The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2016 - Issue 48 | Page 13

Farm News SATELLITE EXPERTS TO HELP FARMERS IMPROVE FERTILISER APPLICATIONS »»AGRONOMISTS AND farmers could be set to benefit from a partnership between University of Leicester researchers and Precision Crop Nutrition Ltd (PCNL). Leicester experts in satellite imagery and high performance computing will work with the company to develop a system to help farmers and their advisors make better use of satellite images to develop variable rate nitrogen fertiliser application plans for their crops. It follows an award of £118,500, including £45K to the University, from Innovate UK and NERC, to fund a year-long technical feasibility study – the first funding success for the University’s new Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation. Precision Crop Nutrition Ltd currently offer the Precise N-Map service using centrally processed data which is delivered electronically to each farm. The development of the new system will offer a quicker and more flexible way to convert data and will allow agronomists and farmers to be more closely involved in crop management recommendations. Robin Thompson, MD of Precise Crop Nutrition: “This is a very exciting development for our company and will help us take our existing N-Map service to the next level. Expertise from the University of Leicester will be invaluable in helping us develop the system for use in the field leading to significant benefits for our clients and, we hope, even greater uptake of our service.” Tanya Vladimirova, a Professor in the Department of Engineering and Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, is leading the project. She said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Precision Crop Nutrition Ltd towards improving fertiliser management. Their expertise in precision agriculture technology is crucially important for our understanding of the application.” Precision Crop Nutrition is at the forefront of using the latest precision farming technology. Robin Thompson has a long career in the fertiliser industry. He has been involved with developing and introducing LORIS precision farming software, and acts as chairman for BASIS in their examinations for FACTS (Fertiliser Advice and Certification Scheme) and the Soil and Water Management Certificate. Thinking of selling your Land Rover? • Sell your vehicle hassle free. • Top prices paid by payment methods to suit you, Bank Transfer, Cash ect. • We can settle your outstanding finance. • No hidden charges. • Free collection. Hanworth Road, Low Moor, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD12 0SG Call us on: 01274 679328 Mobile: [phone] | Email: [email protected] www.farmers-mart.co.uk Oct/Nov 2016 13