Agricultural producers have increasingly adopted precision agriculture (PA) technologies over the past two decades. Agriculture Risk Management Survey (ARMS) data collected and analyzed by USDA (Schimmelpfennig) showed substantial adoption of various PA technologies, including yield monitoring and mapping, soil sampling and mapping, guidance systems, and variable rate technologies.
The survey research provided estimates of adoption rates for various PA technologies for a sample of NFBI producers going back to the 1990s. PA technologies include those tied to operational efficiency, such as global positioning system (GPS) guidance, automated section control, and telematics. These technologies can improve efficiency through reduced overlap and input usage as well as real-time monitoring and reporting of equipment performance. Other PA technologies address productivity differences and variability within a field and include yield monitors, site-specific soil sampling, variable rate application of inputs, and crop imagery. These technologies can improve productivity and profitability by managing variability and targeting inputs more efficiently within a field.
However, much of the rapid adoption of PA technologies has happened over the past several years during a period of increased farm profitability. Whether the adoption of PA technology drives increased profitability or whether increased profitability drives adoption is an important question. Recent research by Mike Castle, Brad Lubben, Joe Luck, and Taro Mieno at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studied this question to assess the economic impact of PA technology adoption in cooperation with Tina Barrett and producer members of Nebraska Farm Business, Inc. (NFBI), a farm recordkeeping and analysis association. The research is encapsulated in Castle’s M.S. thesis of December 2016 and provides the background for this discussion.
Castle’s assessment of previous work on the impact of PA technology found the majority of studies looked at the returns from PA under hypothetical or simulated conditions, showing the potential or budgeted returns from technology adoption. But, the actual realized impact of PA technology adoption on profitability remained largely unanswered. By tying primary data on PA technology adoption collected through producer surveys with available, secondary financial data over time for a panel of NFBI producers, the research directly analyzed the question of PA technology adoption and farm profitability.
Precision Agriculture Adoption
The survey research provided estimates of adoption rates for various PA technologies for a sample of NFBI producers going back to the 1990s. PA technologies include those tied to operational efficiency, such as global positioning system (GPS) guidance, automated section control, and telematics. These technologies can improve efficiency through reduced overlap and input usage as well as real-time monitoring and reporting of equipment performance. Other PA technologies address productivity differences and variability within a field and include yield monitors, site-specific soil sampling, variable rate application of inputs, and crop imagery. These technologies can improve productivity and profitability by managing variability and targeting inputs more efficiently within a field.
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