Tyler Pittman from UF/IFAS spoke to the Gilchrist County Rotary Club Monday about how automation is helping farmers in Gilchrist County.
Pittman said in the last two years, the acreage of watermelons that use automation to deliver water and fertilizer to crops has increased from 200 acres to around 4,000 acres.
He said automation has decreased fertilizer usage by 44 pounds per acre and saved 1.7 hours of irrigation time per day.
According to a handout Pittman gave everyone at the meeting, North Central Florida farmers reported that automation reduced their water usage by an aveage of 24.3 percent, resulting in water savings of 873 gallons per day per acre.
When that is extrapolated to North Central Florida as a whole, 1.64 million gallons of water per day were saved.
According to the handout, only about 20 percent of watermelon acreage is automated in the region, so the region could save as much as 698 million gallons of water if all acreage was adopted automation equipment.
Producers also reported reducing fertilizer usage by 44 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
Farmers who participated in UF/IFAS Extenstion’s assessment also reported automation reduced their labor by 1.7 hours per day.
Pittman said automation helps farmers make smarter decisions and be more efficient.
He said cost-sharing programs are in place to help farmers do things like retrofit older pivots to be more efficient.
Pittman also spoke to the Rotary about the Extension office’s rental program.
Small-field farmers can rent a no-till drill for $10 per day and a sprayer for $50 per day. Both require a $300 deposit by check, which is returned once the equipment is returned. There is a $100 cleaning fee if the equipment is returned unclean. In order to rent this equipment, you must participate in Extension programs.
Pittman spoke about the Master Irrigator Program, which is intended to educate commercial farmers on how to properly irrigate crops and utilize new technologies.
He also let everyone know about the Suwannee Valley Water School, which will be held at Hart Springs April 21 and 22.