Question❓| Upskill 📚 | Information ℹ️ | Picture 📷 | Special Offer 🎁

Edition 27

👋 Hey TropicalBytes family, welcome to this week’s edition of Q.U.I.P.S.!

As the fastest-growing subtropical farming community out there, we're thrilled to be your BFF (Best Farming Friend), saving you hundreds of hours by unearthing hidden gems like:

• Actionable tips 💡

• Practical knowledge 🧠

• Industry insights 📊

• And so much more 🌟

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In Today’s Email:

• GIS for SA: Is There a Perfect Match? 🌍

• Upskilling with the What & Where of GIS 🌐

• The Assassin Bug: One of the 311 invertebrates identified… 🥷

Question ❓

“Which GIS software is available that is user-friendly, affordable, and works well in SA?”

Whilst contemplating this question an Einstein quote came to mind. It goes something like this…

“If I had an hour to answer a question and my life depended on it, I’d spend the first 55 minutes making sure I understood the question and the last 5 minutes answering it.”

Reminds us of our adventure into the deep, often overwhelming world of GIS (Geographical Information Systems), especially in the context of South African agriculture.

Last week we volleyed a question out to you, our awesome readers, asking about the best GIS software for South African farmers, half-expecting our inbox to burst with your wisdom.

Instead? The sweet sound of silence… 👀

Jokes aside, the stillness got us thinking and nudged us to take a deeper look.

As we trawled the depths of the internet, hoping for that magical one-stop-shop GIS software, we ended up scratching our heads, wondering…

Here's the thing: Farming in SA isn't quite like farming in many other places. It's its own beast. In many first-world countries, they’re all about hustling hard to automate and integrate GIS and other Precision Agriculture tools. This is largely because their agriculture operates on thin profit margins, making precision absolutely vital. The rising costs of fuel, power, fertiliser, and even labour put significant pressure on profits, amplifying the demand for tools like GIS.

But here In South Africa, our context differs. Much of our farming still leans on manual labour, making the collection of precise, automated insights a challenge. Our question then isn't about finding the best GIS software, but rather, how do we integrate these essential precision tools into our unique agricultural framework?

So, when it comes to high-tech tools like GIS, do we even have the same goal posts as the first-world countries? Don't be mistaken though. Our nation is by no means resistant to innovation. We're all for pushing the boundaries and embracing the new. Heck, our future of farming might just entirely lie in Precision Ag’s hands.

In a nutshell, while our hunt for the ideal GIS software came up short and our call to you guys played out a tad quieter than anticipated, the journey was enlightening.

❗ Stay tuned for some awesome precision irrigation tech and insights which we’ll be covering in one of our upcoming editions.

❓ What question(s) do you have this week? Tell us here

Upskill 📚

Upskilling with the What & Where of GIS 🌐

So, without leaving you with more questions than answers, let's embark on a quick "upskilling" journey to understand the 'what' and 'where' of GIS:

• What is GIS?

• Where Does All This Data Come From?

What is GIS?

GIS, or Geographical Information Systems if we’re getting formal, is essentially a computer system designed to analyse and clearly show geographically referenced data all in one place.

Think of it as a super smart Google Maps. Instead of merely showing you the quickest route from Point A to Point B or pinpointing the nearest petrol station, GIS software offers farmers a panoramic, layered perspective of their fields or orchards; effortlessly toggling between views that reveal soil quality, moisture levels, and even potential pest infestations, all from a single screen.

With all the tech gizmos today—drones, satellites, robots, and GPS gadgets—farmers can get a ton of info about their fields. It’s easy to feel swamped, but these seriously intelligent GIS softwares streamline and present all the data in a user-friendly format. Powered with these insights, farmers can then spot trends, identify the problem areas and chart a clear course forward.

Dive deep enough, and you'll encounter a sea of jargon – NDVI, NDMI, ENVI... But we promise to spare you that deep dive today. 😅

Where Does All This Data Come From?

At the heart of GIS, hardware, software, and raw data come together in a sophisticated tango. On the hardware front, it's everything from simple data loggers to advanced satellites and drones, not forgetting the in-field probes, weather stations, and countless other tech gadgets.

Then, GIS software steps in, processing all this geo-referenced data and what you end up with is an interactive map. Not just any ordinary map, but a map that precisely shows you the overall health of your crops, the terrain, soil type and even the nourishment levels of your crops.

One of the big players in this data collection game is 'Remote Sensing'. We’re talking about aerial or satellite scans of our planet. Take the Landsat 8 satellite, for example. Circling our planet every 16 days, it captures imagery beyond what our eyes can perceive. Its lenses can detect variations in crop health, moisture levels, and even insect infestations.

While Landsat 8 is impressive, the private sector is also stepping up. Several companies are launching specialised agriculture satellites to primarily monitor agricultural lands.

And not to forget, GPS—something that more and more people are using. GPS integrated with GIS means farmers get real-time data on everything: from the exact spot to deploy resources, to analysing different crop varieties, elevation levels, orchard boundaries and even the layout of irrigation systems.

Lastly, farming machinery. Outfitted with advanced sensors and GPS, they gather ground-level data, complementing the “data from the sky” from satellites. Whether it's measuring harvest numbers on-the-go or making autonomous decisions based on the data they collect, today's farm machinery is, quite frankly, a bit of a genius.

Whilst we only covered a fraction of this intricate world of GIS, we’ll leave you with the curiosity to go and explore more.

Warning, you might not come back! 😆

📖 To satisfy your curiosity: 

8 Applications of GIS in Agriculture for Predictability & Sustainable Growth

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Picture 📷

The Assassin Bug 🥷

How awesome is this pic!

A massive thank you to one of our dedicated readers for sharing this gem. Here's what they shared: “Above is an Assassin Bug (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), one of the 311 invertebrates discovered in our ongoing Macadamia biodiversity study...”

While the initial report from the study is still in the works and the next round of fieldwork is scheduled for November, we're eagerly awaiting the findings. We promise to keep you updated as soon as more details emerge!

🔎 Have you spotted this guy in your orchard? We'd love to hear from you.

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That’s a wrap folks!

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Until next week,

Happy farming, deep learning, and warm smiles! 🌱

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