Comments on: Precision Viticulture for Small Vineyards

By: Eric Shiers

Eric Shiers — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:46:44 +0000

I like the posts, lots of good comments. My background is in soil science, MS Soils, Water & Environmental Science from The University of Arizona and BS Soi Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I am currently teaching soil science and fertilizer courses at Allan Hancock college Viticulture and Enology program. I am working on putting together at Precision Viticulture Consulting business to tackle many of the issues listed here. I am planning on starting with soil/nutrient mapping and NDVI mapping services and then expand as the demand warrants. I am also putting together a course proposal for a semester long Precision Viticulture course. I would love feedback, especially about the precived need for mapping salinity in vineyard soils (EC). I look forward to hearing from everyone.

By: Pete Weishaupt

Pete Weishaupt — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:01:12 +0000

Very interesting topic. I would be curious to know if 5 meter multi-spectral would be useful. I am also curious to know at what point it becomes cost prohibitive? Is there a value add to say, 1 assessment per week? 1 per day? How often does the vintner need the data? What is the cost threshold for Remotely Sensed data? $2,500 per year? $5,000 per year? $10,000 per year? How many acres should be under cultivation to warrant using Remote Sensing/Earth Observation?

thanks,

Pete

By: Erik Yewell

Erik Yewell — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:17:34 +0000

Here is the latest information I can find on GRASS, the open source GIS Data Analysis Tool:
http://grass.osgeo.org/wiki/Main_Page
Looks like it should run on Unix well, Windows with some extra software, and Mac.
Downloads and Tutorials are here:
http://grass.osgeo.org/download/

By: steve

steve — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:36:57 +0000

Hey there. First off let me say that I’m a PhD student in NZ doing PV-related research. I see the practical value in having this sort of work done. The key, however, is that you have variation in your vineyard. It isn’t really worth putting all that money into something where variation and price-point of the wine you’re selling can’t justify it. These tools allow you to quantify things in the vineyard and better understand and then manage the variation that you should be seeing. I see the benefits of doing this on even small blocks (1ha) that of course sell wine for $50/bottle.
Also – if you already have all this stuff worked out then why not sell your services to other vineyards? Alternatively if I can use your data to publish papers (as us academics have to do), I can do some of the work for you (just a thought). I’m using MapInfo which is a great tool for this sort of work, and I use the ESRI suite when I absolutely have to (ArcView and ArcGIS).
I would be happy to discuss my work with you if you’re interested.
Cheers from NZ.
Steve.

By: Julia

Julia — Sun, 06 May 2007 20:22:55 +0000

Hi there Josh!
Just to say that im loving ure blog on the use of PV. Im a student from Scotland coming over to the states to study the use of GIS with viticulture in Walla Walla, Washington. What you wrote gave me good insight into the benefits of using such information systems and your enthusiasm made it a pleasure to read. Keep up the good work now

By: Precision Viticulture Controversy » Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog

Precision Viticulture Controversy » Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 21:54:38 +0000

[...] the Capozzi Winery blog « Precision Viticulture for Small Vineyards Precision Viticulture [...]

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:12:04 +0000

Hi Brad,

You’re right, we could all save quite a bit by banding together to purchase PV tools and data. Part of the problem is one of perception however, as Morgan points out. There are plenty of farmers that feel they have a handle on managing variation already, so this isn’t a point of pain.

Also there are license issues with having more than one person use software, though I think the risks are pretty low (and the software is freakin overpriced if you ask me).

Finally, I did go ahead and purchase a domain just in case I ever have some free time to set up an online community devoted to group purchases of remote sensing data. The url is PrecisionVit.com and perhaps someday it will be a place where wine growers can gather to collectively purchase arial photos and the like.

Thanks for the comment!

lagram,

No April Fools here!

Again, its not laziness that’s driving me to use PV (quite the opposite!), nor is it that I’m averse to walking the vineyard. I walk it every day, strolling around with the boy and measuring shoot lengths. The reason I’m enamored with PV is that I can quantify what I’m seeing and do it much more precisely than with simple “ocular regression” techniques.

We wouldn’t dream of making wine without measuring, so why are we so content to farm without measuring? Besides, in the grand scheme of things $4500 bucks isn’t much money at all when you are talking about trying to produce the best possible grapes. At least that’s my thinking.

Thanks for the comment and best of luck over there in the Old World!

By: lagramiere

lagramiere — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:11:46 +0000

Josh, ever consider spending more time walking around your vineyards? 17 acres isn’t that much ground to cover. Human observation can be quite useful, much cheaper and it’s much more pleasant to spend your time in the vineyards than in front of your computer… Just a thought, from a simple grape farmer. I’ll admit I scrolled up to the top of the post to check the date, making sure it this wasn’t another April fools post. I guess we’re just in two different worlds.

By: Brad Maier

Brad Maier — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 03:54:05 +0000

Hi Josh,

Just wanted to say I really enjoy the site and that this is the first time I’ve had an idea to comment with. Why not group together with other small vineyards and purchase the software together and rotate its use? Seems like it would defer the costs and since GIS is not necessarily something you’d be using constantly, it would be something that vineyards could schedule time with. Maybe you can even consult to the other vineyards in your group using it with your newfound GIS knowledge from the immersion classes. I don’t know, thought it was worth a shot.

-Brad
http://vinobandito.blogspot.com

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:38:52 +0000

I’ve heard this before believe me. But I think PV in a small vineyard situation where we will be charging around $50 a bottle is warranted.

Plus you really need to come out here and see the vineyard. Its a series of hills and valleys with point rows and variation everywhere. We have temp differentials of 4 degrees F in 20 x 40 foot blocks. Its crazy.

So while I trust Robledo (our vineyard managers) I don;t think that anyone, without the aid of lots of data, could every really get a handle on what is happening out in the vineyard without doing some careful measuring. Thus the use of PV.

It the fuuuuuture Morgan! Don’t be scared!