The Yara N-Sensor was an early entrant to the precision farming armoury, with the first version of the tractor mounted variable rate nitrogen sensor introduced in 1999. The system has been in use at Rise Farms, near Hull, East Yorkshire since 2006, and has offered the 900ha arable in-hand operation a useful method of nitrogen management, cutting fertiliser costs and making for easier, more productive harvests. “The first major increase in fertiliser prices was the initial motivation,” explains estate manager, Jim Rawson. “We possibly ‘put the cart before horse’ – it may have been better to start with yield maps. However, we’ve certainly increased fertiliser efficiency. While overall use has not decreased, it’s going to the areas that need it, and crops look ‘fuller’.”
Some of the greatest benefits are seen at
