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Survey shows ag economy slowdown contributing to less precision ag adoption

A digital agriculture professor says a recent study from CropLife and Purdue University shows slow growth in precision agriculture adoption.

Bruce Erickson says the current state of the ag economy is holding farmers back from making any new investments. 

“Some people perceive that the cost of precision services is greater than the benefits that people receive,” he says. “With farm income levels where they are, they don’t feel justified investing the money in digital agriculture.”

He tells Brownfield labor shortages continue to be a challenge for the ag industry.

“If you’re running any business, you know how hard it is to find workers to do the work that you need to do, and that seems to be especially acute with digital agriculture, too,” he says. “It’s not always easy to find the people that can implement the digital agriculture programs for farmers.”

Erickson says for farmers to successfully adopt new technologies; they need to see a higher return on investment.

The CropLife and Purdue Precision Adoption Survey is the longest running study of precision agriculture adoption. 

AUDIO: Bruce Erickson, Purdue University