University of Florida

What is Precision Agriculture?


Precision agriculture is managing each crop production input on a site-specific basis to reduce waste, increase profits and maintain the quality of the environment. Precision agriculture is a set of managerial practices whereby spatial variability in a field can be controlled on a micro scale. The main idea behind precision agriculture is spatial variability. This refers to all of the ways a field can differ from one location to another. Variability can include: soil pH, soil moisture, soil depth, soil type, soil texture, topography, pest populations, nutrient levels, organic matter content, etc. The reason precision agriculture can be an effective practice is it defines more accurately the needs of specific locations of individual fields. This in turn can increase the efficiency of crop management in ways that were financially, and scientifically unattainable in the past .

Tools For Precision Agriculture:

  • Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) - These systems allow for precise mapping and interpretation of variability in a field.
  • Yield Monitoring and Mapping - These practices record and collect data about crop yield from specific locations of a field.
  • Soil Testing - This practice defines soil characteristics based on differences in availability of nutrients and variable between testing locations. When used in concert with GPS it has very powerful uses such as variable rate application.
  • Variable Rate Technology and Application - There are two basic methods of Variable Rate Application (VRA), map-based and sensor based. Map-based VRA adjust the application rate based on an electronic map, also called a prescription map. Using GPS field position can be determined, based on the prescription map the rate, or concentration of input can be changed as you drive through the field. Sensor-based VRA requires no map or positioning system. Sensors on the application machine measure soil properties or crop characteristics "on-the-go". Based on this continuous stream of information a computer program calculates the input needs of the soil or plants and then transfers the information to an applicator which delivers the input to the needed location.
  • Crop Scouting and Ground Truthing - These practices aid soil testing and accuracy of GPS and GIS.
  • Remote Sensing - Remote sensing is gathering information about an object without being in contact with it. The two most common methods of remote sensing are aerial photography and satellite imagery. Electromagnetic (EM) energy is the basic element of remote sensing. When electromagnetic radiation comes in contact with an object it can be reflected, absorbed or transmitted. Depending on the characteristics of the object different wavelengths of EM radiation respond differently. Plants have a distinct reflectance pattern thus enabling us to interpret this pattern and gather information about plant health, plant moisture content, plant nutrient levels, etc.

For more information on precision agriculture visit: