Systems, methods, and apparatus for agricultural implement trench depth control and soil monitoring

Abstract

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for monitoring soil properties including soil moisture and soil temperature during an agricultural input application. Embodiments include a soil moisture sensor and/or a soil temperature sensor mounted to a seed firmer for measuring moisture and temperature in a planting trench. Additionally, systems, methods and apparatus are provided for adjusting depth based on the monitored soil properties.

1 . A method of monitoring and displaying readings associated with a soil temperature sensor on an agricultural machine as the agricultural machine traverses a field, the method comprising: sensing soil temperature data with the soil temperature sensor on the agricultural machine as the agricultural machine traverses the field; displaying on a display associated with the agricultural machine a representation of soil temperature. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the representation of the soil temperature is in degrees Fahrenheit. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the representation of soil temperature is in a range indicator format. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the agricultural machine is an agricultural tillage machine and wherein the soil temperature sensor is mounted on the agricultural machine to measure temperature at a cutting depth of the agricultural tillage machine. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising automatically controlling application rate of at least one agricultural input based on the soil temperature data.