Precision Agriculture Technicians
Tasks
Core Tasks Include:
- Program farm equipment, such as variable-rate planting equipment or pesticide sprayers, based on input from crop scouting and analysis of field condition variability.
- Compare crop yield maps with maps of soil test data, chemical application patterns, or other information to develop site-specific crop management plans.
- Install, calibrate, or maintain sensors, mechanical controls, GPS-based vehicle guidance systems, or computer settings.
- Collect information about soil or field attributes, yield data, or field boundaries, using field data recorders and basic geographic information systems (GIS).
- Identify spatial coordinates, using remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
- Divide agricultural fields into georeferenced zones, based on soil characteristics and production potentials.
- Identify areas in need of pesticide treatment by analyzing geospatial data to determine insect movement and damage patterns.
- Recommend best crop varieties or seeding rates for specific field areas, based on analysis of geospatial data.
- Create, layer, and analyze maps showing precision agricultural data, such as crop yields, soil characteristics, input applications, terrain, drainage patterns, or field management history.
- Contact equipment manufacturers for technical assistance, as needed.
- Analyze remote sensing imagery to identify relationships between soil quality, crop canopy densities, light reflectance, and weather history.
- Document and maintain records of precision agriculture information.
- Draw or read maps, such as soil, contour, or plat maps.
- Advise farmers on upgrading Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment to take advantage of newly installed advanced satellite technology.
- Apply precision agriculture information to specifically reduce the negative environmental impacts of farming practices.
- Participate in efforts to advance precision agriculture technology, such as developing advanced weed identification or automated spot spraying systems.
- Provide advice on the development or application of better boom-spray technology to limit the overapplication of chemicals and to reduce the migration of chemicals beyond the fields being treated.
- Use geospatial technology to develop soil sampling grids or identify sampling sites for testing characteristics such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium content, pH, or micronutrients.
- Demonstrate the applications of geospatial technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), automatic tractor guidance systems, variable rate chemical input applicators, surveying equipment, or computer mapping software.
- Analyze data from harvester monitors to develop yield maps.
- Analyze geospatial data to determine agricultural implications of factors such as soil quality, terrain, field productivity, fertilizers, or weather conditions.
- Prepare reports in graphical or tabular form, summarizing field productivity or profitability.
The data sources for the information displayed here include: O*NET™. (Using onet28)
