For precision agriculture, two driving forces are the emerging advances in technology and the evolution of society’s expectations of the food and ag system. These forces mainly are outside the control of farmers and agriculture.

Continuing with the autonomy theme, the topic came up during a technology panel at the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association Fall Convention in Dallas.

The International Society of Automation (ISA) has announced the publication of a new position paper, “Advancing Precision Agriculture Through Control System Technologies.”

Adam Gittins, president and general manager of Harlan, Iowa-based HTS Ag, the recipient of the 2024 Precision Farming Dealer Most Valuable Dealership award, crunches the numbers from on-farm trials to show which precision tools are providing the biggest ROI.

In this Univ. of Illinois webinar replay, the presenters also examine key issues such as technology access for smallholder farmers, socioeconomic factors in adoption and the importance of proactively addressing safety concerns as autonomous equipment becomes more prevalent.

"The rebuilding of the PTx Trimble dealer network remains a top priority for us," AGCO CEO Eric Hansotia said during the call. "Over the past several months, hundreds of dealers have signed distribution contracts directly with PTx Trimble to continue serving their customers with the innovative products they are seeking."

Robb Vanderloop, Vanderloop Equipment CFO and co-owner, views autonomy and AI as potential game-changers for both farmers and dealers.

Robb Vanderloop, CFO and Co-Owner of Vanderloop Equipment, talks about the current state of precision features in equipment and the challenges that a fully autonomous system must overcome before it can become a viable option.