The Era of Precision Agriculture
With your Southeast Regional Ag Report, I'm Trevor Williams.
The USDA has identified three pillars of sustainability for the agriculture industry: reduced environmental impact, increased productivity and yield, and a better overall economic result. Today's precision agriculture (PA) technologies are helping crop farmers make significant gains with all three pillars.
AEM Senior Vice President of Ag Services Curt Blades recently said, "If a farmer is going to change a practice or invest in new technology, the economic impact of that action has to be part of the conversation."
The three USDA sustainability pillars line up perfectly with AEM's newly released research, Environmental Benefits of Precision Ag, co-developed with the American Soybean Association, CropLife America, and National Corn Growers Association.
The study examined five key areas of the crop farming industry where precision agriculture can make both an environmental and economic impact, and then examined five key areas of PA that can make an impact in those areas.
“Farmers are the original stewards of the land and have been doing good things for a long time," said Blades. "Technology now affords farmers the ability to do even more. This technology also helps farmers close the loop with insightful data that helps them monitor what they are doing to determine if there is room for improvement going forward."
