Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Intra-Field Nitrogen Estimation For Wheat And Corn Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based And Satellite Multispectral Imagery, Plant Biophysical Variables, Field Properties, And Machine Learning Methods, Jody Seymon Yu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Management of nitrogen (N) fertilizers is an important agricultural practice and field of research to increase productivity, minimize environmental impacts and the cost of production. To apply N fertilizer at the right rate, time, and place depends on the crop type, desired yield, and field conditions. The objective of this study is to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery, PlanetScope satellite imagery, vegetation indices (VI), crop height, leaf area index (LAI), field topographic metrics, and soil properties to predict canopy nitrogen weight (g/m²) of corn and wheat fields in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Random Forests (RF) and Support …

The Role Of Variable Rate Technology In Fertilizer Usage, Terry Wayne Griffin, Lavona Traywick

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Precision technologies such as variable rate fertilizer applications have been touted as solving production agricultural issues, increasing yields, and improving environmental stewardship. Variable rate technologies have been widely available on farms especially via custom service providers; however, utilization rates of these technologies remain relatively low. Low adoption rates indicate barriers to adoption and an opportunity for market expansion. The degree to which such technologies may reduce the demand for fertilizers will depend on VRT adoption rates.

Interrogating The Socio-Ethical Dilemmas Of Precision Agriculture Technologies, Ayorinde Ogunyiola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Farming has moved into a digital age where data and information are available to farmers to make informed agronomic and financial on-farm decisions. The development of precision agriculture (PA), such as big data technologies and machine learning algorithms is transforming the agricultural food production system in diverse ways, economically, environmentally, and socially. Despite benefits afforded by PA to agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability, these technologies can raise unintended societal challenges that can also limit their adoption among farmers. PA is changing how farming is done, reconstructing farmers’ social identities, and influencing relationships between farmers, agronomists, and technology developers. This dissertation …

An Expected Value Of Sample Information (Evsi) Approach For Estimating The Payoff From A Variable Rate Technology., Pedro Vertino De Queiroz, Richard Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, David S. Bullock

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the payoff to variable rate technology (VRT) using a Bayesian approach following literature on the expected value of sample information (EVSI). In each cell within a field, we compare the expected payoff from an optimal variable rate conditioned on a signal from that cell, with the expected payoff from a uniform rate technology (URT) that is optimal for all cells in the field. This comparison, when evaluated across the theoretical distribution of signals, provides an estimate of the expected gross benefit from VRT relative to URT. Under plausible assumptions, a closed-form algebraic solution relates this expected benefit …

Capital Growth: Precision Agriculture And Vertical Farming In The Corporate Food Regime, Justin Taylor

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Agriculture in the 21st century has entered a digital age. New technologies emphasize GPS, big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, automation, sensors, and robotics, contributing to two modes of modern food production known as precision agriculture and vertical farming. Through an interdisciplinary review of scientific and social scientific scholarship, this paper examines the ways in which these two technologies interact with the global corporate food regime and explores their impact in core, peripheral, and semi-peripheral countries. It also engages in a discourse analysis of promotional materials and interview statements from precision agriculture and vertical farming firms to expose …

Has The Usage Of Precision Agriculture Technologies Actually Led To Increased Profits For Nebraska Producers?, Michael H. Castle

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An ever-increasing global demand for food, coupled with increasingly volatile commodity prices have charged producers with the task of becoming more efficient. As such, technologies aimed at producing more with less are continually being developed and marketed to producers. However, whether or not these expensive new technologies have resulted in improved profitability is still unknown, as the vast majority of studies showing their impact on profitability have been performed using hypothetical farms and simulations. These studies have shown the potential for increases in profitability from use, but their impact in the real world is still uncertain.

This project uses various …

Factors Influencing The Adoption Of Automatic Section Control Technologies And Gps Auto-Guidance Systems In Cotton Production, Brittani Kimberlyn Edge

Masters Theses

Precision agriculture (PA) technologies allow producers to obtain information about their fields and use this knowledge to apply inputs and manage time more efficiently. PA technologies such as Automatic-Section Control (ASC) reduce inefficiencies such as overlapping application of inputs (e.g., seed, chemicals). Additionally, technologies such as Auto-Guidance (AG) systems complement ASC technologies and allow producers to work longer hours by reducing fatigue. Both ASC and AG technologies appear to be quickly adopted by producers because of their relatively low cost compared to other precision farming technologies.

The objective of this study is to determine the factors influencing the adoption of …

Precision Agriculture And Big Farm Data: Producer Adoption And Opinions, Michael H. Castle, Bradley D. Lubben, Joe D. Luck

UCARE Research Products

Using scarce resources to feed an ever-increasing world population in the climate of increasingly-volatile commodity prices has charged producers with the task of becoming more efficient. The answer to these problems may lie within technological advancements, through the usage of precision agriculture and the “big” data these technologies are capable of producing. These technologies are expected to have an enormous impact that could effectively allow farmers to produce more with less. As such, research regarding producer adoption and opinions of the technology are of great relevance. Furthermore, there is great debate over the data produced by these technologies; with the …

Factors Influencing Producer Propensity For Data Sharing & Opinions Regarding Precision Agriculture And Big Farm Data, Michael H. Castle, Bradley D. Lubben, Joe D. Luck

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

With its tremendous success by notable companies in varying industries, “big data” has become a hard-to-miss phrase and many believe its usage in agriculture is the future of the industry. However, the potential benefits of using big data come with just as many challenges, ranging from not knowing how to make use of it, to the debate over who owns and has access to it. A survey asking for producers’ opinions on precision agriculture technologies and big farm data was distributed to a sample of agricultural producers across Nebraska. A Poisson regression was used to determine the factors influencing propensity …

Factors Influencing The Adoption Of Precision Agriculture Technologies By Nebraska Producers, Michael H. Castle, Bradley D. Lubben, Joe D. Luck

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

An ever-increasing world population and increasingly-volatile commodity prices have charged producers with the task of becoming more efficient. To combat this, precision agriculture technologies aimed at increasing production efficiency are continually being developed, but their adoption is not yet widespread. A survey regarding the usage of these technologies was distributed to a sample of row crop producers across the state of Nebraska and a Poisson regression was used to determine the factors influencing adoption. Results of the study indicate that larger, more tech-savvy producers and those using irrigation are more likely to adopt a higher number of precision agriculture technologies, …