Precision Agriculture Research Group News
Latest News!!
July 2010 - Australia and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium fast approaching
The 1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management (SELM) Symposium will kick off at 11am next Thursday the 15th of July.
Please note the earlier start time (11am) as a change in the ASAP conference program has enabled us to move the SELM Symposium forward.
The Symposium is being held in the Education Lecture theatre 2 (map: http://www.une.edu.au/maps/une/#E7) and commences immediately after the conclusion of the Precision Livestock them of the Australian Society of Animal Production (ASAP) Conference (http://www.asap.asn.au/asap28/docs/ConferenceBooklet.pdf).
You are encouraged to attend the ASAP precision livestock theme as there will be many relevant presentations, you will need to arrange a day registration (http://www.asap.asn.au/asap28/registration)
Thanks to generous sponsorship provided by the CRC for Spatial Information and Meat and Livestock Australia there are no registration costs for the SELM Symposium, simply turn up on the day!
For those of you unable to attend we should have the podcasts of presentations and a copy of the proceedings on-line shortly after the event.
For those of you in North America you still have time to register for the International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Denver and attend the Precision Livestock Theme which features much of the work being undertaken in Australia and New Zealand (http://icpaonline.org/).
The program for the symposium can be downloaded here.
May 2010 - Call For Abstracts
1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium
Thursday 15th July 2010; 2-5 pm
The University of New England Armidale NSW Australia
Key Note Speaker: Dr Toby Patterson (CSIRO Maritime and Atmospheric Research Hobart Tasmania) will be speaking on “State of the art movement and behavioural modelling in ecology” and will provide significant insights in to the higher level modelling of animal movement data. Toby’s recent publications include “State-space models of individual animal movement” (Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23, 87-94).
Other speakers:
Rodd Dyer (Meat and Livestock Australia) - “Review of precision livestock technology”
Greg Bishop-Hurley (CSIRO) – “Research Directions at the new CSIRO Landsowne Station”
David Lamb (UNE PARG) – “Proximal plant sensors for spatial monitoring of pastures”
Graham Donald (CSIRO) – “Precision livestock production and environmental influences”
Greg Cronin (University of Sydney) – “GNSS tracking of sheep and cattle: University of Sydney Research Update”
Kerryn Graham – “On saleyards and surveillance – using livestock movement records for risk-based surveillance planning”
Mark Trotter – “A low cost behavioural observation platform”
This symposium is aimed at researchers involved in all aspects of spatial livestock monitoring (GPS, sensor networks, virtual fencing and other autonomous monitoring systems). A mixture of short presentations and open discussion will outline research in progress, identify opportunities for future research and build collaborations.
This symposium will immediately follow, and build on the Precision Livestock session held during Biennial Australian Society for Animal Production Conference. You are encouraged to register for the ASAP conference (11-15th July; www.asap.asn.au/asap28/) as many relevant papers will be presented during this session.
Symposium participants are encouraged to submit a maximum 250 word abstract; email to parg@une.edu.au
For more information email parg@une.edu.au, or contact
Mark Trotter 02 6773 2465 or David Lamb 02 6773 3565
TO SEE THE FLYER CLICK HERE
March 2010 - New PA Project for Sugar Industry
PA researchers Andrew Robson (Qld DEEDI), Rob Bramley (CSIRO) and David Lamb (UNE-PARG) recently kicked off a new project “Remote sensing-based precision agriculture tools for the sugar industry”. Funded by the Sugar Research and Development Corporation (SRDC) to the tune of $395k over three years, the project aims to evaluate high resolution satellite imagery as a tool for identifying mid-season crop variability and in particular underperforming crop regions, thus aiding in the future implementation of PA through strategies such as targeted soil sampling, targeted agronomy for improved detection of in season constraints and zonal management. The project will be closely linked with another SRDC-funded, 6 year PA project, “A coordinated approach to Precision Agriculture RD&E for the Australian sugar industry” also led by Rob Bramley.
