SSToolbox®-an Agricultural Spatial Decision Support System
by Paul Hey
Abstract
Site-specific precision farming requires a spatial data management system that gives the user powerful decision making tools- a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS). The SDSS must include tools for seamless storage, retrieval, manipulation, and analysis of geographically referenced agricultural data. "Site-specific tools" are needed to systematically integrate the various components of precision farming technologies, from farm field, to SDSS, back to farm field. SSToolbox® an agricultural SDSS developed by SST Development Group, provides agricultural producers, farm input suppliers, agronomists, and crop consultants the necessary spatial and non-spatial data-handling tools needed to turn data into information and perform decision making at the farm level. This presentation gives an overview of how SSToolbox functions as an agricultural SDSS.
Introduction
Information of all sorts has long been recognized as one of the keys to successful decision making in the management of an agricultural operation. The use of site-specific information is taking on a new importance with the rapid growth of new sources and ways of gathering and delivering data pertinent to an agricultural operation. Agricultural decision makers are beginning to recognize a need for information management tools which can aid them in automating the process of turning the mountain of raw data now available (and the even larger data sets that can be anticipated in the future) into useful information. Decision makers need these tools to remain competitive as economic and social pressures mount for ever more intensive yet sustainable or "wise" agricultural land use. This need is becoming more urgent, as new crop production technologies, farming practices, and record keeping needs continue to evolve.
One of the common threads in almost all information pertinent to management decision making in agriculture is that it usually has some tie to a geographic location-a site-specific or spatial reference. Tens of thousands of data points measuring crop yield can now be recorded in real-time as crops are harvested with sub-meter locational accuracy. Large numbers of soil sample results can be recorded with the same sub-meter accuracy. Statistical procedures can be used to estimate values for these and other kinds of point data to "fill in" the rest of the field, creating more records. Hundreds of thousands of data points recording vegetation condition and other surface features can be available from satellite or aerial imagery, depending upon the resolution and area of the image. The Global Positioning System (GPS) enables sub-meter accuracy in the mapping of field boundaries, tile lines, weed infestations, and any number of other land features. Management practices such as choice of seed varieties, tillage operations, or chemical applications can be mapped and recorded from year to year.
GPS and other new information technologies are making it relatively easy to generate large sets of site-specific data. Decision makers wanting to derive information from these data sets require a Geographic Information System (GIS) to assist them in assembling and integrating (or filtering) them, especially as they accumulate and grow larger. A GIS enables the user to relate otherwise disparate data into a meaningful information base, based on their spatial references, and provides the basis for what can be called a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS). The effectiveness of such a system can be measured in terms of the degree in which it enables its users to turn raw data into management information for better decision making.
Precision Farming
The utilization of site-specific technologies for agricultural decision making has come to be called Precision Farming. Precision Farming can be described as geographic problem solving in an agricultural setting. One of the primary goals of an SDSS for Precision Farming, according to David Waits, the president of Site-Specific Technology Development Group, Inc. (SST), is "to provide the consistent framework needed for analyzing the spatial variability on our farm fields." SST has been a pioneer in the development of this type of system for production agriculture. SST's mission is to provide agriculturists with the software tools and high-tech services necessary for the adoption of Precision Farming. It has developed SSToolbox®, one of the first practical applications of a full-featured Geographic Information System (GIS) as an agricultural SDSS, in conjunction with the other technologies that make up Precision Farming.
As noted above, many different sources and types of data are available to those practicing Precision Farming. SST has found an open systems approach to be key in effectively collecting, managing, analyzing, and reporting/exporting these data sets in an integrated fashion. In working toward this end, SSToolbox utilizes the desktop mapping functions of Esri's ArcView® technology. SST has added a spatial data management system, SST FarmCrawler® and many other custom features and linkages to ArcView to make SSToolbox a very robust package for solving the geographic problems in Precision Farming.
Integrated Systems Approach to Precision Farming
Integrated and systematic collection, management, analysis, and reporting/exporting of all kinds of spatial, as well as non-spatial, data is the essence of the SDSS process. SST's approach to this process in Precision Farming can be summarized in the following diagram.
Figure 1. SST's Integrated Systems Approach to Precision Agriculture
This diagram describes a holistic view of the cycle involved in the Precision Farming process, going from Farm Field to GIS/SDSS, back to the Farm Field, and repeating through the cycle as often as new data are available. New data should be available quite often, since monitoring and measuring, as well as forecasting current field conditions are an inherent part of Precision Farming. Also, new data will be created as the raw data layers are analyzed and combined or filtered, often necessitating a reiteration of the whole process.
Collecting and Managing Site-Specific Data
Figure 2. Bringing Data into SSToolbox
Once the data are generated in the field, they need to be collected in a central location where they can be organized and managed for easy access, display, analytical manipulation, and reporting/exporting. One of the first challenges associated with this stage is how to structure both physical and logical file storage. To address this challenge, SST has developed a hierarchical structure following real-world levels of detail found in agricultural operations: Client, Farm, and Field. A Client is made up of one or more Farms, and a Farm is made up of one or more Fields. A Country level is included to handle cases where there may be multiple Clients.
