Precision Agriculture – Producing More With Less

Precision Agriculture is the future of advanced farming system, which is far ahead of conventional farming practices. The word Precision here stands for site-specific and thus it is confined to the specific area of land rather than the large fields. 

Precision Farming makes Use of drone technology. Agriculture Drones allow farmers to constantly monitor crop and livestock conditions by air to quickly find problems that would not become apparent in ground-level spot checks. For example, a farmer might find through time-lapse drone photography that part of his or her crop is not being properly irrigated.

What it is all about?

This is a new concept of farming also known as satellite farming or site specific crop management (SSCM) and is a farming management concept based on observing, measuring and responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops. 

Precision farming is the way of farming that makes the use of satellite data to make soil work better by informing about the condition of soil, its moisture level and other aspects. They use research about weather patterns, soil temperature and humidity, growth, and other factors. They rotate crops to improve diversity and monitor irrigation rates so that salts do not accumulate. 

Objective

The fundamental idea behind this new technology is to provide economic returns by optimizing crop yield, and minimizing environmental impact. Precision farming aims to optimize field-level management with regard to Crop Science and matching farming practices more closely to crop needs. 

Farmers through this technology can decide the time for the sowing and harvesting. It can improve time management, reduce water and chemical use, and produce healthier crops and higher yields—all of which benefit farmers' bottom lines and conserve resources while reducing chemical runoff. 

Companies offering Precision Farming Solutions:

Companies like Krishe by Mahindra are indulged in this type of technology where it uses smart solutions like drone pesticide spraying among many deliver results that are infinitely superior to traditional methods, and yield better crops with lower costs. Krish-e smart solutions can be used on farms of any size as they are available for purchase as full systems as well as on rental/subscription plans.

It is through this technology farmers can decide how much water needs to be irrigated and what amount of pesticides are required for the particular crop. Precision agriculture can help farmers know how much and when to apply these inputs. They also use precision agriculture practices to apply nutrients, water, seed, and other agricultural inputs to grow more crops in a wide range of soil.

More information

Large agricultural equipment is furnished with GPS systems, much like your car. The GPS aids in planting accurate rows of crops, as well as applying fertilizers.  One example of a precision agriculture practice is to evaluate the natural soil variability of a field. If the soil in one area holds water better, crops can be planted more densely and irrigation can be sparing. Or, if the plot is used for grazing, more cattle can graze than a similar area of poorer quality soil. 

By studying these factors and using precision agriculture, farmers are able to produce more food at a fraction of the cost. Farmers also conserve soil for sustainable food production. Precision agriculture results in a stable food supply, which results in a strong community.