Precision agriculture is branching out with the introduction of conservation and horticulture into its realm. “This is an indication that precision agriculture goes beyond just tools and technology. It’s really a mindset,” said Steve Phillips with the International Plant Nutrition Institute and moderator of a session entitled, Precision A to Z for Practitioners III, at the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Indianapolis, IN. During an interview with Chuck, Phillips said that a more holistic view is being taken of the entire cropping system, looking at environmental, economical and social sustainability. He added that his institute recognizes the value precision agriculture can have for implementing the 4Rs in crop inputs: the right source, at the right rate, in the right place at the right time. “[It] protects our waterways, protects grass buffers… any type of conservation structure we have in place.”

And with precision horticulture, Phillips sees the value in using some of the techniques from large-scale crops on the smaller, high-value specialty crops, such as wine grapes, that will gain a larger international acceptance of these ideas.

Phillips said they will look at the well-attended sessions from this conference and use that as a guide for next summer’s InfoAg Conference, July 16-18, 2013 in Springfield, Illinois. “We really hope to build on the momentum from last year, with 700 attendees and over 60 exhibitors. We’re really hoping to grow on that.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Steve here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/icpa/icpa-steve-phillips.mp3″ text=”Interview with Steve Phillips with the International Plant Nutrition Institute”]

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album