Feature Request: Improved boundary integration with Variable Rate Operation Calculations

Starting to experiment with the new VR Operations tool and I’ve noticed an anomaly with respect to area calculations being incorrect.

On a field that is part of a pivot, the boundary area is 28Ha but the operation tool says 30Ha. Probably due to grid squares being being counted as whole units but they are divided by the boundary. I am working with large ( >3M squares) so this exacerbates the issue, but the underlying problem is there.

This is an issue when performing the actual spray job as the required quantity of chemical and water must be loaded at the commencement of the job and needs to be as accurate as possible; running short is worse then running over and it is impossible to tweek the rate during the job since it’s intentionally variable.

Regards,
Pete

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your feedback. As the extra area you are seeing is part of the boundary cells, it should not be affected by running low on products but rather running over. (as you will not apply that extra area)

I would advise working with smaller grids if possible. I will forward this feedback to the team.

José

G’day Jose,

To give an order of magnitude to the costs involved, mixing an additional 2Ha that isn’t required can be upwards of $1,000 in wasted growth regulator for the one job.

I do recognise 3M grid squares is an extreme edge case; I am experimenting with different processing approaches to find the most appropriate settings for the application equipment available to me.

I haven’t fully thought the idea thorugh, but one methodology might be to apply a local grid modifier to cells that are intersected by a boundary that adds a /10 to the grid size for just those cells.

The prescription should always extend outside the boundary as some application equipment can switch to zero rate for any area with a zero value. With common spray section control having step sizes of around 3M, this can make for terrible application quality on boundaries if not accounted for.

Regards,
Pete

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your feedback. As mentioned, please reduce the grid size for now so the extra area created is not big.

We are discussing this with the team.

Jose

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