Precision Really Does Pay

Cindy ZimmermanEducation, General

Precision Ag InstituteAccording to a new technology adoption study, farmers say Precision.AgWired.com.

More than eight out of ten soybean, corn, wheat and cotton growers who use precision technology on their farming operation say that this factor has increased their profitability, according to preliminary research findings from an effort conducted by dmrkynetec (formerly Doane Marketing Research, Inc.) in partnership with the newly inaugurated PrecisionAg Institute.

The study also found that the mean savings per acre across different cropping systems including corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton, ranged from $5.29 per acre to $9.44 per acre – and the more precision technology a grower used, the greater profitability they reported.

These are preliminary results of the research study, which was compiled from hundreds of grower interviews during the past three months and is designed to create a comprehensive benchmark of precision technology adoption among row crop growers in the United States.

The research is now entering its final phase, which will feature focus groups designed to ground-truth key findings, as well as unearth more of the psychological barriers to precision adoption. The final results of the research will be released at the InfoAg Conference, July 10-12, 2007, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, IL.

More information about the PrecisionAg Institute can be found at www.precisionag.com.