nov.30.
Stone P., 2004. Do the sums to check precision pays its way. Farming Ahead. 148. May.
Welsh J.P., Wood G.A., Godwin R.J., Taylor J.C., Earl R., Blackmore S., and Knight S.M., 2003. Developing strategies for spatially variable nitrogen application in cereals, Part 1: winter barley. Biosystems Engineering 84 (4), 481 – 494.
Foot Notes
1 Interviewees were asked if they could nominate others in the same position as themselves who they thought would add to the projects objectives.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the following people for assisting and supporting the Project in various ways; Sonia Wakenshaw, Helen Murdoch, Andrew Whitlock, Susan Barker, Fiona Johnson, Dr. Mark Krstic and Dr. Bob Belford.
We would also like to thank all the grain growing farmers who have provided the insight and knowledge that formed the basis of this Report.
Authors: Cinzia Ambrosio and Chris Linehan
