Evaluating Aerial Data Access for All Corn Growers: NNYADP Research Update

Northern New York; April 12, 2021.  Dairy and cash grain producers in northern New York State are participating in research to evaluate if aerial imagery from drones and satellites may enable all farmers, not just those with a yield monitor, to build a corn yield database for their individual farm fields. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) is funding the research; Cornell University nutrient management researcher Quirine M. Ketterings, Ph.D., is the project leader.

A large regional database has been established as a result of the comparison of yield monitor data provided Regional producers and Champlain Valley Agronomics with drone and satellite imagery data. The project’s latest report is posted at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

“The estimated yield maps developed in 2020 on northern New York farms using aerial imagery data from unmanned drones and satellite systems showed promising results, demonstrating the potential to use imagery for mapping yield without the use of yield monitors,” Dr. Ketterings said.

The desired outcome of this research is to develop a standalone tool that uses aerial imagery data to automatically generate corn grain and corn silage yield potentials and yield zone maps for individual farm fields. These maps will help farmers to more precisely allocate manure, fertilizer and seed resources, and to enhance cost-effective agricultural environmental stewardship.

“Not all farms can afford yield-monitoring equipment. If images obtained with unmanned aerial systems can consistently be used to accurately estimate corn grain and silage yields, we can design an approach to give all corn growers access to reliable yield data without the use of that equipment for developing farm-specific yield stability zone management,” Ketterings noted.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Northern N.Y.; March 31, 2021.  The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) has released a suite of research reports on nutrient management efficiency and on agricultural environmental conservation related to tile drainage. The reports add to the industry knowledge base that helps farms apply efficient use of fertilizer and manure resources and natural resource stewardship practices. The reports are posted at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

Northern New York dairy and cash grain producers assisted research evaluating the opportunity for all farmers, not just those with yield monitoring devices on field equipment, to use satellite and drone imagery to develop yield estimate maps to enhance zone-based field management efficiency. The estimated yield maps developed by the project in 2020 show promising results for the use of free data layers obtainable by the use of aerial technology.

The NNYADP “Farm-Specific Corn Yield Potentials and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Crop Removal Estimates” project demonstrates how farmers can use farm-specific, multi-year yield tracking data to determine field-specific or soil-type specific corn crop yield potential. The most recent yield potential trials in northern NY notably expanded the data set of yield-per-soil-type analysis to help generate yield potential estimates for soils of critical importance to farms in the region. This regional field data, including data for many unique soils, adds to the ongoing statewide effort to evaluate adjustments in the Cornell equation that incorporates yield potentials to drive nitrogen application guidelines.

Additional research and analysis of data from participating farms by a Cornell University research team, demonstrates the incentive for applying best management practices to fields with the greatest risk of phosphorus loss. This northern New York regional assessment adds data to support the updating of the New York Phosphorus Index as a means of scoring fields for the risk of nutrient loss.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has also funded unprecedented agricultural environmental conservation research associated with tile drainage and field crop nutrient use. Miner Institute Nutrient Management Researcher Laura Klaiber is conducting the research that has begun building a foundational understanding of how precision nutrient management an contribute to natural resource and water quality conservation.

The latest NNYADP field drainage project reports summarize on-farm field trial data from year’round edge-of-field runoff studies, and continue evaluation of the long-term agronomic and water quality impacts of tile drainage on cornfields. Klaiber has presented the results of this research to agricultural and natural resource groups in New York and throughout the U.S. Project collaborators include the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and SUNY Plattsburgh.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more about NNYADP research related to agricultural environmental conservation, dairy, field crops, livestock, horticulture and maple at https://nnyagdev.org.

March 25, 2021.  Cornell Nutrient Management Program Director Quirine M. Ketterings’ analysis of data from 5 farms in northern New York demonstrates the incentive for applying best management practices for fields with the greatest risk of phosphorus runoff. The details of her latest NNYADP New York Phosphorus Index 2.0 report are posted under Field Crops here.

Canton, N.Y.;  March 16, 2021.  With direct input from 18 farms in northern New York and a grant from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP), the completion rate of an alternative training system for dairy workers increased from six percent in the first year to 100 percent in year two. The project, conducted by Quality Milk Production Services (QMPS), evaluated the feasibility of e-learning modules as an alternative to face-to-face training for milker personnel.

This pilot project produced critical insight into module development, the need for ongoing learning for dairy workers, and the added value of hands-on training for the dairy industry. The report, “E-Learning Training Systems as an Educational Approach for Dairy Farm Workers on Milk Quality and Parlor Performance” is posted on the NNYADP website at https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects.

An initial survey at each participating farm identified farm-specific priority issues with 93 percent of the farms identifying milking equipment operation and milking routine procedures as high priorities. This baseline survey data informed the design in 2019 of the first e-learning module focused on the seven steps in a proper milking routine and a second module, in 2020, highlighting the five basic checks of milking equipment that need to be made prior to the start of milking.

Both modules were available in English and Spanish, with video and images augmenting the text that described how to perform each task and why each check is important to the health of the cows and to the quality of milk produced.

“The testing of the 2019 module influenced the design of the 2020 module and vastly improved the response and results focused on educating the milkers on proper equipment handling,” said project leader Dr. Paul D. Virkler, DVM, a veterinarian and senior extension associate with the QMPS Canton Laboratory and Animal Health Diagnostic Center in Canton, New York.

The 2020 module included faster entry into the module, an added section outlining the major milking system components and functions with narrated video options, and an illustrated glossary. The farms participating inthe project in 2020 provided one hour of paid time for the milkers to receive the training.

“In 2020, we addressed a literacy issue by adding an audio option to have the text read aloud for two of the module’s five sections. An unexpected benefit was one Spanish-speaking employee asking to log-in to the English version to hear the text so he could improve his pronunciation of the words in English,” Virkler noted.

Spanish is the native language of 90 of the 95 milkers who participated in the e-learning pilot project in 2020. Twenty-nine percent of the milkers had had prior training on the use of milking equipment, 46 percent had not milked cows before arriving at the farm. All milkers in the project in 2020 had last received any training more than six months earlier.

“Access to strategic and focused training is an ongoing challenge in the dairy industry, even more so in 2020 with COVID-19 severely limiting in-person training events,” Virkler pointed out.

Following the e-learning training in 2020, 95 percent of the milkers indicated that they would now be able to check the milking equipment and 87 percent reported now feeling confident they could inform farm management about an equipment problem.

“Although the module results indicated the milkers had potentially gained knowledge through the training, we also wanted to know if that translated to actually performing the skills, so we piloted a model-based test in which a feature of the milking equipment specifically covered in the module was disabled,” Virkler said.

Even though the majority of milkers had potentially gained knowledge about the required skills, the hands-on testing indicated that an in-person demonstration of what to do to check the equipment was needed to enable the milkers to evaluate the equipment problem.

The research team is now considering how to best incorporate model-based testing into the e-learning educational system as a tool that farm management could use as follow-up to assure the training success in practical, hands-on application.

“This project demonstrates a need for structured training programs that support an ongoing learning culture on the farm. Providing education and feedback to milkers on a regular basis promotes learning, job performance improvement and satisfaction, can reduce employee turnover; and enhances farm efficiency and production success,” Virkler said.

Virkler would like to next develop a module that would train dairy employees to properly conduct tasks related to milking cow health.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

To read the full report: “E-Learning Training Systems as an Educational Approach for Dairy Farm Workers on Milk Quality and Parlor Performance”: https://nnyagdev.org/index.php/2020-nnyadp-projects