Over the past decades, GPS technology has been significantly improved in terms of accuracy and accessibility, and the cost of GPS receivers has decreased considerably. As a result, today, GPS technology is widely used in various fields. One of these fields is agriculture, namely, precision farming. So let’s take a look at some of the ways farmers can use GPS receivers today:
Generate yield maps
Farmers can utilize modern soil sampling techniques along with GPS data to create accurate yield maps that predict harvests long before crops are ready to be collected. This allows farmers to create well-thought-out marketing and distribution strategies for their products and maximize profits.
Plan fields
Information gathered from GPS receivers allows farmers to precisely divide their fields into sections, accurately plan divide into sections and sub-sections, and determine the best ways to sow these fields, apply chemicals, and harvest crops while minimizing soil compaction. This can result in a significant increase in yields.
Keep track of your machinery
If your farm is very large and you have a lot of workers performing procedures and using machinery at all times, you may have a hard time keeping track of the location of each tractor. GPS receivers, when paired with record keeping and task management applications, make this task easy, as they allow you to see where each machine is located without leaving your office.
Tractor autosteer
GPS receivers are necessary for anyone who wants to use a tractor autosteer device – one of the machinery prerequisites to precision agriculture. Today, it’s virtually impossible to run an efficient operation without utilizing tractor autosteer devices on your farm. For instance, the FieldBee tractor autosteer allows farmers to reach centimeter precision in all agricultural operations and thereby completely eliminate overlaps between different runs.
Plan irrigation
Even if you plant one type of seed on a large field that seems uniform, plants that grow on different parts of the field will likely need different amounts of water and nutrients. Remote moisture sensors equipped with GPS capabilities will allow you to irrigate your fields precisely and avoid wasting water.
Final words
Today, it’s nearly impossible to run an efficient farm without using GPS receivers. Whether you are planning agricultural field works: seeding, drilling, treating your crops with chemicals, harvesting crops, or doing any other farm activity, you need to use GPS data to ensure that your farm can be as efficient and profitable as possible.