Enhanced Farm Research Analyst (EFRA) is an extension to ArcView that enables crop production researchers, farm managers, and farmers to design and develop field-scale research plots and analyze resulting data. Begun as a series of Avenue scripts to ease repetitive tasks, EFRA developed into an integrated set of tools for crop production research. Two of the more powerful features of EFRA include the Design Plot Tool which offers multiple design options for setting up experimental treatments and the Equation Builder one of a series of customizable options packaged in an integrated Access database. EFRA demonstrates the adaptability of Esri products.
Enhanced Farm Research Analyst (EFRA) is a software product that extends the capabilities of ArcView and Spatial Analyst with a set of tools tailored for on-farm research. EFRA simplifies the common processes of importing, analyzing, and exporting data common to production agriculture. In simplifying the process, EFRA also provides unlimited flexibility for the researcher to filter data sets, interpolate data, create powerful analysis of data through map algebra formulations, and ease data input through customizable drop-down lists and dialog box cues.
EFRA was begun as a series of Avenue scripts which automated the repetitive tasks in importing, analyzing, and interpreting field data from crop science experiments. Dr. Don Bullock at the University of Illinois was using ArcView GIS to create plots, import field data collected by farmers and crop scouts, and then prepare the data for statistical analysis by other programs. Mr. Ron Milby of Growmark, Inc., a progressive agribusiness cooperative based in Illinois, used Avenue to automate some of the procedures that Dr. Bullock used to import, analyze, and export the data. As Milby and Bullock continued to work together to streamline the process, Bullock asked about using ArcView to create field scale research plots. In this manner, the scripts Milby developed began to encompass the whole process involved with creating crop research plots, importing field data, and analyzing the results. Through an in-kind contribution from Growmark to the United Soybean Board's research project on Midwest precision farming practices, the series of scripts became an extension to ArcView with specialized scripts, menus, dialog boxes, and access to the powerful tools available in ArcView.
EFRA is a fully functional extension to ArcView. This aspect offers great appeal to crop science researchers and farmers. EFRA enables these users to harness the power of ArcView and Spatial Analyst and build on their investment in learning to use these software tools. These users are familiar with GIS software, but EFRA walks these users through the common processes of setting up plots, importing data, and analyzing the data with a powerful, customizable equation builder.
EFRA integrates with Microsoft Office products through an ODBC connection to an Access database that stores common parameters used in dialog boxes and equations. This integration with Access makes EFRA customizable to different regions of the country accommodating various crops and cropping practices for these regions. Agronomists are able to set regional parameters that adapt EFRA to their particular needs. This customization includes an equation builder that allows users to create and save their own equations for creating new data layers and analyzing data relationships.
To run the EFRA extension, users need to have ArcView 3.1 or greater, Spatial Analyst 1.1 or greater and MS Office 97 or greater. It has been tested and run on Windows 95, 98, NT and 2000.
Installing EFRA adds the "Research Tools" menu to the menu bar. This menu contains tools that help researchers import and export field data, design research plots, view theme statistics, and create customized map equations.
One of the first steps in designing crop research experiments is deciding where to lay out the plots in the field. Most researchers begin this process by looking at existing data for the field - field boundaries, soil test information, yield data, and other site characteristics like topography and water holding capacity.
In many cases this data is available from the farmer or field scout covering the field. The first step is to bring this data into an ArcView project. EFRA has scripts developed to import soil test information from text files created by the soil testing lab and create shape files of the field border and soil sample locations. These files give the basic site characteristics for the field.
Farmers use yield monitors as they harvest their crop to map the variability of yield throughout the field. Yield maps are useful in mapping the productivity potential throughout the field. They are used to create fertilizer recommendation maps, seeding maps, and give the farmer and researcher the opportunity to examine the success of that growing season's management practices. A typical yield map for an 80 acre field would have about 15,000 data points. Information collected at each point includes the location (collected with DGPS), yield (measured by "grain flow"), and moisture content of the crop being harvested.
EFRA imports yield data from the most popular yield monitors on the market. In the process of importing the yield data, EFRA converts the native text file into a shape file format. In addition to converting the file format, EFRA performs several computations that are useful in future analysis of the data. EFRA uses the parameters specified in the Access database to filter the outlying yield data points and adjust values to a "dry weight" yield for each point in the field using the grain flow and moisture values. Further, EFRA computes the nutrients removed from the soil at each location based on the yield and the crop nutrient uptake parameters in the Access database. This "one-step" import process saves users many steps from the old method of converting the text file to a shape file and creating the calculated fields.
In addition to field borders, soil test data, and yield data, EFRA imports other data files generated during planting, fertilizing, and other field operations.
The export features of EFRA are designed to take the maps created by analyzing the existing data and convert them to a file format that can be used by equipment controllers or other software. The most common export files are variable rate fertilizer and lime application maps. These maps are interpreted by controllers on the fertilizer spreaders to vary the rates of product throughout the field.
The other common export function is exporting files for use by other software for further analysis. These include text files and MS Excel files for use with SAS and other statistical software tools and Excel.
The plot design and analysis features of EFRA provide users a unique set of tools for creating plots and analyzing field data by plots. EFRA guides users through the creation of experimental plots through a series of dialog boxes that prompt the user for parameters needed to define and lay out the plots. This Design Plot tool has proven to be the most popular component of the extension among researchers.
The Define Plot Trial dialog box prompts the user to select the type of plot design (strip or block) desired. Buffers and starting offsets can be specified to space the plots across the field. Treatments are assigned next and then the plots theme can be used to aggregate other data from the field which is then analyzed for trends and relationships.
Current development work is being done to add more flexibility into this component of the extension and possibly become a small extension itself.
EFRA's equation editor is a greatly enhanced "map calculator". In addition to being able to create new layers based on the values in pre-set parameters and dialog boxes, its linkage with the Access database allows it to store values from one field to another and from project to project. This adds consistency to research and analysis.
The Equation Editor is found inside the Access database and uses the linkage
to ArcView to create, name, and assign parameters for use in equations. The
equations create simple or complex map calculations using Spatial
Analyst. The interface makes creating reusable equations simpler and more
reliable than with the simple map calculator. The equation Editor is fully
customizable and can store equations and use them again in other projects.
EFRA can be located at www.farmresearch.com/efra. This sight is designed to meet the need of crop researchers wanting to learn more about EFRA or compliment the two-day workshop. It is designed as a learning space where users can come to request new features and practice using current features.
EFRA is a powerful tool for those conducting crop science research. While new features are added, old features are being reviewed to provide a consistent look and feel during operation of the software. Its tools are serious assets in creating and analyzing crop research data.
This software was originally developed by Ron Milby, (Growmark, Inc.) and Don Bullock (Univ. of Illinois) as part of a project studying site-specific farm management. The project was sponsored by the United Soybean Board. Building on the interest in EFRA as a crop research tool, the software is under continued development through at project sponsored by the Council for Food and Agricultural Research, and under the direction of Dr. Don Bullock. The author recognizes that many people in addition to those mentioned above contributed time, energy and dollars to the development of this software. Many thanks to the United Soybean Board and to the Council for Food and Agriculture Research for their financial contributions to the project. Particular thanks go to Ron Milby and Don Bullock for dedicating so much time to its development.
Quentin Rund
University of Illinois/PAQ Interactive
111 E Washington
Monticello, IL 61856
217-762-2074
217-762-8655
qrund@uiuc.edu