Precision Agriculture Enhances Environmental Management

Precision farming technology can bring effective production improvements and generate income for farmers with better environmental management.

FREMONT, CA: With technological advancements impacting all sectors, the agriculture field has arrived at a new era. Using precision technology on equipment can have a positive effect on farmers and the environment. Experts are encouraging farmers to adopt these technologies to generate more outcomes by focusing on sustainability.

Precision agriculture uses technologies to improve sustainability through more efficient utilisation of critical inputs such as land, water, fuel, fertiliser, and pesticides. The usage of precision agriculture equipment reduced the inputs required to grow more and generate more yield from a farm.  The findings of several environmental studies on precision agriculture highlight the advantages of technological advancements in accelerating farming outcomes.

Environmental Advantages

Usage of precision agriculture technology has yielded enormous growth in maize and soybean farming over the past years. There is a potential for large output and savings with these technologies when used extensively. There are five major environmental benefits achieved through adopting precision agriculture technology.

• Yield benefits as a result of increased efficiency.

• Reduction in fertiliser usage owing to more precise placement.

• Decrease in the usage of pesticides due to more accurate application.

• Fuel savings due to improved monitoring and reduced overlap.

• Water savings are achieved through more efficient requirement recognition.

Mitigates Climate Issues

The reduction in greenhouse gases is an answer to the fact that modern agriculture is part of the climate solution. Precision agriculture tools alone save enough fuel to remove 200,000 cars from the road annually, all while preventing an area the size of 4.5 Yellowstone National Parks from being added to production because of yield increases.

Overview of Studies

As stated earlier, adopting precision agriculture equipment and technologies is leading to massive growth in yields and input savings.

• With the use of technology, productivity has increased by an estimated four per cent which has the potential to further increase to six per cent with broader adoption.

• Precision farming has improved fertiliser placement efficiency by seven per cent and the ability for further growth by an additional 14 per cent.

• Usage of herbicide has decreased an estimated nine per cent and is expected to further decrease by 15 per cent.

• Fossil fuel use has been reduced by an estimated six per cent and has the potential for a further decline of 16 per cent.

• The use of precision agriculture has resulted in a fall of four per cent in water consumption, with a potential reduction of 21 per cent.

Overcoming Challenges

Various operational improvements are observed by using precision agriculture to increase production–both short-term and long-term yield–and environmental and economic benefits. However, more efforts are needed to achieve full adoption of the technology and reap the enormous industry-wide gain in yield and input savings. Several companies are collaborating to advance the technologies and practices to identify the possibilities of production.

• Implement policies that reward new approaches to agricultural production.

• Enhance the infrastructure, such as wireless broadband over croplands and rangelands, that enables precision agriculture.

• Increase farm income so that farmers have money to invest in their businesses.

• Boost consumer awareness of precision agriculture's environmental advantages.