Technology can be daunting at first, but once it is adopted and the value is realized, many of us wonder how we lived without it. Technology in farming is no different. “Yield monitors and autosteer technology have become very important in farming,” says Scott Kibbie who farms near Emmetsburg, Iowa. He says it would be hard to go back to life without those tools.
Kibbie, like many farmers, probably never envisioned using equipment guided by satellites and microchips years ago, but now relies on it extensively.
Autosteer and other precision technology has become a necessity to many in agriculture. Precision agriculture is saving farmers money annually
by reducing overlaps and improving efficiencies when it comes to fertilizer and pesticide applications for crops, planting, spraying and more.
“Farmers using guidance systems and basic precision ag technologies potentially can save anywhere from $2 to $8 per acre,” says John Fulton, a professor of engineering and biosystems at Auburn University. “For farmers utilizing more advanced precision ag tools, the savings would be higher, around $15 per acre. That allows producers to purchase additional equipment and technology to improve their operations.”
In addition, there is substantial savings in time and labor for producers who have incorporated variable-rate technology, guidance systems, automatic section control and other precision ag tools into their operations report. Many of those farmers also have found that the technologies help them document their field operations more effectively, Fulton adds.
For some, precision technology is allowing older farmers to keep working longer and more easily manage their acres.
Kevin Rempp of Montezuma, Iowa, says his retired father is still helping on the farm.
“He never learned to run a personal computer, but if you took away his autosteer, he’d be mad,” Rempp jokes.
In addition to improving farmers’ profit margins, precision agriculture also is allowing these producers to farm in more environmentally sustainable ways.
“Farmers have reduced the overall amount of pesticides and nutrients they apply to cropland and pastures by an average of 10 percent,” Fulton says. “With precision farming, inputs can be applied when and where they are needed, which can mean fewer trips across fields and that can lessen soil compaction and the risks of erosion and chemical runoff into surface water. The technology also allows farmers to document their field operations—what they did, exactly when they did it and how much they applied.”
For more than a decade, participants of the On-Farm Network®, a program of the Iowa Soybean Association, have used precision agriculture tools and technology to collect information to increase their profits from crop production.
Those farmers use a variety of tools, including remote sensing, GPS and yield monitors to collect data in real world conditions. Growers and agronomists follow protocols that ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data collected, yet are easy and practical to implement. Trials run throughout fields and are made up of replicated strips marked with GPS. The strips compare a grower’s normal practice with just one alternative, which can be a difference in products used, application method, timing, or other management practices.
New equipment purchases indicate a strong future for precision technology.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ 2012 Equipment Outlook report says sales of self-propelled sprayers have been strong in recent years. Sales were expected to be steady in 2012 and remain steady the next couple of years.
Smart phones and Apps deliver Information directly
In addition to large equipment, technology is arriving in the palm of farmers’ hands with smart phone and tablet use increasing.
As a result, new applications (apps) for agriculture are coming online, as well. Thousands of ag apps designed to help farmers with equipment or crop information are available.
John Nowatzki, Extension agricultural machine systems specialist for North Dakota State University, recently issued a list of ag machinery and farm technology apps that are useful. The list is available at the link listed at the end of this article.
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