Precision Farming: GPS Corner for Irrigation accurate-to-the-centimetre

Satellites ensure a complete and on-the-spot irrigation of irregular fields

Precision is becoming more and more important in agriculture - not only for the use of equipment but also for the control of machines on the field. Satellite-controlled tractors found their way into farms recently - allowing for an accurate-to-the-centimetre track keeping and an on-the-spot distribution of fertilizers and plant protection - exact documentation included. The Austrian Bauer Group, global market leader in irrigation technology, is implementing "Precision Farming" in its products and has developed the "GPS Corner System".

"In the past our Pivot Corner Systems were controlled inductively by means of underground guiding systems whereby wires had to be laid underground," explains Bauer product manager Franz-Peter Roll how irrigation control has worked up to now. With the "GPS Corner System" this is a thing of the past. Like the GPS in a car, this system recognizes the exact position of an installation and adjusts it to the basic, predefined points of the field. Thus the water is given on the spot and it reaches nearly every area of the field. 98 percent of irrigation coverage with the "Precision Corner System" are self-evident. "We are converting a circular irrigation area nearly into a square area," proudly declares Franz-Peter Roll.

This enormous precision of the satellite control is obtained by means of the "Real Time Kinematic" correction signal (RTK) which serves to guide also other agricultural machines over the fields. The survey of a track, complicated task in the past, turns into child's play with the use of the GPS coordinates. We are combining the well-known advantages of Corner Systems with the accuracy of modern precision farming", says Roll. Existing Pivot installations can also be retrofitted with the GPS system. "This makes the use of irrigation systems even easier", explains Roll the efficiency and user-friendliness of this tool.