Brett is interested in improving the efficiency of crop management in terms of input and water use within fields and farms. To do this requires that we understand the natural variability in crop production potential, identify and remedy any areas that have manipulable production restrictions, and then target our yield goals and input management to produce the most financially profitable crop with the greatest positive impact on the environment. Precision Agriculture (PA) is a management philosophy that encompasses these aims, and is the field in which he works as a research scientist. Brett's research has been aimed at utilising geospatial information on within-field variation in crop, soil and landscape gathered from remote and proximal sensing systems to develop PA as a practical crop management system for the grains, cotton, viticulture and horticultural industries. This is being achieved on commercial farms using techniques and procedures for quantifying the spatially-manageable variability within fields, then defining management classes or ‘zones’ for variable-rate treatment to optimise input use. These days the use of in-season crop reflectance sensors is enabling the incorporation of seasonal conditions into the management decisions.