Figure 3. Physical and Logical Data Structure for SSToolbox
To take advantage of SSToolbox's hierarchical data model, a user creates a new Client while at the Country level. At least one Field boundary is necessary as the basis for the new Client. The SDSS process thus begins at the Farm Field level. The user can either get this data from GPS work at the field, or digitize it on screen from some source such as a satellite or aerial image or yield monitor points. SSToolbox asks users for a location on their hard disk where all the Client and its related data should be stored. SSToolbox in conjunction with SST FarmCrawler then sets up and maintains the physical directory and file storage at that location. SST FarmCrawler also supports the archiving and restoring of archived data, moving of Clients, import/export of Client data, and creating user-defined groups of data. SST FarmCrawler can be run in stand-alone mode to quickly display all of the spatial and non-spatial data in SSToolbox in a simple tree diagram of Client, Farm, and Field levels.
After the Client is created the user can begin to add Resource and/or Management data as they are needed or become available.
Figure 4. Resource and Management Data for SSToolbox
Regional data can be added, either automatically or manually, when the Client is created, depending on the user's setup. Regional data can also be added at any later time.
Figure 5. Regional Data for SSToolbox
Aerial, Satellite, and Videography as well as Meteorological data can also be added at this time or any other time.
Figure 6. Aerial, Satellite, and Videography and Meteorological Data for SSToolbox
Analyzing Site-Specific Data
Up to this point in the cycle, the user has been accumulating data into a central location. Once the data is collected and entered into the management system, the user can begin to ask questions of the data. This is where the real power of an SDSS begins to be apparent-the turning of data into management information.
Figure 7. Examples of SDSS in SSToolbox
For example, the user can determine exactly where the most variable parts of the fields are located. He/she can compare conventional management approaches with uniform fertilizer spread rates against the economies of variable rate approaches, or compare costs of different fertilizers in a spatial context. The user can also set up equations for automatic calculation of fertilizer/chemical applications in the field to remedy any deficiencies found. He/she can quantify the benefits of a particular management decision, such as choice of one seed variety versus another. He/she can also prepare a projected revenue map based on the projected yield anticipated in the spring and compare that with the actual yield harvested in the fall. The list of possibilities along these lines is limited only by the user's imagination.
Some more examples of spatial decision support tools provided in SSToolbox are as follows:
Many of these tools are enabled by the creation of continuous surface maps from data such as soil test, elevation, or yield monitor points in SSToolbox. Surfaces are created using interpolation techniques to estimate values between the points.
SST FarmCrawler also adds some unique analysis capabilities by allowing the user to group the data according to a user definition. For example the user can quickly group all data types across all clients and all years. This grouping ability allows the user to look at the "big picture." User-defined data groups can be displayed and analyzed in a unique view inside SSToolbox.
Reporting/Exporting Site-Specific Data
Analysis is a very crucial part of the Precision Farming process, but the results need to be communicated to the user in ways he/she can use to complete the cycle in making decisions for Farm Field management. Display on the computer screen is usually the first step in the Reporting/Exporting stage. Generation of new spatial data layers, tabular data, charts, etc. for new analysis as well as record keeping and formal reports is also part of this stage.
Below is a listing of some of the Hardcopy/Softcopy output found in SSToolbox.
Figure 8. Hardcopy/Softcopy Output in SSToolbox
Equally important at this stage is output of "prescriptions" for fertilizer/chemical applications both in hardcopy and softcopy forms that can be exported to those making the applications in the field and their controller equipment.
Figure 9. Fertilizer/Chemical Prescription Mapping and Export in SSToolbox
The information in SSToolbox's hardcopy application printouts include the following:
Summary
Day-to-day operational management decisions at the Farm Field level have the greatest impact both economically and environmentally. Better decisions at this level will obviously bring greater returns. Therefore, to those practicing Precision Farming, the ability to analyze spatial variability at the Farm Field level is very important. SSToolbox's features make it fully capable of supporting the user in completing and continuing the cycle from Farm Field to GIS/SDSS and back to Farm Field. The hierarchical data model enables the user to quickly organize data in a meaningful structure. Most of all, SSToolbox is especially advanced in its analytical and reporting/exporting tools, using quantitative as well as qualitative techniques for solving the geographic problems in Precision Farming. Throughout the process the main focus is on turning raw site-specific data into agricultural management information to enhance the user's knowledge and wisdom in making better production decisions.
Paul Hey
Production Coordinator
SST Development Group, Inc.
824 North Country Club Rd.
Stillwater, OK 74075-0918
(405) 377-5334
Fax: (405) 377-5746
E-mail: sst@sstdevgroup.com
World Wide Web: http://www.sstdevgroup.com