Mike, I assume that you are just using plain Greenstar SF1 with your EZ Steer, or is it the built in WAAS receiver? As far as I know, SF2 can be compared to Omnistar XP or even RTK. Some have tried EZ Steer with an RTK receiver and been able to achieve RTK precision and repeatability as expected. I think when comparing a system to another you should consider the comparison criteria and know their limitations. That money does buy precision and performance is a fact. But I think that with this year's new equipment, the spectrum of possibilities has been extended and made more affordable. I think precision ag is not yet in everybody's mind because of the investment costs. When you operate on a tight budget, what is a good return on investment worth when you are short of cash? Bills have to be paid first before thinking of investing. I may be wrong, future will tell anyway. As for the original poster's questions, I think following elements should be taken into account: - improved implement usage as there is less recovering (from tillage to harvesting) - less driver fatigue - longer hours in the fields (more acres/day) - better use of weather windows - less waste of nutrients/seed/chemicals due to less recovering - more accurate yield monitoring enabling strategic decisions regarding crop population, nutrient, chemical and water application. When I was a kid, farmers were more numerous, fields way smaller and precision agriculture was done through field size. Now, machines have replaced manpower, and technology has to step in to help differentiate field quality. JMHO
Edited by MikeInFrance 6/13/2006 06:48
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