Precision Agriculture and Technology

Adoption of technology has been important to production agriculture for decades. Through the adoption of technology and improved managerial practices, aggregate agricultural U.S. farm output in the United States tripled from 1948 to 2017 with almost no corresponding increase in

The use of information technology systems or digital technology has evolved through a number of stages over the last two to three decades. During the 1990s, it was recognized that more accurate and timely data could be used to make better decisions.

The increasing role that knowledge and information play in obtaining control of resources, increasing profits, and reducing risk in farming is occurring for two fundamental reasons. The first reason is the dramatic growth in knowledge and information of the chemical, biological, and physical processes involved in agricultural production.

This article discussed the adoption of precision agriculture technologies. Adoption rates have been very high during the last ten years, and given the increased venture capital devoted to developing these technologies is likely to continue at an accelerated pace.

This article discussed the possible payoffs for the agricultural producer, for the value chain, and for the
environment associated with the further adoption of precision agriculture. As we develop technologies
and tools to expand the toolkit for precision farming and digitization systems and platforms to enhance
farmer’s profit margins as well as create value for the value chain and society as a whole, the farming
sector will be increasingly transformed from “growing stuff” to biological manufacturing.