This thesis examines the use of two specific types of precision agriculture technologies: cost maps and lightbar. Cost maps visually depict spatial differences in production costs. The visual depictions of these costs are represented using ArcGIS in an attempt to aide farmers in further decision making. Results will show that cost maps have great possibilities in their addition to the set of tools that farmers use in decision making. This thesis will expand the understanding of lightbar from a partial budget study to a whole farm model incorporating competition across different enterprises for labor and capital. The results from the study of cost maps indicate that inaccuracy of machinery movement, whether in the application stage or the harvesting stage is very costly. As a result, the suggestion of lightbar as a guidance aide to improve farm profitability is recommended under the conditions analyzed and shows a net farm return increase in just over 6%.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uky.edu/oai:uknowledge.uky.edu:gradschool_theses-1534 |
| Date | 01 January 2008 |
| Creators | Kayrouz, Benjamin Michael |
| Publisher | UKnowledge |
| Source Sets | University of Kentucky |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | University of Kentucky Master's Theses |
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