Precision Ag 2013: Top 5 Technologies To Watch

Greg Sauder, Precision PlantingLet’s face it — keeping tabs on the latest technologies in precision agriculture is a challenge. Over the past few years, market innovations and new system approaches have been introduced at an often rapid-fire pace.

It’s for this reason that Precision Ag Special Reports first introduced its annual Tech Top 5 issue. Although there are numerous technological advances each growing season, our pool of industry experts has normally been able to distill this list down to the five technologies that are leading the marketplace’s drive forward. In fact, in most years, the insiders’ lists have virtually matched, with only a few alterations in rank order being the key difference.

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But not this year. For the 2013 Tech Top 5, there was little agreement among our market watchers. All told, there were closer to one dozen technology categories cited as being worthy of making this year’s Tech Top 5 list. In truth, the situation reminded us of one of those spinning prize wheels at the county fair, landing on a different symbol each time.

Perhaps Jeremy Wilson, technology specialist for Crop IMS, Effingham, IL, summed up the Tech Top 5 picture in 2013 best with this statement: “The rest of 2013 and 2014 have enormous potential to bring new tools for precision ag enthusiasts to be better service providers, agronomists and growers.”

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Even without universally agreement among precision ag watchers, Precision Ag Special Reports was ultimately able to identify the top five technology trends for 2013. Most of the categories on this year’s list are similar to ones from prior years, with one notable exception at No. 5.

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1. Smart Devices

Smartphone and tabletNot surprisingly, the widespread adoption of smart devices such as smartphones and tablets continues to top the Tech Top 5 listing in 2013. Since they burst onto the scene a few years ago, smart devices are now virtually commonplace in many areas of society, including in agriculture. Furthermore, according to Tim Norris, manager of Ag Info Tech, LLC, Gambler, OH, this pace of penetration should only quicken in the coming months and years.

“I do feel that smart devices will continue to be adapted by agriculture,” says Norris. “First, it’s technology that lots of people seem to have already. Second, they already have a data plan on that device so telemetry and data transfer with those devices makes sense to me. And third, the Internet quality and availability seems to be improving at a fairly rapid pace, which makes the devices much more usable for ag.”

Crop IMS’ Wilson agrees, also pointing the growth of apps for smart devices as another key driver for the adoption trend. “Some of these applications are a completely native apps while others are simply browser-based applications that allow the users to have access to more information than ever before,” he says. “The development of these apps will allow a service provider to bring new value to growers in ways not even considered just a couple of years ago.”

Sean Nettleton, precision farming specialist at Wabash Valley Service Co., Grayville, IL, also sees app development as a key to the continued growth of smart device use in agriculture. “When you look around the industry, everyone seems to have either a smartphone or a tablet these days,” says Nettleton. “Now we are just waiting on more apps to become integrated into our machinery and daily lives.”

2. Data Solutions

agrivaultAt No. 2 on the 2013 list is the continuing quest for data solutions or integration. According to Nettleton, this is an important area for ag retailers as they attempt to become more efficient when using logistics programs to integrate such daily activities as the routing of their application equipment to the billing process.

“We want to use these programs to maximize the efficiency of our application equipment and people to make sure that we serve our customers in the best way possible,” he says. “This is also important for those who are attempting to offer data management services to their customers so that the information that is being collected can be processed and used to help make important decisions on such things as fertilizer, seeding and chemical applications.”

According to Ag Info Tech’s Norris, growers are also keen to find new data solutions for their operations. “I feel data management and the ease of growers transferring data and online solutions that are becoming available will make it much easier for growers to mine their own data for valuable information,” he says.

3. Variable-Rate Application (VRA) Seeding

Variable Rate SeedingAnother of the top technologies in 2013 is variable-rate application (VRA) seeding. According to most industry insiders, this technology continues to develop at a fast clip, with users quickly working out some hiccups in adoption. “There are several planters out there that are capable, but people are not sure how to implement this technology,” says Norris. “But with the tests we have been doing over the past couple of years, this will be a growing segment.”

Of course, others in the precision ag industry believe a single word will ultimately drive VRA seeding development in the years ahead — FieldScripts.

“From my perspective, the biggest potential influence for VRA seeding is from the interest generated by Monsanto and its FieldScripts program,” says Sid Parks, manager of precision farming for GROWMARK, Bloomington, IL. “The cooperator agrees to provide a field boundary, current grid soil tests and two years of yield data and Monsanto will use this data, plus its data from seed plots, to customize a plan for DeKalb seed. Whether the program works to provide the yield response or the response comes from the use of the required precision planting equipment, it remains to be seen. But the biggest advantage for the industry is if Monsanto is successful, it will establish a benchmark for others to imitate.”

4. In-Cab Solutions

Credit: United Soybean Board

Credit: United Soybean Board

In past years, the Tech Top 5 has separated out such technologies as automatic steering systems and boom section control. However, in 2013, these have been grouped under the heading of in-cab solutions, which finished at No. 4 on the list.

According to Parks, in-cab solutions continue to be a growth area for precision agriculture, with less reluctance on the part of users to integrate these systems into their machines. “I think boom section control and guidance topics are basically being adopted as new equipment is put into service,” he says. “The industry is far from 100% adoption, but I feel that the debate over the benefit of these systems is over.”

Ag Info Tech’s Norris agrees. “Aftermarket guidance systems seem to be leveling out to starting to slow down in our trade area,” he says. “I believe that is because of the high percentage of new machinery that is coming from the factory is fully-equipped with these kinds of automatic steering systems.”

5. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

AutoCopter, InfoAg 2011 Field DayThe last item on the 2013 Tech Top 5 is completely new to the list — unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. Anyone who attended this year’s InfoAg Conference can attest to the fact that UAV providers were most numerous among the exhibitors.

According to Wabash Valley’s Nettleton, UAVs could be gamechangers to certain parts of the agricultural industry in the long run. “There is really unlimited potential for these drones,” he says. “Drones have the potential to literally take crop scouting to another level not easily achieved today. Aerial imagery could be taken and viewed instantaneously rather than waiting on satellite imagery or images collected by a normal airplane.”

In the future, predicts Nettleton, UAVs could be used to not only for crop scouting but to perform spot spraying in the fields or to make recommendations to grower-customers in real time. “This technology will certainly be on this list for years to come, as it is something that many feel can be a huge revenue generator for agriculture, for both growers and service providers,” he says. “Drone manufacturers are going to come out of the woodwork with prices and technology, from one end of the spectrum to the other.”

Others, however, while citing the potential for UAVs in the marketplace, are a bit more cautious in their enthusiasm for the segment.

“I am intrigued by UAVs, but with the Federal Aviation Administration regulations in place that limit commercialization, it is going to be a difficult hill to climb before the industry is willing to invest much time or effort,” says GROWMARK’s Parks. “Assuming we can get the data acquisition issue solved, there is still the delivery of the data. Pictures by themselves offer limited value, and the automation is lacking.”

But, he adds, it will be the end-user of UAVs that gauge their acceptance or rejection. “The growers and service providers will ultimately determine the value by their willingness to invest in the service,” says Parks. “Initial enthusiasm will eventually face the reality of customers and their unwillingness to pay for it.”

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