Frontiersman Daniel Boone used to say, "I've never been lost, but I'll admit to
being confused for a few weeks." Too bad old Daniel didn't have a hand-held
Global Positioning System to help find his way.
Jason Smith has used a hand-held GPS unit on Granville Farms near Oxford, N.C.,
for seven years. He keeps a GPS unit in his toolbox and brings it out for many
projects.
FENCING. Smith plans a fencing job by traveling the intended fenceline with his
GPS and calculates the feet of wire and number of posts needed.
FERTILIZATION. Instead of taking a few soil samples from a pasture, a farm
products supplier sampled the pastures on a grid. Lime and fertilizer were then
applied. Matching inputs to nutrient needs saved hundreds of dollars.
FOOD PLOTS. Smith uses his hand-held GPS and rides his four-wheeler to measure
the perimeter of the farm's wildlife food plots. Then he can plan seed and
fertilizer purchases.
POND MANAGEMENT. When a consultant needed to know the surface area of a pond for
stocking fish, Smith circled the pond with his GPS and estimated the water
surface area.
FISHING. After purchasing the hand-held GPS, Smith bought a map with waypoints
marked for deep-water fishing structures. He programmed those waypoints into the
GPS unit to locate sunken wrecks and other fish attractors.
HUNTING. On an elk-hunting trip, Smith entered his base camp waypoint into the
hand-held unit and relied on GPS to keep from getting lost.
Here's something else Daniel Boone said: "All you need for happiness is a good
gun, a good horse and a good wife." If Daniel were alive today, he'd probably
add, "and a good GPS."
A unit with the features Jason Smith paid $300 for seven years ago is now about
$100 to $200. But GPS units eventually become outdated. Smith is shopping for a
new unit that will take a spot on the top shelf of his toolbox.
For GPS information, see www.garmin.com and www.magellangps.com.