As the world’s population continues to increase, so does the need to produce more food globally. Farmers struggle to keep up with demand while dealing with setbacks such as weather-related incidents and poor crop yields. To adapt to the increased need while managing challenges, farmers are forgoing traditional farming methods in exchange for precision farming. Precision agriculture helps reduce waste, increase crop yields, and reduce security or economic risks.
Traditional farming methods focus on managing entire fields. Decisions are made to plant, irrigate, harvest, and apply fertilizer or pesticides based on conditions in the region and historical data. With precision agriculture, farmers use a combination of robots, sensors, mapping tools, GPS, and data analytic software to monitor a plant’s health. Precision farming allows farmers to customize care for their plants (i.e. more water, less water, more fertilizer or pesticides) without increasing labor costs.
Drones equipped with cameras and sensors can wirelessly send real-time data and images on individual plants. The information can include leaf shape, stem size, and moisture levels nearby the plant. Computers review the data and look for signs of stress and health. Precision ag feedback is immediate enabling farmers to deliver water, fertilizer, or pesticides in specific doses to the necessary areas. Precision agriculture technology can also tell farmers the best time to plant or harvest their crops.
By taking the guesswork out of farming, precision ag saves times, reduces chemical and water use, and promotes higher and healthier crop yields while reducing waste. With these time and money-savers combined, farmers are seeing an increase in their bottom line while conserving resources and chemical-use.
While it all sounds too good to be true, not all growers are adopting precision farming for various reasons. The upfront cost of equipment poses a significant barrier. This includes the expense to scale technology to large row-crop production systems. In addition, a lack of high-speed internet or broadband can be an obstacle in some remote locations. While other experienced farmers may be wary of technology or less computer-savvy for the startup process and data collection.
Yet even with these challenges, the cost savings over time may help offset current financial concerns. If long-time producers are hesitant to embrace new technology, the next generation of tech-savvy farmers may be quicker to adopt the precision ag approach to farming. As demand for food continues to increase, precision farming could be the solution needed to effectively and efficiently manage food production.
At Insitu, we specialize in precision agriculture drones and technology to help growers improve farming methods and increase crop yields. Learn more about precision farming technology by contacting us today.
Traditional farming methods focus on managing entire fields. Decisions are made to plant, irrigate, harvest, and apply fertilizer or pesticides based on conditions in the region and historical data. With precision agriculture, farmers use a combination of robots, sensors, mapping tools, GPS, and data analytic software to monitor a plant’s health. Precision farming allows farmers to customize care for their plants (i.e. more water, less water, more fertilizer or pesticides) without increasing labor costs.
Drones equipped with cameras and sensors can wirelessly send real-time data and images on individual plants. The information can include leaf shape, stem size, and moisture levels nearby the plant. Computers review the data and look for signs of stress and health. Precision ag feedback is immediate enabling farmers to deliver water, fertilizer, or pesticides in specific doses to the necessary areas. Precision agriculture technology can also tell farmers the best time to plant or harvest their crops.
By taking the guesswork out of farming, precision ag saves times, reduces chemical and water use, and promotes higher and healthier crop yields while reducing waste. With these time and money-savers combined, farmers are seeing an increase in their bottom line while conserving resources and chemical-use.
While it all sounds too good to be true, not all growers are adopting precision farming for various reasons. The upfront cost of equipment poses a significant barrier. This includes the expense to scale technology to large row-crop production systems. In addition, a lack of high-speed internet or broadband can be an obstacle in some remote locations. While other experienced farmers may be wary of technology or less computer-savvy for the startup process and data collection.
Yet even with these challenges, the cost savings over time may help offset current financial concerns. If long-time producers are hesitant to embrace new technology, the next generation of tech-savvy farmers may be quicker to adopt the precision ag approach to farming. As demand for food continues to increase, precision farming could be the solution needed to effectively and efficiently manage food production.
At Insitu, we specialize in precision agriculture drones and technology to help growers improve farming methods and increase crop yields. Learn more about precision farming technology by contacting us today.
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