Why Precision Agriculture Is The Future Of Farming
Precision Farming: The Future Of Agriculture Technology
What Is Precision Agriculture?
A newer trend, precision agriculture uses technology to increase crop yield and profitability, while simultaneously reducing the amount of conventional inputs needed to raise those crops, such as acreage, water, fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. Essentially, precision agriculture uses technology so that farmers can use less to grow more. One example is GPS devices on tractors, which enable farmers to plant their crops in more efficient patterns that work within the landscape. They can also decrease fuel usage and time by driving more precisely. Field levels can be checked and corrected with lasers, meaning that water can be applied to crops in a way that reduces run-off into local streams and ditches, and also reduces overall water usage. This is not only advantageous for farmers, but also for the environment as a whole. Precision agriculture is one method that holds a lot of potential for increasing the sustainability and crop yield of mono agriculture.
Analyzing Big Data In Precision Agriculture
One area of precision agriculture that is currently under development is the use of technology for collecting, monitoring, and analyzing data in specific areas. This includes weather patterns, soil quality, pests, and the hydration conditions of specific areas. Hydration can be measured as specifically as by the individual plant, so that farmers can make the best and most precise decisions to optimize their crop output.
It’s an ongoing challenge to collect and transmit this data in ways that are useful and meaningful, but innovators are continually working to improve this promising area of precision agriculture. One current challenge with data collection is the expense, because it is such a new field. In some areas, university students in agricultural and technological fields are working to develop apps and other systems that would use Bluetooth to send the data directly to cell phones or computers and make it available to the farmers, ranchers, and researchers who could use it.
Moving From Crop Dusters To Agriculture Drones
Crop dusters are expensive, and carry obvious risks, since they often fly only 10 feet above the ground at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. As an affordable and safer alternative, the use of drones to manage agriculture is steadily growing in popularity. They avoid the cost of a plane and eliminate risk to a pilot. Any crashes will happen in an open field, virtually eliminating risk to humans. In addition to being able to spray crops, drones can take photos of crops so that plant health and growth can be monitored virtually. Farmers can use the data and precision of a drone to apply insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizer targeted only toward specific areas as needed.
Farm Bots
Robotics is another innovative technology involved in precision agriculture. Large and small robots have been designed to manage a number of different jobs, which can range from applying fertilizer between rows of corn to pulling weeds around some crops. They can do the work traditionally done by hand or machinery in a more efficient way. Another promising area of robotics is insect control. Traditionally, insect traps must be manually monitored, cleaned, and reset. However, some companies are creating robots that can perform this process automatically. Farmers can even use apps on their phone to track pest levels, enabling them to reduce the amount of insecticides that need to be used.
Since precision agriculture is still a newer development in agriculture, time will tell if these technologies will create long-term improvement in crop yield and farm output. However, research so far has shown decreased cost and increased profitability, and no one could argue that a reduced need for insecticides and herbicides is detrimental for the environment.
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