For precision agriculture, two driving forces are the emerging advances in technology and the evolution of society’s expectations of the food and ag system. These forces mainly are outside the control of farmers and agriculture.

A few years ago, I was chatting with an Illinois farmer about how he used precision technologies, such as yield monitors and auto-steer. After a few minutes, he looked at me and asked, “How else would you farm?” Maybe, in the 2040’s, the conversation will focus on data; how to acquire and analyze it.

In this Univ. of Illinois webinar replay, the presenters also examine key issues such as technology access for smallholder farmers, socioeconomic factors in adoption and the importance of proactively addressing safety concerns as autonomous equipment becomes more prevalent.