Minnesota NRCS State Conservationist William Hunt and Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations Timothy Wilson recently toured an agricultural waste facility and the site of a manure digester.  As part of the tour, Hunt helped plan the layout of the waste storage pond utilizing the Trimble Robotic Total Station to locate the four pond corners at the Atkinson Acres farm in Freeport, Minnesota.  The group also visited Jerry and Linda Jennissen’s farm to tour an Environmental Quality Incentives Program-funded anaerobic manure digester system for mid-sized dairy farms, a pilot project in cooperation with the Minnesota Project and other partners.

Learn more about  NRCS in Minnesota

The Robotic Total Station is also used for preliminary surveys of other conservation practices.  One technician can use the Robotic Total Station to independently complete a topographic survey versus the two or three staff normally required.  The Robot's efficiency also decreases initial survey time.  The Robotic Total Station follows a prism on the survey rod as the technician walks the survey area and records information in a data collector.  The survey information in the data collector can be downloaded into AutoCAD for alternative analysis and preliminary engineering work.
Your contact is Julie MacSwain, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 651-602-7859.