One local farmer is using the same technology pilots use in planes to know their location to harvest his crops.

Joel Newhard of Newhard Farms, Ruchs-ville, North Whitehall, has been using the latest in global positioning systems to harvest his 300 fields, covering more than 2,500 acres in a 10-mile radius in the Valley.

The satellite receiver mounted to the front of his combine tracks about 20 different satellites.

The system has a plus or minus 6-inch accuracy, he said.

A color-coded map tells Newhard how much he planted, and where and how much he has harvested from a field. The more green on the screen, the better the yield from a field will be.

"In the past, we had a lot of notebooks with what was planted and harvested," he said. "Years ago, the only way to know how much was harvested was to weigh the grain trucks.

"It [GPS system] records every bit of data, such as the number of seeds we planted, and how much we harvested."

Newhard purchased the GPS system to help save on expenses and for better record keeping.

"Using the GPS we can save a lot of cost, because it will tell us where we have already planted, sprayed and cut," he said.

With the GPS, data from the system can be transferred to a computer, printed out and analyzed.

Newhard uses a memory stick to transfer the data from the GPS system in his tractor to his computer.

During the winter, he will analyze the data to see the areas that yielded the best crops; the ones that did not and the areas needing more fertilizing or rain.

"We already have three to four years of yield data on our computer," Newhard said. "The true way to use this data is to overlay the colored maps."

The GPS system will save the farm about $10,000 a year, but it will take two to three years to recoup the cost of the system.

"We have the latest technology that other businesses would have," Newhard said. "Just like any other business trying to watch its costs, we are trying to watch our costs, too."