U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2007





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Read the magazine story to find out more.To develop the integrated system that best promotes profitability and soil and water quality, researchers used various tools including water quality measurements from groundwater wells, runoff data from surface water weirs (photo) and yield maps. Click the image for more information about it.For further readingImproving conservation for potato cropsHow soil properties influence chemical movementWireless networking for precision agriculture Precision Agriculture: Maximizing Benefits with Better Management By Laura McGinnis  March 14, 2007 Good cooks don't toss Worcestershire sauce in the ice cream or mint in the mashed potatoes. Instead, they season each dish with the best quantities and combinations of spices to enhance its natural flavor. That's the concept behind precision agriculture, which is the practice of modifying management techniques to meet within-field variations that affect crop growth. Using an integrated approach, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in the Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit (CSWQ) at Columbia, Mo., are determining which combinations of precision agriculture methods work best. Using data collected between 1991 and 2003, researchers Newell Kitchen, Robert Lerch and Ken Sudduth determined that topsoil loss from field erosion significantly reduced agricultural productivity. They also discovered that elevation and soil electrical conductivity, which measures how easily soil allows an electrical current to flow through it, were extremely helpful in identifying different management zones. In fact, zone maps created with this information were more accurate predictors of crop yield than maps made with traditional soil surveys. In addition, the CSWQ team developed two site-specific management approaches to help growers identify the fertilizer needs of specific areas within a field, allowing for more accurate application. The first method assesses nitrogen deficiency by measuring crop canopy reflectance. The second method, still in development, relies on an automated soil sample collection and analysis system, which could quickly and economically predict the soil's nitrogen-supplying capacity. During the next five years, the researchers hope to show that their methods decrease nutrient and sediment losses, increase profitability and improve soil quality. Above all, they hope to demonstrate that precision agriculture can be an economically viable tool for farmers. Read more about the research in the March 2007 issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is the chief in-house scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov