Autonomous robotic systems may replace status quo single-pass destructive harvest with two or more passes. Multiple-harvest systems avoid production and quality penalties from non-optimum harvest timing. Interperiod carryover penalties for perishable crops reduce physical production available for harvest. Reduced quality adversely affects sales price. In addition to maximized returns to fixed costs, optimum timing for each multiple-pass harvest event was reported. Multiple-pass optimization models are useful for forestry and logging, fresh produce such as berries and tomatoes, orchard crops such as apples and pears, field crops such as cotton, and other high-value indeterminate crops. Here, cotton, a high-value indeterminate field crop with specialized harvest equipment was the example. Results are pertinent to farmers, researchers, and equipment manufacturers developing the next generation of machinery to perform their own what-if analyses using interactive web dashboard tools.
Griffin, T. W., Yeager, E. A., Rains, G. C, Griffin, T. G., Raper, T. B.,
Lindhorst, C.
Farm data valuation has been an emergent topic across the agricultural sector for several decades. Previous analyses focused on estimating damages from misappropriation, although no existing estimates of valuation within the farm gates for data, especially inaccessible data. Based on actual events when yield monitor data became inaccessible to farm operators, damages were estimated in anticipation of litigation. Valuation was estimated given how yield monitor data was intended to be used in the decision-making process. Specifically, valuation was estimated within the context of conducting farmer-managed on-farm experimentation. Farmers implicitly value on-farm experiments given the financial and non-monetary, i.e. human capital, investments. Key outcomes included 1) farm operators must be perceived to use data and 2) data must be treated as valuable. Each on-farm experiment was valued at over $40,000.
Griffin, T. W.
Farm operators consider financial and non-monetary factors when investing in technology; however, economic analyses usually ignore important non-monetary factors while focusing on only monetary factors. Non-monetary factors such as human capital costs and quality-of-life benefits explain adoption rate deviation from industry expectations. Six technologies examined include automated guidance, automated section control, imagery, precision soil sampling, variable rate, and yield monitors. Rather than exclusively relying on financial analyses to model technology adoption decisions, a holistic economic perspective replete with joint utility maximization within the household is proposed. Future generations of digital technology are likely to be developed with less reliance on required human capital investment while improving quality of life.
Traywick, L., Nilsson, T., González de Cosío, A., Griffin, T. W.
Sport-related concussions are a prevalent issue, affecting up to 3 million individuals annually and often impacting the visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems. The Y-Balance Lower Quarter (YBT-LQ) is a movement screen where an athlete must utilize these three systems. It can be used to assess an athlete's risk for injury and dynamic balance. This study aimed to determine if student-athletes with a history of concussion perform worse on the YBT-LQ, due to the impact of concussion on the sensory systems, compared to healthy controls. The researcher’s hypothesis was that athletes with a history of concussion would score lower on the YBT-LQ compared to healthy controls.
H. Logan, J. Bradshaw, A. Bartis, P. Hall, T. W. Griffin, L. S. Traywick,
Corn planting progress was behind schedule for several states prior to the Gannon Storm on the weekend of 10 May 2024. Midwestern farms were unusually vulnerable to a signal degradation associated with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) accuracy due to reduced fieldwork days associated with terrestrial weather, delaying planting. Estimating regional losses due to GNSS outage is a multi-step process. First, foregone production due to delayed planting for a representative farm is estimated. Analysis of a representative farm is necessary because no other method is feasible to arrive at the intended metric of number of acres affected by downtime. The second step is to determine the number of farms adversely affected in each state. Third, production losses are calculated for each state then summed into regional estimates. Agricultural data sources includes publicly available USDA statistics and Land Grant University Extension publications. Space weather data sources include the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences at Potsdam (GFZ) and the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). A range of estimates are provided including yield sensitivity to delayed planting, effective planter capacity, and percentage of farms vulnerable to GNSS signal degradation, such that the reader can repeat the analysis to arrive at their own conclusions. One of the leading corn-producing states, Illinois, is used to demonstrate how the analysis and calculations are conducted before reporting across 12 selected Midwestern states. Due to the Gannon Storm, the representative GNSS-reliant corn farm in Illinois experienced foregone revenue between $12,000 and $17,000. Summing across all vulnerable farms in Illinois, production decreased from 3.1M bushels valued at \$12.4M to 75M bushels valued at $298M due to delaying planting into later weeks. Applying this analysis to the remaining Midwestern states, between 17.4M bushels to 424M bushels valued at $69.6M to $1.7B, respectively, were foregone compared to the optional scenario in which GNSS-enabled navigation technology remained operational. Valuation assumed $4 per bushel corn price, however, a $5 per bushel price is reflected by adding 25% to the reported valuation. Although affected acreage experienced substantial penalties, when considering across all 90.6M US acres, a negligible one to two bushel per planted acre was at risk. Although unprecedented during the precision agricultural era, the events of 10 May 2024 were not likely unique, such that GNSS signal degradation may occur again in spring planting time of 2025 and into 2026, during the descending phase of Solar Cycle 25. Early warning alerts of GNSS signal degradation may be useful for many practitioners, but not likely sufficient to prevent agricultural production losses due to the complex biological and climatic interaction. However, a nowcast informing practitioners of regional GNSS signal degradation may be useful to prevent frustration, costs of performing local diagnostic tests on equipment, and adverse affects on the joint utility of the rural household. Results are of interest to farmers, commodity traders, grain handling facilities, policy makers, and space weather professionals and enthusiasts.
Griffin, Knipp, Shank, Skov, McIntosh, and Leamon
