SeedBed: Maxing your profits from precision farming

Calculating the likely benefits from using precision techniques is not always simple.
Here’s what 10 years of experience tells us about the potential savings

by KEITH REID

A decade ago, precision farming was being hailed as the next great new thing, and many farmers jumped on the bandwagon. Today, the buzz has died down, or at least changed. However, it is worth looking at what we have learned over the past 10 years to see where the greatest potential exists for profit now, and in the future.

There are two ways by which precision farming could improve the bottom line – decrease the cost of inputs, or improve crop yields or quality, as long as these improvements are greater than the cost to achieve them.

Better Farming - April 2008