Economic benefits of variable rate technology: case studies from Australian grain farms
Michael Robertson A D , Peter Carberry B and Lisa Brennan CA CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, CELS Floreat, Underwood Avenue, Floreat, WA 6913, Australia.
B CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit, 102 Tor St, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.
C CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: Michael.Robertson@csiro.au
Crop and Pasture Science 60(9) 799-807 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP08342
Submitted: 9 October 2008 Accepted: 27 April 2009 Published: 8 September 2009
Abstract
In this study we attempt to quantify the economic benefits of the adoption of variable rate application of fertiliser on six case study farms from the Australian wheatbelt. The farm case studies covered a range of agro-climatic regions (Mediterranean, uniform, and summer-dominant rainfall patterns), cropping systems (wheat–lupin, wheat–canola, and winter and summer crops), farm sizes (1250–5800 ha cropping program), soil types (shallow gravels to deep cracking clays), and production levels (average wheat yields from 1.8 to 3.5 t/ha). The farmers had been practising some form of variable rate technology (VRT) management of fertiliser for 2–10 years.
Capital investment in VRT equipment ranged from $37 000 to $73 000, which is at the medium to high end of investment for Australian farmers, and when expressed as investment per cropped hectare it varied from $11 to $30/ha. All farmers were able to quantify benefits of VRT, ranging from $1 to $22/ha across the six farms, and a break-even analysis showed that the initial capital outlay was recovered within 2–5 years. On a per paddock basis, benefits ranged from –$28 to +$57/ha.year, and reasons for this wide range could be explained by fertiliser management practices and the degree of within-paddock yield variation. Where VRT benefits were able to be estimated across a run of seasons for a given paddock, it was noticeable that benefits, albeit diminished, still occurred in below-average yielding years. This suggests that, once zones have been defined, benefits from VRT will occur in most seasons.
This study demonstrates that the participating Australian grain growers have adopted VRT systems that are profitable and recover the initial capital outlay within a few years. The use of, and benefits from, VRT technology vary farm to farm, in line with farmer preferences and circumstances.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by GRDC and CSIRO. We thank the participating farmers for their time and access to farm records. Ian Maling (SilverFox Solutions, Perth) assisted with analysis of yield maps. The cooperation of grain growers David Forrester, David Fulwood, Rupert McLaren, and Mike Smith is gratefully acknowledged.
Brennan LE,
Robertson MJ,
Dalgliesh NP, Brown S
(2007) Pay-offs to zone management of fertiliser in a variable climate: a study of nitrogen fertiliser on wheat. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 1046–1058.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cook SE, Bramley RGV
(1998) Precision agriculture—opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of site-specific crop management in Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38, 753–763.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Daberkow SG, McBride WD
(2003) Farm and operator characteristics affecting the awareness and adoption of precision agriculture technologies in the US. Precision Agriculture 4, 163–177.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jochinke DC,
Noonon BJ,
Wachsmann NG, Norton RM
(2007) The adoption of precision agriculture in an Australian broadacre cropping system—Challenges and opportunities. Field Crops Research 104, 68–76.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McBratney A,
Whelan B,
Ancev T, Bouma J
(2005) Future directions of precision agriculture. Precision Agriculture 6, 7–23.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Robertson MJ,
Isbister B,
Maling I,
Oliver Y,
Wong M,
Adams M,
Bowden JW, Tozer P
(2007) Opportunities and constraints for managing within-field spatial variability in Western Australian grain production. Field Crops Research 104, 60–67.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Robertson MJ,
Lyle G, Bowden JW
(2008) Within-field variability of wheat yield and economic implications for spatially variable nutrient management. Field Crops Research 105, 211–220.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
