We started using more digital technology in the last 10 years. We have gone to GPS (Global Positioning System) for a handful of different operations from cultivating to planting. By using GPS on the tractors, the entire process from leveling the field to planting the seed to irrigating the crop has been much more efficient than in the past. GPS is used in a lot of applications throughout most aspects of agriculture.
John Boelts, Vice President of the Yuma County Farm Bureau, Yuma County, Arizona, USA
GPS makes farming faster and more efficient
The development and implementation of precision agriculture or site-specific farming has been made possible by combining the Global Positioning System (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS). These technologies enable the coupling of real-time data collection with accurate position information, leading to the efficient manipulation and analysis of large amounts of geospatial data. GPS-based applications in precision farming are being used for farm planning, field mapping, soil sampling, tractor guidance, crop scouting, variable rate applications, and yield mapping. GPS allows farmers to work during low visibility field conditions such as rain, dust, fog, and darkness.
Benefits
- Precision soil sampling, data collection, and data analysis, enable localized variation of chemical applications and planting density to suit specific areas of the field.
- Accurate field navigation minimizes redundant applications and skipped areas, and enables maximum ground coverage in the shortest possible time.
- Ability to work through low visibility field conditions such as rain, dust, fog, and darkness increases productivity.
- Accurately monitored yield data enables future site-specific field preparation.
- Elimination of the need for human "flaggers" increases spray efficiency and minimizes over-spray.
