Identifying Extension's Role in Precision Agriculture.

A survey was conducted to provide direction for Extension activities regarding water quality issues and row-crop agriculture in Minnesota.  A standard set of questions were answered by 696 farmers at 24 educational events in 2012.  This presentation will focus on the questions concerning growers’ use of precision agriculture technology and their risk tolerance.  The survey found that 40% of farmers are not using yield mapping technology.  Only 25% of farmers have all their fields grid soil sampled, while only 21% are variable rate seeding.  Farmers were asked who assists them with interpretation of precision ag data, with over half saying that they do it themselves.   Questions related to risk tolerance showed that a high percentage of farmers believe that the greatest achievable yield is the most profitable.  The survey revealed that a large percentage of farmers either are under utilizing or not using basic precision agriculture technologies.  In addition, as precision agriculture is used to precisely manage inputs to reduce production costs, it is clear that education is needed to clarify the relationship between yield and profit.   An educational program is currently being developed to address these needs.