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!

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

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!

Thanks for the comment! Let me know if you do go this route and how it all works out. Also, please drop me a line if you find any other equipment that fills in any gaps I didn’t cover.

Thanks again for the kind words.

That is FREAKING awesome what you’ve worked out. I’m now thinking I need to have a conversation with our vineyard manager and see what he thinks of this. Considering I am a hard-core wine geek and high-techie to boot, I’m jazzed to see the footwork you did on this.