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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Each year new precision ag products come into the marketplace, but their fit for a farming operation needs to be carefully evaluated to make sure they help improve the bottom line, said a Purdue University expert.
"This is typically done by either raising net income, which means increasing yield, or finding a way to reduce costs," said Bruce Erickson, a Purdue Extension precision ag specialist. "Anytime we can do that, there is a profit opportunity."
Erickson said he believes that more nitrogen sensor-based technology will be coming into the marketplace, especially if nitrogen and fuel costs continue to increase.
Because nitrogen is the most expensive input for growing corn, this technology could directly affect the bottom line by helping determine the amount of nitrogen needed, he said. Many companies are currently working to find ways to be more precise with nitrogen fertilizer application.
The adoption of technology isn't necessarily smooth, Erickson said. Some products are rapidly embraced while others may struggle depending on their complexity and ability to influence the bottom line.
"It's an up and down cycle, and precision ag is in the middle," Erickson said. "It's complicated because precision ag is a part of a series of technologies brought about by the ability to pinpoint a specific spot on the Earth very precisely via satellites."
For instance, grid soil sampling and variable rate phosphorous and potassium application technologies were embraced very quickly at the onset, but recently have not increased as steadily, Erickson said.
"It seems farmers are waiting for another technology to decrease the cost of soil sampling or make it more automated because of the high human labor costs involved," he said.
In addition to improving bottom line, precision ag is driven by automation and simplicity.
"More automated technologies will be embraced in the future - products like Bt corn hybrids, where the farmer doesn't have to know how it was done or works, they just have to know how to open the seed bag and plant it," Erickson said. "Let's face it, farmers have things they need to be concerned with, not only during the growing season but other times of the year, too.
"In order to be profitable, many farmers have expanded their operations or gone to specialty crops. Farming is complex by nature, and any way you can reduce that complexity, most farmers are going to embrace that type of technology. It's like the cell phone. We don't need to know how it works or what's inside, but it gets the job done and is similar enough to a traditional telephone that it can be used with little effort."
One of the more successful technologies is automatic guidance for tractors. For example, if a farmer has a 5 percent overlap on rows, auto guidance can potentially cut the overlap to 2 percent, which translates into direct savings in fuel, input costs and time, Erickson said.
"In the next five to 10 years, precision agriculture will continue to affect every aspect of farming and will be driven by the opportunity to profit," he said.
More information on precision ag will be available at Ohio State University's Farm Science Review on Sept. 18-20 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. Erickson will be available to answer questions and will have a display set up in the Plant Diagnostics Tent, located along Friday Avenue.
Tickets are $8 at the gate or $5 in advance when purchased from county offices of Ohio State University Extension or participating agribusinesses. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 18-19, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 20. More information about the Farm Science Review is available online at http://fsr.osu.edu/
Writer: Julie Douglas, (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu
Source: Bruce Erickson, (765) 494-9557, berickso@purdue.edu
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