Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

GPS Corrections and Their General Uses

After many years of precision agricultural use, many questions still exist of what is the correct correction for each operation.  I have listed the corrections available and a brief description of their uses.

Wide Area Augmentation Signal (WAAS) –

Accuracy: < 6-8”

Initialization/Convergence: Standard*

This free service provides performance suitable for agriculture applications in which accuracy and repeatability are not of the highest concern. It's most popular for broadacre crop spraying and tillage applications.

Omnistar XP-

Accuracy: 3-5" (8-12 cm)

Initialization/Convergence: Standard*

An OmniSTAR® service for high-performance broadacre spraying and land-tillage applications in which the vehicle will be operating in areas with open views of the sky at all times. OmniSTAR XP requires a convergence period at startup.  Omnistar XP is most popular for boom shutoff systems on sprayers and tillage applications.

Omnistar HP-

Accuracy: 2-4" (5-10 cm)

Initialization/Convergence: Standard*

An OmniSTAR® service suitable for high-performance broadacre seeding, spraying, and harvesting applications in which the vehicle will be operating in areas with open views of the sky at all times. OmniSTAR HP requires a convergence period at startup.  Omnistar HP is popular for broadacre planting, spraying and harvest solutions.

Trimble’s RTX-

Accuracy: 1.5" (3.8 cm)

Initialization/Convergence: Standard*

The new Trimble® CenterPoint™ RTX™ Correction Service delivers GNSS enabled, repeatable 1.5" (3.8 cm) corrections via satellite or cellular network directly to your receiver anywhere in the world. CenterPoint RTX works with the built-in GNSS receiver in your existing Trimble FmX® integrated display, CFX-750™ display, or AG-372 GNSS receiver.  Trimble’s RTX is becoming increasingly popular with cash crop planting using row controls, side dressing, no-till operations, small veggie crops where size does not dictate RTK investments.

RTK Base or Cellular-

Accuracy: < 1" (2.5 cm)

Initialization/Convergence: < 1 minute

CenterPoint RTK is well suited for row-crop planting, strip tilling, land leveling and other water management applications in which the best horizontal and vertical accuracy is required.  Repeatable accuracy is available anywhere, with cellular/base station systems.  Advancements in base station technologies now allow for no line of sight restrictions, and distances up to 20 Miles.

Agricultural GPS systems are no longer about straight lines, it is about intregration into your operation, your future plans and increasing profitability.  Data acquisition, yield mapping and variable rate application are all becoming main stream to today’s farmers.  Without properly installation, calibrated and training you will not be able to maximize your investment.  Ensure you make the right choices, your yields will thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Smith is the owner of Northern Equipment Solutions and based in Central Ontario, Canada. Providing Quality Potato Equipment, Precision Agriculture and Other Advanced Equipment, Northern Equipment Solutions ensures that your profits and yields are maximized. www.northernequipment.ca or sales@northernequipment.ca

Views: 446

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Iain Robson on January 2, 2013 at 11:55pm

Awesome, thanks very much Paul.

I will look into it. For a small initial investment, it could improve yields, which would be huge.

Also, the new website looks great.

Comment by Paul Smith on January 2, 2013 at 5:52pm

Generally WAAS is a good starting point for any precision purchase, it can cover some of your less accurate requirements on the farm including some planting, sprayering, manure application and fertilizer spreading all areas where accuracy will have very positive returns in quality and reduced costs of inputs

Comment by Iain Robson on January 2, 2013 at 2:40am

Great post Paul. 

Which one would you suggest for a starter gps?

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Canadian Innovation Aims to Transform Nitrogen Fertilizers While Eliminating Microplastics

A British Columbia ag-tech company is developing a biodegradable fertilizer coating that could help farmers use less nitrogen, reduce input costs, and eliminate microplastics from controlled-release fertilizers

Ag at the Canada Investment Summit

Multiple provincial governments are pitching projects related to ag

All Wheat Output Seen Down Nearly 11%

Canada’s wheat production will fall from a year ago as both harvested area and average yields decline, according to Statistics Canada’s first production estimate for 2026. Statistics Canada on Wednesday estimated 2026 national all-wheat production at 36.122 million tonnes, down 10.9% from the upwardly revised 2025 crop of 40.562 million tonnes. Despite the year-over-year decline, the projected crop would remain historically large, exceeding production in every year since 2010 except 2013 and 2025. The estimate was close to Agriculture Canada's August supply-demand forecast of 36.271 million. For 2025, the all wheat production estimate was bumped up from the previous view of 39.955 million. The 2026 national average all wheat yield is forecast at 53.6 bu/acre, down 5.6% from the record 56.8 bu last year. The 2026 yield would nevertheless remain above the recent five-year average, reflecting generally favourable growing conditions through much of the growing season. Lower acreage

Sept. 22 training workshop targets mental health in Kansas

A Kansas State University official says an upcoming training session available to Kansans will help to address a concerning trend in mental health and resilience to stress in communities across the state. Tawnie Larson, a program manager for the Kansas Agriculture Safety and Health program at K-State, said 20 spots are open for an online train-the-trainer workshop called Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory, or COMET. The session is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (CST) on Sept. 22. Registration is available online. It is being hosted by K-State Extension’s Stress and Resiliency Transdisciplinary team. “The training,” she said, “is aimed at expanding the number of trusted community members equipped to recognize mental health concerns and connect people with help.” The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports that adult mental illness affects about 1 in 5 Kansans. The need is disproportionate in rural areas, where an estimated 27% of adults experience mental illness

Rotating crops this fall can set garden up for success next spring

This is the gardener’s mantra: Success requires planning. “To give your plants a healthy start next year,” says Kansas State University horticulture expert Matt McKernan, “the best practice is to rotate crops within the same family to a different location than where they’re growing this year.” Crop rotation offers several benefits, according to McKernan. “Plants in the same family are typically susceptible to similar pests,” he said. “Some pests overwinter in the soil; some are able to survive on plant debris. If the same host is available when the pests emerge in the spring, they will be able to continue feeding, and multiply the problem. Crop rotation breaks the cycle of these pests.” McKernan added that plants in the same family also have similar nutrient requirements, so rotating crops prevents the soil from becoming depleted of those nutrients. “And, the varied root system depths from one plant family to the next contributes to the health of the soil,” he said. “Now is the pe

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service