Increasing productivity while also using less fuel, water, inputs and time may sound like a dream at today’s farmgate, but a new report called “The Benefits of Precision Ag in the United States” says that very dream is very much a reality for many farms and fields across the U.S.
The report, published collaboratively by Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, CropLife America and National Corn Growers Association, is a follow-up to the landmark 2020 study that first analyzed the potential of precision agriculture technologies to allow farmers and ranchers to do more with less.
It studies precision ag technologies like auto-guidance, machine section control, variable rate application, fleet analytics and telematics and precision irrigation in U.S. production of crops including corn, soybeans, cotton, peanuts, wheat, sorghum, potatoes, sugar beets, hay and alfalfa.
Quantifying the Impact: Inputs, Resources and Yield
Compared to the study five years ago, the trend of precision agriculture adoption is upward, with farmers reaping the benefits in quantifiable ways, according to Austin Gellings, senior director of agricultural services, AEM.
“The industry continues to see an improvement in input efficiency as a result of precision agriculture,” Gellings says. “Compared to five years ago, we have continued to see productivity increase while the comparative amount of herbicide, fertilizer, fuel and water used on a per unit basis continues to decline.”
The report details its findings of the current savings of critical inputs through precision agriculture, as well as what is possible through increased adoption, including:
- An estimated 4 billion pounds of fertilizer application was avoided due to precision agriculture technologies, with an estimated 7 billion pounds of additional fertilizer that could be avoided with broader adoption
- An estimated 54 million pounds of herbicide was avoided due to precision agriculture with an estimated 66 million pounds that could be avoided with broader adoption
The report didn’t stop with analysis of inputs, though. The research found similar savings in terms of fuel and water use as well, including:
- 147 million gallons of fuel saved, the equivalent of 283,000 cars off the road annually or 26,000 fewer flights
- Water use has decreased an estimated 5% as a result of precision agriculture, or the equivalent of an estimated 824,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water saved
The savings are helping to unlock an increase in overall productivity fueled by two decades of growth in U.S. corn and soybean yields, the report states.
Critically, the report not only highlights the strides made by adoption of precision agriculture, but what is possible with continued increases.
“The study references savings that could be achieved as a result of precision agricultural technologies if we were to reach full adoption, which we defined as 90-95% adoption,” says Gellings. “These numbers are not necessarily targeted goals, but rather a guiding light for the potential that remains within our industry.”
Quantifying the Impact: On-Farm Pain Points
Gellings encourages farmers to examine their operations for adoption opportunity.
“It is about identifying what the needs of your specific operation are and then identifying the proper technologies that can help you,” he says. “What are the biggest pain points that your operation faces? Once you pinpoint that, it is then about identifying what technologies address those needs while also fitting into the workflow of one’s operation.”
The report shares anonymous grower insights into how that analysis has paid off for their operation through precision agriculture technologies.
In the report, a Kansas farmer growing wheat, soybeans and alfalfa on their operation said, “We’re spraying less chemical, [targeted spray application technology] is saving us money, and it’s better for the environment.”
“We ran through our herbicide costs we were going to have and dropped them by two-thirds. That is going to make our sprayer payment.”
Similarly, a Minnesota corn and soybean farmer had this to say:
“We looked at what we were spending on postemergence weed control and felt we could justify [targeted spray application technology] if we sprayed only 50% of our acres post. In the end, we only sprayed 11% of our corn acres with postemergence herbicide and averaged only spraying 20% of our soybeans with both applications.”
Quantifying the Impact: Agriculture’s Solution Through Precision
The organizations behind the report are hoping that it will serve as a catalyst into conversations with policymakers and consumers around stewardship within the agriculture industry.
“When it comes to all of the conversations that are happening, whether it be healthy food, the environment, or a number of other issues, the solution at the end of the day tends to already exist and that solution is farmers,” says Gellings. “Farmers have, for generations, done what they believe is best for the land and the communities that they live within and serve.”
“Precision agriculture and all of the technologies that come with that term are nothing more than a tool to help them accomplish that goal at the end of the day,” he says. “None of these will be the silver bullet to solve any and all issues, but when chosen based on the needs and capabilities of a farm and then paired with the other proper practices and inputs, they can help farmers get ahead.”
The report is available for free download through AEM.
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