The days when farmers simply planted seed, added water and hoped for a good harvest are long gone. The prayers are still there, the hard work is still there, but these days we do it smarter.

In recent years, the term precision farming has gained traction, and even emerging and small-scale farmers are now turning to precision technology. This technology comes in various forms, from implements to satellite and GPS systems. Precision farming is about knowing exactly what is happening in your soil, so that your inputs can work for your soil to ensure the best possible yield.

It is precisely here, in your soil, where a company like SGS Nvirocrop can inspire you and open up a whole new world of farming.

Who and what is SGS Nvirocrop?

SGS is an independent agricultural services company that helps farmers become more profitable by increasing their yields and quality. Their core business is gathering information on your farm and processing it in such a way that they can advise you on how to manage your resources and get the most out of them.

Just because all your land is situated in close proximity it does not mean all the land has the same composition, nutrients or condition.

“Our core business is soil classification, chemical grid work, NDVI images or satellite images and plant analysis,” says SGS Nvirocrop’s Agronomist in the Western Cape, PD Koegelenberg.

The combination of all these samples creates a bigger picture, allowing a farmer to learn exactly what the soil on the farm looks like and how it functions.

“SGS works with all types of crops, whether it’s maize, soybeans or sunflower in the north, or wheat, canola, vineyards, orchards, apples, pears, blueberries, dates or table grapes in the west. Whatever is growing in the soil and whatever is being farmed, we help manage it more profitably and obtain optimal results from the soil.”

Wayne du Plessis from SGS Nvirocrop drilling for a soil sample on a farm in the Western Cape.

Soil classification

PD explains that during soil classification, they describe the physical properties of the soil profiles in your fields. These are the properties that your plant roots will experience and in which your plants grow.

“The physical properties of your soil determine between 60% and 70% of your plant’s potential. That is why it is very important to know what is happening beneath the surface,” says PD.

This classification can be done in various ways. PD explains that it is expensive and time-consuming to use a front-end loader to dig up your soil so that a soil scientist can follow behind and conduct tests.

SGS Nvirocrop has special augers they use to extract undisturbed soil samples. The tubes containing the soil samples are then classified at a central location by a soil scientist. This process also allows them to take samples at different points in your fields without disturbing them, enabling a complete picture of the types of soil available in each part of your fields.

“In this case, it is critical that the soil scientist has insight and experience in the specific area so that no mistakes are made. The information we gather from those tubes is incredibly valuable. You can see where there is a compaction layer, how deep the soil is, how deeply the roots penetrate, and what the texture and structure of the soil are,” says PD.

This helps them determine what the farmer should do to make the most of those soil profiles.

“For example, can he cultivate deeper with his ripper to deepen the soil and retain more water, or should he install drainage in certain areas where the soil may be waterlogged? Naturally, there are also areas where we can identify low-potential soils where further development would be a waste of time.”

This type of classification is usually done on dryland fields but can also be useful in areas where permanent crops need to be established.

A soil sample from a farm in the Western Cape.

Chemical properties of your soil

The chemical properties of the soil are those you cannot see with the naked eye: pH, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphate and trace elements, among others.

“This is the food that the plant’s roots can access after they have received the best possible environment to grow in. Even the different physical soil properties show variation. If we were to take just one sample on this land to get an average, we would only get an extremely average result. When we take 50, or 25 or at least 10 samples, we can extract at least 10 variations.”

In this way, SGS Nvirocrop can tell farmers exactly where, for example, to apply lime. Some areas may receive three tonnes of lime, while others receive none. The same applies to other chemical elements.

“In this way the farmer saves, but we also know you don’t simply save yourself wealthy. By doing the right thing and applying enough of a specific correction in one place – or none at all – the farmer saves money, but more importantly, makes money because he is correcting his soil where it is necessary.”

SGS Nvirocrop’s agronomist in the Western Cape, PD Koegelenberg, talking about the company’s services.

A comprehensive picture

SGS Nvirocrop also provides Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. These are satellite images and, in more intensive cases, drone images, showing where your plants are growing and photosynthesising best, as well as where they are struggling.

“This gives us a very good idea of which zones in your fields we should visit to see what is happening there. When we visit those zones, we take leaf samples in the good sections of your fields as well as in the weaker sections. This helps us determine whether there is a nutritional problem.”

If it is not a leaf-related issue, it could, for example, be a drainage or nematode problem. The combination of all these samples helps the SGS Nvirocrop team identify the root cause of the issue.

Although all the collected information is provided to the farmer in hard copy, SGS Nvirocrop knows that the world is becoming increasingly digital.

Therefore, SGS Nvirocrop has launched its SGS Precision Gateway. The app provides a platform where farmers can view all collected information in one place.

With this app, you can overlay the different maps, and using your phone’s GPS, quickly open the app and view all the information for that specific section of your field in one place.

SGS Nvirocrop are independent service providers.

SGS Nvirocrop: Here to help

SGS Nvirocrop is an independent company, and although the word “independent” is often used loosely in the industry, SGS Nvirocrop provides only services and advice. This means they are not linked to any input suppliers, and the farmer chooses his own supplier.

The company is represented throughout South Africa, as well as in large parts of Africa and the rest of the world. SGS Nvirocrop has more than 90 000 employees, so when you need the right information, SGS Nvirocrop can help.

Visit the website at www.sgs.com to learn more about the company or to get in touch with the team.