Precision agriculture’s technology is increasing yields and dollars on the farm and isn’t going anywhere.

“Bottomline, precision agriculture is the way we farm today and are going to farm into the future. It’s the way we’ll farm because it makes us money,” said Gregg Carlson, Professor of Plant Sciences at South Dakota State Univeristy, who has researched and provided information on the technology for more than 30 years. “What we call precision agriculture today will become conventional farming in the near future.”

Carlson and other experts in the field of precision agriculture will host two precision agriculture conferences this year. The Precision Ag Conference in Aberdeen, SD on February 12 and the Western Corn Belt Precision Farming Conference in Sioux Falls March 18-19.

The Precision Ag Conference will feature speakers covering topics including: Elevation Data – LiDAR, NED, and More; Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones) Technology and Applications in Agriculture; Theories and Realities – ISOBUS in Agriculture; Cloud Computing in Agriculture; and Industry Update Sessions Ag Leader John Deere, Trimble CNH and Precision Planting.

For more information, contact Laura Edwards, SDSU Extension Climate Field Specialist, at laura.edwards@sdstate.edu or at the Aberdeen Regional Extension Center at 605-626-2870.

The Western Corn Belt Precision Farming Conference will consist of sessions focusing on GSI mapping, new technology systems and above all, planting.

“All sessions are geared toward giving information that can be used in personal operations to improve decision-making, understand new technologies and boost yields,” said Graig Reicks, SDSU Extension Research Associate with the SDSU Plant Science Department.

To learn more, contact Graig Reicks, Research Associate, SDSU Plant Science Department at 605-688-5105 or Precision Agriculture Conference Manager, Les Slunecka at 605-261-2474 or lslunecka@msn.com.