The farms are participating in a three-year pilot project launched by the Chester River Association, an environmental non-profit organization, to restore the health of the Chester River by promoting sustainable nutrient management.
The technology, known as GreenSeeker, is a computer program that uses sensors on the fertilizer spreader to “read” plants’ needs as the spreader moves through the field. The sensors then adjust the application of fertilizer to match plants’ needs in real time.
Applying only the amount of fertilizer that can be used by the crop leaves less fertilizer on the field that can be washed into waterways during rain and storm events.
Newly-released results from the project’s first year show significant variability in the fertilizer needs of crops, not just from farm to farm, but within a field on the same farm. The first-year results also show comparable or better crop yield when compared to traditional farming practice.
“This technology is an important tool in reducing nutrient pollution and restoring the health of the Chester and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Isabel Junkin Hardesty, Chester River Association’s Riverkeeper. Paul Spies, a third-generation farmer and Chester River Association’s Agriculture Specialist said, “This new, but proven technology with wider usage can have a significant impact on water quality not just in our watershed, but in the Chesapeake Bay. This technology is a ‘win-win’ in that it will improve water quality and maximize profits for farmers.”
“I’ve been concerned about pollution in the Chester River and the Chesapeake Bay, and GreekSeeker helps my operation grow a profitable crop while improving water quality,” said Jonathan Quinn, a farmer in Kent and Cecil counties who used the new technology last year. “It was easier to use than I thought it would be. This works with technology we are currently farming with.”
In 2014, six local farmers, working with the Chester River Association, mapped 17,900 acres of farm fields. Technical assistance was provided by CRA and by a precision agriculture computer software company, Agrinetix. Among the findings after the first year:
- Mapping showed significant variation in crop nitrogen needs.
- Four side-by-side field comparisons of current fertilizer application practice and GreenSeeker fertilizer application showed less nitrogen used by GreenSeeker.
- Yield efficiency showed equal to or better than one pound of nitrogen/acre to one bushel of corn/acre.
Nutrient management is important to the health of the Chester River because the Environmental Protection Agency considers the Chester, like the other tributaries to the Chesapeake Bay and the Bay itself, impaired from nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution. Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients typically used in crop fertilization. The importance of better management of nutrient application is critical because 65 percent of the land in the Chester River Watershed is agriculture.
GreenSeeker technology was first introduced by Oklahoma State University and further refined by agronomists at University of Maryland. It has been tested in field trials by those two universities as well as the University of Delaware. The technology uses sensors mounted on the farmer’s spreader that emit bursts of red and infrared light that measures crop color, size and density. A computer in the cab of the tractor then conducts a real-time analysis of nitrogen needs and applies only the fertilizer that the crop needs while it is moving through the field.
The Chester River Association is working hard to improve Chester River water quality through restoration projects, policy initiatives, and outreach efforts. For more information about CRA programs or ways you can contribute to a clean Chester River, please contact CRA, visit CRA’s website or visit on Facebook.
Bill Anderson says
Great tp give recognition to those involved in reducing agricultural pollution of the waters of the area. That is an important consideration and an advance in the science of farming. I have independently verifiable infomation that wind turbines for electric generation would add absolutely no measureable contribution to the pollutants entering the waters.