Digital Geographic Information System in Agriculture at the Tequila

por Lourdes Gutiérrez | Dec 20, 2021 1:16:25 PM

 

Digital Geographical Information System at Casa Sauza tequila industry

In the Agricultural Area of Casa Sauza, we are conscious about the challenge involved in the adoption of new technologies and we have successfully implemented them, they have been adapted to our needs and evolved along with our processes. One of them is what we call "Digital Cartography" and that refers to the use of the Geographic Information System (GIS). Find out how we use this technology at Casa Sauza.

Uses of Digital Cartography in Agriculture

There are multiple uses and benefits of GIS technology in agriculture. Among which the ones referring to accuracy stand out:

  • Accuracy in the measurement of usable areas of a property and its fractions within boundaries.
  • Accuracy at the fraction of outputs generated level within a period of time.
  • Accuracy in the estimation of required inputs. All of which derives from the correct measurement of space and time.

What is the Objective of Implementing a Digital Geographic Information System?

Mobile applications, aerial photography, drones, navigation systems and GPS, are some of the GIS tools, which aim to generate spatial data information or geo-referenced maps of all our fields and properties.

Our lands represent a geographic link with all of our non-spatial information, such as:

  • Agave plantation age
  • Agrochemicals applications
  • Yields, advances and doses
  • And any other variables that add value to the monitoring process in the field.

The immediate benefit of linking this information would be: the simplification in performing statistical analyzes that explain the current situation of a property, as well as having graphic evidence in a localized and accurate manner. This finally translates into availability of information for effective decision-making.

Gathering of Field Information of a Digital GIS

There are Technical Standards that must be met when generating reliable geographic information. I am referring to the Reference System which must be aligned with the World Geodetic System WGS84 -to which the Global Positioning System (GPS) is referenced.

Once we have aligned our Reference System, we have to do the practical job in the field, and that is where the expertise of our team, led by Miguel Rivas, Specialist in Agave Inventories, is applied. We follow an operational sequence:

  1. Go to the field and check the equipment's configuration
  2. Position within the premises (determine the number of satellites available)
  3. Elaboration of polygons of each estate
  4. Export of geographic information to the general database
  5. Integration of the information by means of geo-referenced layers
  6. Evaluation of the quality of the polygons

Ellaboration of a Map in a Digital GIS

By definition, a map is a flat and simple representation of all -or a part of- the earth's surface, at a defined scale. It contains minimum-required elements so that it can be understood by any user such as:

  • Title that indicated its content
  • Scale at which the size of the map is related to the real size of the land.
  • Legend to indicate the meaning of the symbols on the map and its orientation (geographic north). In this way, it achieves its main objective of graphically expressing the situation of a property.

New Technologies of Digital Geographic Information

We must assume that in the search for new technologies, we can face several limitations such as cost, adaptability and durability. In this case, it has been shown that it has been a smart decision to adopt a GIS in the field. This technology increasingly has greater applications and is directly linked to what we call Smart Agriculture, which we define as the correct application of inputs at the right time and in the right place.

Keeping oneself informed on new technological developments requires a commitment that implies analyzing the endless possibilities that they may represent. This is the only way in which we can efficiently achieve the automation of some field processes.

Find out more about our tequila production processes either by clicking on the links below of by coming to Casa Sauza yourself so you get to see on-site how and why we produce the purest and best-quality tequila.

Casa Sauza

Lean Manufacturing

Gentle extraction of sugar

Visual Management

Total productive maintenance

Click here for more information on Casa Sauza Guided Tours

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