February 2010 - PARG Features Again in "Precision Pays" Podcast
PARG Research Fellow Mark Trotter has spoken on the worldwide precision agriculture news and current events podcast Precision Pays. This latest podcast highlights the work being done by PARG in the area of livestock tracking and the associated pasture monitoring work. This is the second time PARG has featured on the Precision Pays podcast series as it is a valuable way for us to let other people in PA globally know about the work we are doing. A link to subscribe to Precision Pays is available here along with more details of the latest Podcast featuring PARG.
January 2010 - Audio from PA Symposium up on Web
The audio files of presentations made at the 13th Symposium on Precision Agriculture in Australasia are now available for download. Listeners can choose to download individual presentations on topics of interest or the complete symposium audio. Audio from the Livestock Tracking Workshop, which followed the official symposium, is also available including research updates from audience members who are working in that field. Visit the download page now and fill your mp3 player with the latest PA research and grower applications from Australasia.
January 2010 - PARG Features in US-Based "Precision Pays" Podcast
PARG project leader David Lamb has spoken on a new podcast from the worldwide precision agriculture news and current events website Precision Pays. This is the first in a series of podcasts in which David Lamb briefly descibes the Precision Agriculture Research Group's members, research projects and affiliated partners and then goes on into a detailed explanation of PARG's Ultra Low Level Active Airborne Sensing (ULLA) Listen.
October 2009 - UNE PARG hosts PA symposium
The Precision Agriculture Research Group hosted the 13th Symposium on Precision Agriculture in Australasia in September 2009. The event was conducted over two days at The University of New England, Armidale and consisted of a precision agriculture (PA) tools demonstration, an animal tracking workshop and the core symposium as two half day sessions.The symposium showcased local PA experts as well as some international experts, particularly the two keynote speakers; Professor Ke Wang (Zhejiang University) from China who spoke on precision nutrient management in China supported by remote sensing and Emeritus Professor Jim Schepers (University of Nebraska, USDA-ARS) from the USA who spoke on managing nitrogen with active sensors. There was strong participation from both industry and research with other speakers discussing a broad range of topics including; PA sensor development and deployment, advances in global positioning technologies, international applications of PA and farm level uptake and utilisation of PA. The level of participation at the PA tools demonstration, despite the unrelenting Armidale south easterly at the field site, was a highlight with attendees impressed by the variety of instruments which were on display, some for the first time ever, and how they were being utilised. The specialised group of animal tracking enthusiasts that attended the animal tracking workshop not only got a chance to hear about the work being performed by fellow researchers but also took the opportunity to discuss future collaboration in the area. Overall the organising committee has received very positive feedback from attendees. The annual symposium is an important event promoting PA development and adoption in Australasia and maintains a strong research, industry and grower network. Proceedings can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this page.
September 2009 - UNE PARG plays key role in CRC bid success
Land management includes both public and private lands, and PA has a major role to play in issues of soil health and land-use from the perspective of biomass and carbon. It is not surprising that our state land management agencies are taking more interest in what PA has to offer. A recent successful bid to extend the CRC for Spatial Information (CRCSI) for another 8 years ($32.2M, 2010-2018) was built, in part, on the Commonwealth and CRC partners recognising the value of PA in this context. This CRC will provide a much-needed boost to addressing major national issues like the need for networked CORS (continuously operating reference stations) and sustainable farmscapes. UNE-PARG, along with state government land agencies, SME’s and 4 of Australia’s top ten Corporate farmers will play a lead role in Biomass Business, a large demonstrator program within the CRC. Biomass Business aims to develop spatial-based tools to drive on-farm improvements in water, fertiliser and pasture utilisation; improvements necessary to maintain and improve the profitability and sustainability of agricultural businesses, while maximising the synergies between production and environmental accountability. Providers of PA tools and services will also benefit from this long-term investment in R&D.