Getting Started

While the benefits of using precision technology are clear (see our research), paths toward effective use are many and varied.

Some growers start with a yield monitor to understand field variability and begin by making small changes in how they manage certain portions of the field on their own.

Others begin with a fertilizer dealer that offers services such as field mapping and variable-rate application.

It’s important to remember that benefits from precision ag come from knowing more and being able to do something about it, whether it’s setting up management zones, seeding more precisely or changing how you drain a field.

In the graphic close-by, we’ve arranged many of the tools and activities of precision farming in the part of the season where you are most likely to apply those tools, whether planning, planting, growing or harvest.

As background, you may also want to understand a few basic components of precision, such as:

• Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
• Variable-rate planting and application
• Field mapping software
• Yield monitors
• Automatic steering and guidance
• Imagery and remote sensing.