A good headline grabs your attention, draws you in and makes you want to know the rest of the story. That’s how it was for me when I read, “North Dakota Farmers Lead the Nation in Precision Farming.” I wondered, “Can that be true?And if it is, why would that be?”
The story that followed explained earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office released results of a study on the percent of farmers in each state who used precision agricultural technology in 2023. For North Dakota, the figure was 57%. Adoption rates in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois were between 50% and 55%.
Farmers outside the breadbasket states have been slower to adopt precision ag technology. Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and New Mexico have adoption rates of less than 15%. In those states, farms, fields and machinery tend to be smaller. There is less need for and less benefit from precision ag technology.
When farms and fields here were smaller, we might have planted with a 12-foot vibra shank and press drill. We could see the edge of our last pass. Still, there were skips and overlaps.
Today, global positioning systems (GPS) have eliminated skips and overlaps when planting, even with a 60-foot planter, or spraying, even with 120-foot booms. And the precision of those planters and sprayers extends well beyond GPS guidance.
On the latest “variable rate” planters, each row acts independently, varying the rate of fertilizer application and the seeding rate, depending on soil type. Sensors can be added that give real-time readings of soil moisture, soil temperature and the organic matter content. Sprayer nozzles automatically shut off as they move over an area that’s already been sprayed.
Obviously, not all farmers in North Dakota utilize the latest in precision ag technology. But many do to some degree. North Dakota farmers lead the nation in many categories. It turns out, they’re also leaders in adopting technology that makes them more efficient in their use of seed, fertilizer and chemicals.
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Al Gustin is a retired farm broadcaster, active rancher and a member of Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative.
