60 Ways - 31. Apply Fertilizer With A Global Positioning System

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60 Ways Farmers Can Protect Surface Water

50 ways

57 ways

60 ways

Managing Surface Cover

1. Distribute residue evenly at harvest
2. Avoid fall tillage
3. Determine how your operations will affect residue cover
4. Estimate residue cover in the field
5. Adjust equipment to preserve residue
6. Plant a cover crop
7. Rotate crops
8. Select vigorous perennial pasture species
9. Protect the soil with special-use annual forage crops
10. Protect the soil with rotational grazing
11. Use no-till when renovating pasture
12. Manage timberland to protect soil

Controlling the Flow of Water

13. Reduce soil compaction and increase infiltration
14. Install grassed waterways
15. Plant vegetative filter strips or make critical area plantings
16. Farm on the contour
17. Use contour stripcropping and contour buffer strips
18. Install terraces
19. Install grade control structures
20. Install water and sediment control basin
21. Use diversions
22. Install a farm pond
23. Maintain your dtrainage system to protect surface water
24. Control streambank erosion with the willow-post method
25. Avoid channelization of streams and creeks

Managing Nutrients Effectively

26. Set realistic yield goals
27. Monitor the level of nutrients
28. Credit other nitrogen sources
29. Select nitrogen fertilizers wisely
30. Apply nitrogen in the spring
31. Apply fertilizer with a global positioning system

Managing Livestock Waste Effectively

32. Keep livestock out of water
33. Divert runoff water
34. Collect and store contaminated runoff
35. Install a vegetative filter - in appropriate
36. Determine accurate manure application equipment
37. Calibrate manure application equipment
38. Apply manure wisely

Reducing Insecticide Use

39. Scout fields for insects
40. Base decisions on the economic thresholds for insects
41. Use insect-resistant crop varieties
42. Use crop rotation and plant diversity to control insects
43. Spot-treat insect infestations when possible
44. Conserve beneficial insects

Reducing Herbicide Use

45. Scout for weeds and know their economic thresholds
46. Fine-tune your weed-control program to cut back on herbicides
47. Manage crops to compete aggressively with weeds
48. Don't assume that no-till requires more herbicide
49. Band herbicides and cultivate
50. Control weeds with cover crops

Selecting Pesticides

51. Select the leat-toxic pesticide
52. Determine your soil's potential for runoff
53. Determine your pesticide's potential for runoff
54. Determine the soil-pesticide interaction rating

Handling Pesticides Safely & Efficiently

55. Calibrate your sprayer
56. Consider direct injection and closed handling systems
57. Observe setback zones
58. Rinse and dispose of chemical containers safely
59. Dispose of excess chemical safely
60. Dispose of other farm waste safely

31. Apply Fertilizer With A Global Positioning System
	Global positioning systems, or GPS, can be used to determine the precise part of the field that a tractor is crossing. This allows producers to map fertility levels and adjust fertilizer application rates to specific areas of a field. The ability to vary application rates on the go is called "variable rate technology" or other such names: site-specific application, prescription farming, or precision farming, to list a few. With global positioning systems, or GPS, satellites send signals to a ground-based station, as well as to the receiver on a tractor. In turn, the ground-based station sends a "correction signal" to the tractor. Then the tractor's on-board receiver puts all of this information together to pinpoint the area of the field that the equipment is passing over.
	Most farmers using GPS connect their equipment to standard systems that can locate their position in the field within a diameter of about 6 to 20 feet. But a newer system, known as "kinematic GPS," can locate your position within a 1-foot-diameter circle.
	So far, systems based on GPS have been primarily used to do soil testing, apply fertilizer, and monitor yields. Using variable rate technology to adjust herbicide rates is more limited than with fertilizer application. But it is being used to adjust the rates of some herbicides according to particular soil characteristics.
	It's generally assumed that more precise fertilizer applications translate into less nutrients moving into groundwater and surface water. However, there has been little research on the environmental impact of variable rate technologies that use GPS. If variable rate technology becomes more practical for nitrogen and pesticides, the environmental benefits could potentially be great.
	But does GPS pay? University of Illinois research has shown that using variable rate technology to apply phosphorus and potassium became more economical as the average fertility level and the fertility variability in the field increased.