Economics of Precision Agriculture, What Technologies are Being Adopted and Why Danny Dallas Soil 4213.

Economics of Precision Agriculture, What Technologies

are Being Adopted and Why

Danny Dallas

Soil 4213

Economics

• What matters the most to a farmer?

• Many different methods have been developed to help save the farmer money.

• Two of the easiest ways for farmers to implement precision agriculture would be:

– Soil testing

– Nitrogen-Rich Strips

• Not only are these the easiest they are also very cheap to practice

Soil Testing

• Increases productivity by identifying soil nutrients or soil chemical factors that are limiting plant growth

• Increases fertilizer use efficiency by indicating appropriate rates for different soils and crops

• Protects the environment by reducing over fertilization

• Identifies polluted or contaminated soils• All for as little as $10

Nitrogen-Rich Strips

• Simply add additional fertilizer to a strip in the middle of the field as a reference at planting

• N-Rich strips can tell the producer how much nitrogen the environment provides, as well as, how much N should be applied mid-season to achieve maximum yields

• By using the N-Rich strips and GreenSeeker the producer can estimate an extra $10/acre

Precision Agriculture

• Agronomical perspective: adjustment of cultural practices to take into account the real needs of the crop

• Technical perspective: better time management at the farm level

• Environmental perspective: reduction of agricultural

impacts • Economical perspective: increase

of the output and/or reduction of

the input, increase of efficiency

New Technologies

• Yield Monitors• Variable Rate Technology• GPS• Auto-Steer Capabilities• Remote Sensing

Technologies

• All of the new technology that is termed precision agriculture has all been proven to be beneficial to farmers

• The most widespread adoption of precision ag is no-till. Not necessarily in Oklahoma but on a nation wide scale

No-Till

• No-till farming has gained popularity outside of the U.S

• No-till is a must in many countries due to the extreme landscapes that are in production

Why are Technologies Not Being Adopted

• Right now many of the new technologies out there are extremely expensive

• For the average farmer the price for this equipment must be lowered

• Farmers don’t know what is out there– Some type of education must be done

Conclusion

• As the world population continues to grow and fewer and fewer acres are available for production; precision ag will be a must to continue to feed the world