Precision Agriculture Technicians

• Collect information about soil or field attributes, yield data, or field boundaries, using field data recorders and basic geographic information systems (GIS).
• Document and maintain records of precision agriculture information.
• Compare crop yield maps with maps of soil test data, chemical application patterns, or other information to develop site-specific crop management plans.
• 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.
• Apply precision agriculture information to specifically reduce the negative environmental impacts of farming practices.
• Install, calibrate, or maintain sensors, mechanical controls, GPS-based vehicle guidance systems, or computer settings.
• Program farm equipment, such as variable-rate planting equipment or pesticide sprayers, based on input from crop scouting and analysis of field condition variability.

• Create, layer, and analyze maps showing precision agricultural data, such as crop yields, soil characteristics, input applications, terrain, drainage patterns, or field management history.
• Draw or read maps, such as soil, contour, or plat maps.
• Prepare reports in graphical or tabular form, summarizing field productivity or profitability.
• 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.
• Analyze geospatial data to determine agricultural implications of factors such as soil quality, terrain, field productivity, fertilizers, or weather conditions.
• Analyze data from harvester monitors to develop yield maps.
• Divide agricultural fields into georeferenced zones, based on soil characteristics and production potentials.
• Recommend best crop varieties or seeding rates for specific field areas, based on analysis of geospatial data.
• Participate in efforts to advance precision agriculture technology, such as developing advanced weed identification or automated spot spraying systems.
• Identify spatial coordinates, using remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
• 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.
• Analyze remote sensing imagery to identify relationships between soil quality, crop canopy densities, light reflectance, and weather history.
• Advise farmers on upgrading Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment to take advantage of newly installed advanced satellite technology.

No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (65%).