|
Colorado and Oz | Times are changing.
At one time, there was quite an interest in on-farm computer accounting.- many entrants, loads of experts, lots of seemingly new opportunity. I will debate on-farm cost accounting just wasn't one of those big return variables either? I suspect that when you can really dig into the numbers that most farm accounting / financial management goes on off-the-farm... hired and delivered as a service? I will also suspect that for VRT that relationship holds as well.? Easier and likely cheaper when all that "fool'in around" is calculated in its smarter to hire the bulk VRT application than do it yourself? And for yield monitors, a great idea was and still is a low-cost "farm scale"... that has some interesting utility for spatial mapping but has not really evolved in any significant way in a decade IMHO. Grain quality is a significant issue.... one of the big three in establishing the farm-gate value. Every ticket has total weight adjusted for moisture and test weight. And poor test weight can quickly deflate a seemingly big result. Someday as an industry we might discover that test weight is far more "manageable" in $-terms for PA methods. But that opportunity seems lost?
I discovered there are three conditions for farm management interest: when an outfit is loosing money - having detailed records only invites the banker to drop-in; when making money, its obvious so why worry? There is more to it agreed. But for those on the edge, the real production decision has little to do with the daily check-book balance - you spend time taking care of the sick sow, maintaining equipment, or holding grain on the gamble that a bushel-in hand is worth more than sending it down the road. Husbandry is the necessary efficiency factor that determines at the margin IMHO. And for some PA growers that is another slice it thin opportunity - for other its simply foolin around?
Production records for the hog grower, dairyman, or feedlot counts. Genetic management is information elastic and feed efficiency can be optimized. And at one time PA offered that similar edge for crop production? Or so it was dreamed? So I can agree that its one thing to find spatial "relationships" by knowing your data (foolin around) but having ability to mange that discovery comes down to actually having a technical response that can be managed. - yet to be found.
And Ted is right making money with Free software/open systems is not one easily done - always some catch it would seem? Lastly, KML might just be the universal data format needed to cross information. KML geo-data is simply exploding as tools like GE, VE, and WW enable exploration of place and relationships in ways as exciting as the first days of desktop mapping IMHO. For those watching this thread information technology is still changing and debate occurs. SO aside from the Ethernet what company is really the PA lead? I would have to suggest Trimble. Now if they could only build a next generation mass, moisture/test weight solution...?
MM
PS... thank the administrator for the spell-checker...
| |
|
Free Tools for Google Earthj
