National average adoption rates have increased for precision agriculture (PrecAg) technologies used to produce many field crops.  PrecAg makes use of information collected on the farm to target site-specific, intensive management of farm production.  The Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) allows tracking of row-crop patterns of adoption of individual technologies.  Soil, yield, and aerial data mapping that use global positioning systems (GPS) show mixed trends of adoption.  Tractor and combine self-steering guidance systems that also use GPS coordinates have been more uniformly successful. Variable rate input-application technologies (VRT) can make use of GPS and prescription maps to apply different, precise levels of inputs on one foot to the next in a farmer’s fields.  VRT has recently gained in popularity for seeding and pesticide applications relative to the more common VRT fertilization.  Soybean farms with higher soil variability tend to apply more chemicals with GPS mapping and with VRT, but not with guidance systems.  Custom applications of chemicals by service providers hired by farmers, are higher with GPS maps on high variability soil, and lower on low variability soil.  Regional differences in the use of PrecAg in soybean production, and differences in farm size, influence the overall U.S. relationship between soil variability and the use of chemicals. <br/>

Precision agriculture adoption and farm chemical use: Regions, soil variability, and farm size

2019 Fall National Meeting

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