Extending Site-Specific Crop Management from individual fields to an entire farm

Currently Site-Specific Crop Management (SSCM) is practised oil one or two fields while wholefarm applications remain elusive. One reason for this is the prohibitive costs associated with current data requirements for implementation of SSCM. The objectives of this study were (i) to develop an efficient method for identifying potential site-specific management classes across an entire farm and (ii) to investigate ways of utilising a whole-farm classification for farm management. An example is provided for a 3000 ha dryland grains farm located in north-west NSW, Australia. Geospatial data about soil, crop and landscape attributes that exist for the farm were used. Fuzzy k-means analysis was used to derive potential management classes for three fields. Multiple discriminant analysis using data over the whole farm was used to allocate the classes across the farm. Justification and interpretation of this whole-farm classification were based on further soil samples and yield data.