Special Report

Farmer on precision ag’s returns

Brian Watkins, Ohio farmer, presenter at InfoAg 2013Precision agriculture has the potential to help farming operations prosper but what is the return on investment? Northwest Ohio farmer Brian Watkins farms with his family and uses precision ag tools, “You have to take a systems approach. It’s not just buying a piece of hardware or a piece of software and thinking it’s going to solve your problems.”  Watkins grows corn, soybeans and pigs.

In time, he says, the return is evident, “We’ve been doing this for a long time and I do feel like we’ve gotten to the point where we know how to use the tools. We’ve gotten a lot of help with that as well. If those things are the case, then the return on using them is very significant.”

In the case of auto steer and swath control, he says, they can pay for themselves in a year if used properly.

“You have these really small numbers in terms of sort of overlap and correction and precision in operating the machine. But, when you multiply that over a lot of acres and with the high prices of inputs and the high price of grain it adds up. It adds up quickly.”

AUDIO: Brian Watkins (5:00 mp3)

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