The evolution of precision agriculture and collection of agricultural data is providing farmers with tools to increase productivity and profitability. These core principles were originally developed by farmers, commodity organizations, and ag technology providers in 2014.

The lightweight, electric-powered, autonomous planter no-tilled soybeans and strip-tilled corn in Webster County, Iowa.

Jake Rianda says customers are going to go where they can get their data, and whether it’s yield data or in-season agronomic data, he believes farmers will eventually gravitate toward dealers who can provide the information that can show them how efficient or inefficient their operation is.

The feedback from 807 U.S.-based agribusiness workers, including executive decision-makers, on-farm managers, agronomists, data scientists, IT specialists and go-to-market professionals, offers a comprehensive look into the agrifood industry’s current state and future trajectory.

During the National No-Till Conference, attendees discussed the future benefits of seeding populations and row width to create a cleaner field, leading to a profitable harvest. These discussions are only as profitable for you as the data you collect in the field and the management of every individual seed.

Recent generations of ag technology have seen new features undercut by rising reliability problems, says Clay Mitchell, co-founder and managing director of Silicon Valley-based Fall Line Capital, a farmland and venture investment firm. Mitchell says the shift to autonomy will accelerate reliability problems beyond anything we’ve seen before.

Agriculture’s increased productivity rates easily bump the “transformational” category over the past half century. A few tweaks from regulators, lawmakers and equipment makers can ensure that performance continues.