Getting the dirt on ... dirt

A group of Lodi farmers on Friday caught a glimpse of new technology designed to take much of the guesswork out of farming.

Representatives of the Wisconsin company STI were in town to show off their Soil Information System, or SIS, designed to give farmers a much better understanding of the ground in which they plant their crops.

The system is comprised of an ATV equipped with GPS and various computers towing a large sensor known as the "surfer," and a tractor that has been mounted with an apparatus known as the "diver."

STI staff use the surfer to get a sense of the soil conditions of a test site. Dan Rooney, managing partner of STI, said the surfer's advanced software and sensors can quickly analyze the makeup of a particular area's soil. Once they have the information, they then know the best spots to take detailed tests with the diver.

Using a hydraulic system, the diver inserts a long probe up to five feet down into the ground. Packed with sensors, the probe sends back results instantly to a wireless control monitor that's tied to the SIS software.

That software can run a same-day analysis, providing farmers detailed information on their land as well as topographic maps of the subsurface beneath their crops.

"You'll have the roadmap of the vineyard that never changes," Rooney said.

Rooney, and other employees of STI, were the guests of John Hohenrieder at his vineyard on Peltier Road.

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Hohenrieder said his son, Steve, who is chief of operations at the Hohenrieder's company Lustre-Cal, invited STI to give a demonstration after seeing the company's product at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento.

Rooney said the SIS system doesn't just tell growers more about their soil, but also lets them farm their vineyards with far more efficiency.

Knowing exactly what lies beneath the surface can help them determine where to water more or less, what areas need more of a certain fertilizer or nutrient, and what specific lots could be more prone to pests or diseases.

Robert Wample, the chairman of California State University, Fresno's Viticulture and Enology Department, said the system eliminates much of the imprecision and guesswork out of farming.

He said as domestic growers are increasingly under pressure from foreign markets, they need any tool to help them maintain a competitive edge.

"You need to find every way possible to make the bottom line," he said.

Wample is such a supporter of the technology that after he retires from Fresno State, he'll begin working with STI full-time.

Rooney said the cost of an analysis varies from $70 to $250 an acre, and the firm can do about 40 acres a day.

STI has five of the SIS systems and has done work at more than 600 commercial sites with a focus on agriculture and, especially, vineyards.

Soil Information System applications

Vineyard design and block layout

Rootstock selection

Irrigation design and management

Soil additions

Fertility management

Selective harvesting

Scouting for disease and pests

Micronutrient distribution
For more information, visit www.soilinfo.com.
Source: STI

John Hohenrieder owns 20 acres of Old Vine Zinfandel, and said that harvesting good grapes comes from knowing as much as possible about the soil.

"You always want to know more about the soil," he said.

Hohenrieder's vineyard manager, Jonathan Wetmore, who also is the owner of Grands Amis Winery, attended the demonstration and said he's interested in learning more about STI's services.

He said that Friday's demonstration also was indicative of how Lodi growers are always open to experimentation and innovation.

"Lodi is always about the next technology," he said.

STI will be conducting another demonstration in July. Contact sales@soilinfo.com for more information.

Contact City Editor Andrew Adams at andrewa@lodinews.com

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