Farming: There's an App for That

As agriculture becomes more high tech, a growing number of farmers are using GPS-equipped machinery supported by platforms that collect data on plants, soil, and weather. Termed “precision agriculture,” these technologies help them identify and manage variability within fields. Armed with data, farmers can fine-tune their operations, potentially increasing yields and profits. —Kelsey Nowakowski

New technologies allow farmers to harness data in order to increase their land’s productivity. Most begin the cycle by collecting information about their crop yields.

HARVEST YIELDS

GPS-equipped combines, used for harvesting crops, are outfitted with yield monitors that collect geo-referenced data, revealing variations within each field.

GROUND TRUTH

Farmers take soil samples from different parts of each field, then create maps by analyzing soil structure and chemical properties like nitrogen levels.

WEATHER WATCH

Hyper-local monitoring allows for both short and long-term forecasts and extreme-weather alerts. Farmers get real-time information via mobile apps.

PRESCRIPTIVE MAPS

Maps created from the data tell farmers when and how much seed, water, fertilizer, and pesticide to use in each field area as well as when to harvest.

DATA MANAGEMENT

Farmers manage data on user-friendly platforms run by agricultural companies that use the information to tailor and improve their products and services.

ANALYSIS

Computers analyze the data, helping farmers make precise and predictive decisions for maximum productivity.

GUIDANCE SYSTEMS

With the help of GPS, farmers steer machinery more accurately—preventing an overlap of crop rows, for example—and easily, reducing fatigue.

VARY APPLICATIONS

Farmers use variable-rate technology to optimize inputs on each part of the field, placing the right amount of fertilizer and pesticide where and when it’s needed.

MONITORING

Field monitors and other sensing technology are used to remotely track field conditions such as soil moisture. Drones have not yet been widely utilized.

With more ability to scale, large farms have higher rates of adoption for the most popular precision agriculture technologies, including soil and yield mapping and guidance systems.

2010 data

Mapping is most practical, applying to both seeding density and fertilizer use. Variable-rate technology (VRT) allows farmers to customize, planting different types of seeds at multiple locations with a single pass of the tractor. But VRT comes at a high cost, requiring specialized machinery for each crop.

Farmers take a number of variables into account when deciding to implement precision agriculture technologies, including farm size, yields, and market prices.

FARM SIZE

Returns are estimated in dollars per acre, so larger farms stand to gain more from the technology and can allocate a larger budget to precision agriculture.

YIELDS

With yields over 180 bushels per acre, 30 to and 50 percent of farms adopt the technology. With yields under 140 bushels per acre, the adoption rate is less than 17 percent.

PRICES

Farmers tend not to invest

when commodity prices are

down, usually due an oversupply of a crop. Since other costs remain fixed, lower revenue may not cover the investment.

The average profit for U.S. corn farms is $345 per acre. After overhead expenses, the net return is $85 per acre. Precision agriculture technologies can add marginal gains.

Over hundreds of acres, precision technologies boost farm profit, and costs are recouped within a few years.

Some of the country's 250,000 small corn farms are turning to precision techniques. Expert David Schimmelpfennig of the U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated how a typical operation might introduce and benefit from enhanced production.

Small, family-owned corn farms are predominant in these states.

Average size

Precision agriculture technologies require investing, but the benefits outweigh the cost.

(Estimated value)

Skilled workers are needed to apply technologies.

Savings are highest from variable-rate technologies (VRT), since they optimize all inputs such as seeds, water, fertilizer, and pesticides. Guidance systems and precision mapping can assist VRT, but are also helpful for crop production by themselves.

It’s not just applications or software; investments in machinery are required.

Graphic: ÁLVARO VALIÑO. SOURCE: DAVID SCHIMMELPFENNIG, ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE,

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE