Integrated Controls for Agricultural Applications - GNSS Enabling a New Level in Precision Farming

Naturally, most agricultural operations are undertaken in the space domain and are embedded in an environment that is subject to change and variability. Both, human actions such as cultivation and fertilization and natural factors such as weather and soil properties continuously influence and change the environment for plant and animal production. Hence, appropriate information on current and preceding states of this environment and the knowledge about actions taken in the past is important for decision making and planning future operations in order to maximize yield while minimising the ecological impact. The need to optimise food production also introduces the challenge to reduce the cost for labour and mineral fuels and thus to minimize the operation hour of machinery in the field to the minimum required. GNSS sensors have introduced the capability to record human actions and the variability of spatial structures in plant and animal production in the time and in the space domain. They also enhance the exact control of tractors and implements dependant on their position. Over the last 20 years GNSS technology has helped to establish tools which help to increase the productivity in agriculture substantially.