Precision agriculture is making it possible for current and future generations of farmers to be better managers. But, as with any technology, the old axiom of garbage in, garbage out, still applies.
Precision technology systems generate data on everything from machine performance to crop yields. For example, as outlined during the Northwest Indiana Precision Agriculture Conference in Lakeville on Feb. 24, this technology alerts the producer whenever his planter is not working efficiently, giving him the opportunity to make real-time corrections. In another example, a producer can regulate the application of fertilizers and chemicals through variable rate equipment, helping to ensure that no inputs are wasted.
Speakers say precision technology improves profitability and, perhaps more importantly, promotes environmental stewardship.
John Fulton, associate professor in agricultural and biosystems engineering at Ohio State University, said precision agriculture technology can help farmers demonstrate that they are doing the right thing from an environmental perspective. In his native state of Ohio, and even in Indiana, farmers' cropping systems are the focus of scientific study—and legislation.
Agricultural runoff has been blamed for the high algae levels that occurred last summer in Lake Erie. The poor water quality prompted a two-day drinking water ban in the city of Toledo, which relies on Lake Erie for its supply of fresh water.
Fulton said farmers will be facing "a whole new set of rules" if there is another incident like last August.
"Nutrients are the primary thing people are looking at," he told the audience of northern Indiana farmers.
Last Thursday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law a bill that bans farmers in the Lake Erie Basin Watershed from applying fertilizer and manure on frozen or snow-covered soil, when the top 2 inches of the soil are saturated from precipitation, or when the weather forecast includes a 50 percent or greater chance of precipitation. Exceptions are allowed if the manure is injected into the ground, incorporated within 24 hours or if applied on a growing crop. Most of Ohio's agricultural groups supported the legislation.
While Indiana farmers are not affected by that new Ohio law, the scientific scrutiny, nonetheless, extends beyond the state line, as parts of northeastern Indiana, including Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben and Wells counties, drain into the Lake Erie Basin Watershed.
In addition to helping farmers become better stewards, university experts say precision agriculture also helps farmers improve crop yields. Using harvest data, farmers can use yield maps to identify areas in a field that may need a nutrient boost. Then, during the following spring, farmers can use variable rate technology to apply more fertilizer, and even different seeds, to those specific areas.
So-called smart technology can boost farm profitability as well, Fulton said. In a year when seed costs will exceed fertilizer costs, Fulton said farmers can save as much as 5 percent on seed by having section control technology on their planters. He said this prevents double planting that often happens at the end of rows. Double planting also results in a 17 percent yield loss and significant harvest losses too.
"This isn't something new," Fulton said of precision technology, "but the idea around this is, it's a lot easier to do today than what we've ever had."
He cautioned that the data must be accurate before the technology will be of any use.
Bob Nielsen, Purdue University agronomist, said precision technology has raised the bar in terms of the tools available to help farmers be better managers. Last year's record corn crop was made possible by making poor soils more productive—through variable rate planters, remote sensing, yield maps and other advanced equipment.
"I love this technology," the Purdue agronomist said. "It has enabled me to do on-farm research that I never could have touched 10 years ago. It's cool stuff."
But Nielsen agrees with Fulton's point about the importance of having clean, accurate data. For example, he said not all systems have the same spatial density, referring to the number of data collection points in an acre. Traditional soil sampling relies on only four data points per acre, while precision agriculture technology can have between 300 and 600 data points per acre. The more data points, the better.
In areas where no data are collected, the computer has to fill in the gaps, or interpolate.
"They represent black holes with no information," Nielsen said.
Another concern is granularity, or poor resolution. This is sometimes caused by combine heads that do not match the size of each data point. The bigger the combine head, the more the computer has to fill in the gaps.
"When it works, it works," Nielsen said of precision technology. "I love it, but we've got to be smart about it. We've got to recognize the limitations and take the steps to address them."
With so much data being generated, farmers need to know how to analyze the data, and they should also be aware who else has access to it and who owns it. Some technology systems are "cloud"-based, meaning the information collected is stored on a server located off the farm. That server does the computation, providing data to the farmer and his crop advisors.
Fulton said an initial investment in a precision planting system can cost between $4,000 and $7,000 for a simple in-cab display for a variable rate planter. The savings realized will cover the cost of new technology.