TAKE ACTION. It’s important to have an objective when collecting data in the field. Some of Erin Hightower’s customers have compiled 20 years’ worth of data but haven’t taken the next step of utilizing it. “Examples of action plans may be variable rate of fertilizer or seed, timing decisions and mode of action changes,” Hightower says. Erin Hightower
No-Tillers Increase Precision Technology Usage
When it comes to planting and seeding, more no-tillers are relying on precision technology for accurate placement, according to No-Till Farmer's 17th annual No-Till Operational Benchmark Study. Just over 30% plan to variable-rate their seed in 2025, a 4-point increase from 2024. In corn specifically, 31.3% of no-tillers will variable-rate their seed, up 7.6 points from 23.7% in 2024. Another 3.6% plan to start the practice this year.
Variable-rate fertilizing is also growing, with 37.8% using this technology in 2025, up 6.8 points from 2024.
Most no-tillers (70.5%) will use a tractor with GPS-guided auto-steer and capture their yield data with a yield monitor (61.4%). Over half of no-tillers will also use field mapping (56.1%) and auto-seed shutoff (51.6%). Adoption of all four technologies is up from 2024.
Of those no-tillers (21.8%) adopting drone technology, 24.4% use drones for scouting crops, 19.8% for applying fungicides, 19% for seeding cover crops, 8.3% for applying herbicides, 5.8% for applying insecticides and 4.1% for applying fertilizer.
The only two technologies where we saw use drop off were with GPS guidance light bars, which fell 4.6 percentage points to 22.1%, and GPS implement guidance, down 1.3 points to 17%. Less than 9% of no-tillers will not use any precision technologies.
