Catie Noyes for Farm and Dairy: Precision agriculture and agricultural technology have come a long way in the past five to 10 years. 

According to Scott Shearer, chair of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering, there are a lot of technologies that have made money for farmers, but every farm is different.

Yield monitors

The yield monitor itself, although not new technology, allowed farmers to quantify yield differences, said Shearer. “(Farmers) always knew there were problems in the field with less yield (in some areas of the field), but they didn’t know how much it was costing them,” he said.

Randy Campbell, of Minerva, Ohio, said he is impressed with what his yield monitor can do. When he purchased it four years ago, he didn’t know it would tell him about the downforce, or soil compaction, caused by his equipment and allow him to make easy adjustments from the cab.

Campbell farms 2,800 acres of corn, soybeans and some hay, and milks around 70 head of Holsteins. He uses his monitor for both planting and harvest season.

In-cab displays and instant feedback has been around for some time now, but, according to John Fulton, associate professor in the College of Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering, more farmers have been adapting the technology in the last five years.  Full Article: