GPS Technology in Local Vineyards
Kevin Martin, Extension Educator, Business Management
Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
July 19, 2017
Portland, NEW YORK (7/20/17) --
Kevin Martin, from the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (Penn State University), is currently creating baseline economic data to provide regional grape growers with commercialization strategies for spatial vineyard management. Baseline economic data will be used to measure the economic benefits of next generation vineyard technology. The local application of this technology focuses on the sustainability of the bulk juice industry. The industry stands to benefit from increasing average vineyard health while minimizing management inputs. Variable vineyard management offers the potential to increase yields or reduce vineyard input costs.
Spatial vineyard management requires the use of tractor mounted sensors logging sensor data and GPS location. Once data is reviewed, informed management decisions can be applied at a variable rate to the vineyard block. Variable rate management may involve targeted use of hand-labor or traditional vineyard maintenance equipment. Variable rate vineyard management may also involve modifying equipment and adding technology to allow the machine to manage vineyards differentially based on sensor data.
The adoption of technology may require substantial investment on the part of the grower. To maximize the benefits of technology, LERGP is working with grape growers to familiarize them with sensors and data management. "This work goes beyond mapping underperforming areas," Martin states, "commercialization of technology is going to require increasing average yields in those areas to justify the investment in sensor and GPS technology. By surveying local growers and variability in their vineyard, we will begin to understand the potential economic impact sensor technology can have on our grape industry."
Efficient Vineyard is a global effort to improve the performance of vineyards, particularly those geared toward bulk production. The project is funded by USDA Specialty Crops Research Initiative. More information on the research and extension team, sensors and the project can be found at efficientvineyard.com
The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania; and participating industry partners National Grape Cooperative (Welch's), Constellation Brands and Walkers Fruit Basket. The LERGP extension team provides research-based educational programming for commercial grape growers throughout the year at venues across the Lake Erie grape belt. For more information on LERGP, call 716-792-2800 or visit our website at http://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/
Profit maps (pdf; 459KB)
- Variable rate vineyard mapping and profit map
Upcoming Events
LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #4
May 22, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
Burt, NY
Come join us for timely and pertinent vineyard discussion, coffee, donuts, camaraderie and pesticide credits.
LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #5
May 29, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
Fredonia, NY
Come join us for timely and pertinent vineyard discussion, coffee, donuts, camaraderie and pesticide credits.
LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting #6- LERGREC Field Day
June 5, 2024 : LERGP Coffee Pot Meeting
North East, PA
Come spend the day with us at LERGREC for a day of educational talks including research updates and new project information from Penn State, LERGREC and LERGP.
Announcements
Precision and Digital Viticulture Field Day
Thursday, June 6th, 2024 | 10:00 am - 3:00 pmCornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory Regional Grape Program
6592 West Main Road
Portland, NY 14769
Agenda
10:00 - 10:10 Welcome - Jennifer Phillips Russo & Dr. Terry Bates
Research Updates
10:10- 10:25 Drone Sensors - Dr. Rob Chancia, Rochester Institute of Technology - Rob is working together to address vineyard nutrition through better monitoring techniques and guidelines for grape production across the nation and all grape markets. He will discuss his research as a part of this collaborative project conducted at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory.
10:25 - 10:40 Hyperspectral Sensing Technology - Kathleen Kanaley, Dr, Katie Gold Lab, Cornell University - Kathleen will update on her research with using satellite and drone imagery to develop remote sensing tools for early disease detection.
10:40 - 11:00 Meet PPB & Research Update - Dr. Yu Jiang, Cornell University - Yu will discuss his research utilizing the power of robotics and artificial intelligence to tackle major challenges facing farmers and drive a revolution in agricultural productivity and sustainability.
11:00 - 11:20 Carnegie Mellon University Pruning Robots - Dr. Abhi Silwal, Carnegie Mellon University - Abhi will present the design and field evaluation of a rugged and fully autonomous robot for end-to-end pruning of dormant season grapevines.
11:20 - 11:40 Vision Spraying and Electric Weeding - Dr. Lynn Sosnoskie, Cornell Weed Scientist - Lynn will update us on her research for sustainable programs that investigate other tools and technologies for controlling unwanted vegetation exploring non-chemical strategies for weed suppression including covering crops and mulches and vision-guided and electric weeders.
11:40 - 12:00 Naio Ted Robotic Tool Carrier- Chuck Baresich, Owner of Haggerty Creek - Chuck will be talking about the Naio Ted Robot and the potential use of robots to help improve efficiency in vineyards. Ted is the only autonomous straddle robot for vineyards with Augmented Autonomy. Perfect for mechanical weeding on the row.
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:45 Outdoor Demonstrations of Precision & Digital Tools
3:45 - 4:00 Closing Remarks - Jenn Phillips Russo, Lake Erie Regional Grape Program
This is a FREE event but you must register!
Soil Health & Climate Resiliency Field Day 6/12/24
Come join us for a full day of education on soil health. We have special guest speakers, soil pits, demonstrations and lunch. This program is being hosted by the Betts' Farm. Sponsorship from the LERGP, USDA NRCS, Cornell CALS, New York Soil Health, King's Agriseeds and E & J Gallo Winery have made this program come together and provide lunch for the day.See agenda here:
10:00am-10:20am- Welcome
10:20am-10:40am- Our Soil Health Journey- Bob Betts, Betts Farm
10:40am-11:05am- Soil Health in Perennial Fruit Systems- why it matters?- Debbie Aller, Cornell University
11:05am-11:35am- NYFVI Cover Cropping Trials- Jennifer Phillips Russo
11:35am-Noon- Cover Crop Options for Different Applications- Rod Porter, Kings Agri-Seeds
Noon- 12:45pm- LUNCH
12:45pm-2:15pm- Soil Pit and Soil Health Trailer and Demos- Dan Ufnar (USDS, NRCS), Debbie Aller & Michael Glos(Cornell University)
2:15- Closing Remarks
This is a FREE event but you must register to help us plan for enough food. Thank you!
Welcome Andrew Holden to the LERGP team!
In case you have not heard yet, we have filled the vacant position of Business Management Educator. We are pleased to welcome Andrew Holden to our team. Here is a brief introduction with a little background. Please stop in to say hello and introduce yourself. Bring questions- he is ready to get to know you and your farm operation!The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program welcomed Andrew Holden, LERGP's Business Management Specialist, to our team on March 1, 2024, filling the vacancy since May 2023. Andrew pursued his education at Ohio State University, earning a B.S. in Agribusiness and Applied Economics and later obtaining an M.S. in Agricultural and Extension Education. In his previous role he served as the Ashtabula County Agricultural Extension Educator with Ohio State University Extension for the past 5 years. Andrew is eager to bring his passion for agriculture, grapes, and wine along with his economic knowledge to this new position and to the growers in the Lake Erie Grape Region. He is looking forward to engaging with growers to help him understand their needs to ensure that his role equips them with the tools needed for success. His office is located at the Cornell AgriTech campus in Portland, NY (CLEREL).
Commercial Vehicle Awareness slide presentation
NYS Trooper, Matt Luft, presented on Commercial Vehicle Awareness at CLEREL on Thursday, August 2nd. He has given us the permission to share his slides for you to reference at your convenience to share with others or to review. Please reference this link.LERGP Podcasts- check them out!
LERGP POD CASTS
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