Revision of universal adaptive management software from Sun, 10/21/2012 - 8:22am

Problem: Regenerative agriculture is not natural resource limited (carbon and nitrogen are abundant in the atmosphere), but knowledge limited. The systems are complex and adaptive management is knowledge intensive, and very place based. Record keeping is extremely challenging in an adaptive management operation with multiple and overlapping seedings and strip plantings(rather than whole field).

Opportunity: Build a networked database with a map based interface that integrates the planning and crop layout function which integrates into soil health monitoring and applied research initiatives, and provides a social network for reference, support and knowledge exchange with capability to integrate with small scale open source GPS guided imaging, sensors, planting, crop monitoring, cultivation, harvest. This system is focused on reducing the labor involved with data entry and record keeping and making the data logging process as automated as part of field tasks.

Interface: * intuitive crop/practice layout which integrates into web soil survey/google earth type interface (Gocrop new map based data entry function available as a basis? Could that portion of the software be made opensource? - could some of the google earth type functions be layered into it?). How would it integrate with web soil survey?

*user must be able to create multiple and even overlapping management areas *The interface must be able to handle layers from GPS enabled soil data, chronological remote sensing data, chronological treatment data from GPS enabled tools (tractors, cultivators, harvesters, as well as manual work that is performed) *visual data from remote sensing flights should be layered over management area http://farmhack.net/tools/ifarm-imaging-agricultural-research-and-management *as analysis of remote sensing data gets more sophisticated, crop and soil data should display both visually on the map, as well as be available for export and in table form *results from testing should be easily sharable with network to both boast and to trouble shoot- for example, a smart phone photo of a strange weed, with its GPS location might be uploaded and shared with university extension, and crop consultants. http://opendatakit.org/ *last Soil Health data can be seen as a current status bar as associated with each management unit *enables layout of physical infrastructure plans like access roads, water lines, fence lines, drainage etc. *key management records are easily uploaded to other adaptive management software like "Adapt N", or to NRCS for practice verification, or for organic certification purposes, or for improving quality of research trials etc. *crop planning enables multiple interseedings and mixes and multiple seeding dates - to enable covercrop seedings into standing crops etc. *all layout of practices is done with overhead imagery based interface (polygon around field, asked to label area, select from multiple crops/treatments, row spacings, etc) *software compares planned practices with actual practices (planned on seeding winter wheat, but missed the planting window and ended up with winter rye etc.) * enabled for animal rotation data (could be an identifier on a mobile chicken tractor, or fence monitor to identify grazing paddock, or even animal mounted etc.) *crop plan can be uploaded into gps guidance systems which can be used for a host of open source guided tools -perhaps based on mission planner http://planner.ardupilot.com/ some examples - portable self calibrating GPS steering motor which can be used on anything steered with a steering wheal - tractor/truck/combine etc. - speed set by operator - a guidance interface (right left arrows) for laying out plots that could be used with walk behind or horse driven tools - guidance (with altitude information) for remote sensing vehicles which can then return with data which will be loaded back into the database - soil penetrometers, spectrometers, pH meters, Soil temperature meters, soil moisture meters, etc. all GPS enabled http://www.libelium.com/, http://www.apitronics.com/, http://publiclab.org/wiki/riffle, http://photosynq.org/ and more... interface with dashboard and notifications based on multifarm database( multifarm database provides benchmark- to both measure performance and also to enable the potential for prizes for most improved etc.)

*same software could be used by USDA, forest service, conservation groups to monitor conservation easements, gather environmental data etc.

Use case: