World’s Largest Script Ohio: world record in London, Ohio

May 11, 2023

London, Ohio, United States--For four straight years, The Ohio State University’s Precision Agriculture program has demonstrated GPS-guided “smart planting” using multiple corn hybrids; from an aerial view, the Script Ohio emerges from a 100-acre field just east of the site of the review: London’s Molly Caren Agricultural Center, setting the world record for being the World’s Largest Script Ohio, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"We decided to start and continue this project to show the potential of new multi-hybrid/variety planting technology and demonstrate that it can complete tasks with accuracy and precision to the point of making logos in field scenes,” said Andrew Klopfenstein, senior research associate engineer in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), part of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

"This demonstration of precision agriculture is all thanks to components from precision planting that turn a traditional planter into a “smart planter.” From the monitor, farmers can control the plant population and hybrid type planted in coordination with a mapping of GPS coordinates.

"This year’s design was slightly more difficult than some of the previous years because it was a single continuous piece with more curves than we had attempted in the past,” said Ryan Tietje, research associate and graduate student in FABE, who has designed the past two field demonstrations.

Although more difficult, Script Ohio also had many similarities to previous years’ designs. “It’s still a multi-hybrid variable rate prescription that utilizes the same precision planting technology and equipment as in years past,” Tietje said. “However, this year’s design is very different in that we used soybean plants—the last three years have all been in corn.”

While growers and Ohio State fans alike might enjoy seeing more Buckeye-spirited fields pop up across the state, this demonstration aims to prove the practical benefits of precision planting.

“There are benefits to matching plant hybrids/varieties to soil landscape,” says Klopfenstein. “Farmers in the future will consider multiple factors when generating prescriptions, some of which may include moisture holding capacity, soil organic matter content, slope and historical yield data just to name a few.”

"By creating one’s own map using GPS coordinates, a grower might program their planter to distribute less seed to an area with rocky terrain with an expected lower yield as opposed to an area rich in organic matter where higher plant populations will increase productivity," The Ohio State University says.

The team extends its thanks to Case IH, Precision Planting and Trimble for making the demonstration possible. For details about the department’s ongoing precision agriculture research, visit fabe.osu.edu/programs/precisionag.

Photos: World’s Largest Script Ohio: world record in London, Ohio
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