Precision Agriculture Promotes Both Profitability and Sustainability

The College of Agriculture with the support of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System are collaborating in the research and development of precision agriculture, a method of economically managing crops in both a sustainable and profitable way.

Precision agriculture is the utilization of geospatial technology in agriculture to efficiently produce food, fiber, feed and energy. The data provided by this technology allows farmers the ability to intelligently manage crop production by limiting application of water, fertilizer and pesticide to where and how much is actually needed.

GPS maps and automated field systems allow farmers to precisely navigate and monitor crops down to a meter. These technologies pinpoint areas in the field that are in need of special attention and allow farm managers to apply resources as needed to specific areas. This management process is often automated and almost completely eliminates human error in application and maintenance of crops.

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Limiting the application of resources to precisely what is required for production increases the sustainability of farms across the world. Precision agriculture virtually eliminates over application of fertilizers and pesticides that can have a negative impact the environment.

John Fulton, assistant professor and extension specialist in biosystems engineering, explains that producing feed or fiber on a farm is a business and precision agriculture provides more data and resources for farmers to utilize and make more informed decisions.

“Decisions made for profitability is something people talk about a lot, but we also have to consider the environmental and ecological component within that,” said Fulton. “With this technology in place we are able to make food safer and be better stewards to the environment.”
Fulton said farmers utilizing precision agriculture and geospatial technology can see anywhere from two to eight dollar increase in profit margin per acre.

Satellite images of farms allow crop producers to gauge the health of specific plants through infrared and thermal imagery. Plants struggling to survive are differentiated from healthy plants in these pictures by distinguishing features such as color. Different wavelengths applied to images distinguish pinpoint areas in the field for farmers to diagnostically solve problems.

The Auburn College of Agriculture has helped create a method of precision agriculture called “automatic section control.” This technology regulates the application of resources by programming route guidance, maintenance history and other field data into automatic farming tools.

Robotics integrated with GPS technology allow farmers to automate application of resources and eliminate human error that can cause over application of fertilizer or pesticide. Over application can be potentially harmful to consumers with excess pesticides, or the environment with excess fertilizer run off. Automation also reduces the cost of inputs by limiting application to what and where it is needed.