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