Precision agriculture refers to a set of strategies and tools available to farmers to work more efficiently and increase soil quality and productivity. This is possible only through the use and proper implementation of increasingly professional, user-friendly, and advanced technologies by precision agriculture companies in the USA.
Precision agriculture is a management approach based on three fundamental pillars: observation, measurement, and feedback. It involves knowing the real-time status of crops, fields, and animals. Thanks to all the available tools, it is possible to act quickly to respond to each crop’s demands and obtain better results.
Higher-Quality of Yields:
Monitoring and treating each crop according to its needs helps to achieve better results and maximize its potential. Something as simple as using suitable fertilizers can improve crop quality. For example, pest control at the correct times is critical to avoiding crop damage and side effects, such as reduced size or color, affecting the quality and price of horticultural crops. Quality is essential in any crop, but some markets are more demanding than others, so it is necessary to take care of all the relevant details for each type of crop. Precision agriculture makes it much easier to understand crop nutrient levels, soil types, and water-holding capacity, among other key indicators. Another critical point is crop quantity. Precision agriculture involves using machinery that performs different activities to avoid losses in the field and prevent damage.
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How to Apply Precision Agriculture?
Ideally, farmers should monitor and control each crop in real-time, so if you are not using precision agriculture practices, it’a recommended that you consider doing so. The results will surprise you.
To start applying precision agriculture, follow these steps.
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Set Objectives:
The starting point of any plan is the setting of objectives. The farmer must decide and delineate what he wants to achieve and why, i.e., the main problems currently being experienced with the crops and the land.
He must also consider possible solutions to increase the yield of each crop, always from a realistic perspective. There is no point in setting overly ambitious and unattainable goals.
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Determine the Resolution and Frequency of Monitoring:
Farmers must choose the resolution and frequency of data to be collected.
A resolution refers to the level of detail that can be obtained, considering the information, and the means of collection. It can include region, area, field, plant, etc.
On the other hand, the frequency with which the collected data will be updated is essential to knowing each crop’s actual status, staying one step ahead, and avoiding risks or dangers. It can be every season, monthly, weekly, daily, or in real-time.
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Consider Key Metrics:
What are you going to measure? The main objective of precision agriculture is to know each field and crop in depth to make better decisions. However, for this, you must know precisely what you will measure. Some sources of data and information can be drones, satellites, sensors, and weather stations. You will need to implement these technologies depending on what you want to monitor.
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Organize and Interpret Data:
When you have decided what data to collect, you need to choose the best platform and technology to collect, synchronize, and organize the information meaningfully and schematically.
You also need to analyze what kind of technology you need, what it is for, and why. There is no point in making investments that will not be used and will become an expense.
For this, it is better to count on professionals specialized in detecting needs and implementing innovative and functional solutions. Obtaining a consultancy could be an excellent tool to maximize your resources.
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Implement Decisions:
The last step is to take action, implement changes, and make decisions based on the data obtained. Suppose areas are drier than they should be. In that case, the ideal is to irrigate more in that space, and so on, with each situation detected through precision agriculture.
Everything will work better with these innovative and up-to-date measures and implementations. It is only important that the data is always kept up to date so that we can act accordingly.
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Monitor to Make the Most of the Implementations:
Finally, following up on the implementations to get the most out of them is essential to achieve greater efficiency and productivity.
In Conclusion:
The constant fluctuation of prices within agribusiness makes it even more critical for this sector to be at the forefront of technology to be competitive in the market. This is much easier through technology that allows maintaining the quantity and quality of crops at an affordable but profitable price, which is possible with precision agriculture. Shortly, everyone involved in agricultural production will have to implement these tools to obtain greater profitability, so it is better that you start at once.
If you are looking for an accurate, consistent tool for analyzing your soil layer, get in touch with our experts at SoilOptix® today!
