Argentina Digs Into Data-Driven Precision Agriculture

By Global Ag Tech Initiative

Autopilot systems, GPS receivers, and mapping, yield monitor systems, drones, NDVI imaging, weed sensors, automatic section cutting, variable dosing, AI, blockchain, big data… Even pioneers of direct seeding could not have imagined, 30 years ago, so many technical terms raining down on modern farming, writes Lucas Villamil on WorldCrunch.com.

The first thing any producer or contractor will tell you is that automatic pilots and variable rate seeding and application (VRA) are now established as basic requirements. These applications must now be incorporated in any new machine, and have a great impact on the efficiency and quality of field operations.

“Autopilot systems are a highly adopted technology. As the signal improves, there will be more variable-rate seeding and application with section cuts,” says Diego Villarroel, a precision farming specialist at the Manfredi agricultural testing station in Argentina’s central province of Cordoba. The most widely sold technologies he cites are seeding control monitors, satellite mappers and yield monitors, though he says operators need more training in their use.