TY - JOUR T1 - Precision conservation JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 137A VL - 60 IS - 6 AU - Bruce I. Knight Y1 - 2005/11/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/60/6/137A.abstract N2 - PC—most people think means “politically correct,” but the term that comes to my mind is “precision conservation.” Precision conservation is the dynamic nexus of precision agriculture and cooperative conservation. PC is where high technology and conservation join to focus resources directly on problems and measure success more accurately. Technology is advancing rapidly. Yield monitors, combined with global positioning systems (GPS), for example, can produce maps that provide feedback to measure the effects of managed inputs such as fertilizer, lime, seed, and pesticides, as well as cultural practices such as tillage, irrigation and drainage. To date these technologies have been employed to enhance the productivity of farms and ranches. Precision conservation means using similar approaches to enhance the effectiveness of our conservation efforts. Producers benefit from precision conservation, through more efficient management of their operations. Auto-steer is an excellent example. GPS plumbed into the steering mechanism of a tractor “reads” the field on the first pass through and then an on-board computer directs each succeeding pass so it will match up perfectly with implement width. The technology can reduce the overlap on each pass for tillage, fertilizer or pesticide application from … ER -