Gregg Sauder, president of 360 Yield Center, demonstrated the 360 RAIN autonomous irrigation system at the 2021 Farm Progress Show in August. The technology follows an RTK path created by a planter and delivers water, nitrogen and micronutrients directly to the base of the plant.

Purdue University is targeting the next generation of growers with a new online Precision Agriculture course. The online course will be available at no charge for high school agriculture teachers, starting with teachers in Indiana and then expanding to schools around the U.S.

Deere and Company is acquiring Bear Flag Robotics, a startup that develops autonomous driving technology compatible with existing machines. Deere is paying $250 million for the Silicon Valley-based startup, according to an announcement by the company on Aug. 5.

According to a study on precision agriculture conducted by the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers, the American Soybean Assn., Crop-Life America and the National Corn Growers Assn., the environmental benefit of precision ag technology fuel efficiencies is similar to taking 200,000 cars off the road every year.

After 5 years of dealers reporting declining aftermarket precision sales, in the 2021 Precision Farming Dealer Benchmark Study, 46% of dealers said their precision products are being sold as aftermarket sales vs. 40% in last year’s study.

The results of the ninth annual Precision Farming Dealer benchmark study — with contributions from dozens of farm equipment dealers, input retailers and independent precision companies — show that nearly three-fourths of dealers are forecasting revenue growth from precision to be up at least 2% in 2021, despite inventory challenges.

While robotics and automation will be valuable tools for streamlining predictable farm tasks, automating creative troubleshooting and technical intuition — skills often associated with precision specialists — will be challenging.

While robotics and automation will be valuable tools for streamlining predictable farm tasks, automating creative troubleshooting and technical intuition — skills often associated with precision specialists — will be challenging.

Precision specialists are no strangers to being called upon to consistently meet, and exceed performance expectations. The trait translated to dealerships eclipsing 2020 revenue expectations reported in last year’s Precision Farming Dealer benchmark study.