Accurate Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sources are important in several aspects of production agriculture today. This technology was the driver for the development of variable-rate application (VRA) of crop inputs and seed. The process started by collecting GPS reference soil samples that lead to the creation of VRA fertilizer application maps. Now, farmers and service providers have the ability to create VRA maps for almost every product applied during the growing season.

We often “ooh and ahh” at the sight of fancy new gadgets, mesmerized as technology marketers dazzle us with reasons why we just have to have their product. Sometimes we give in to the hype and buy that new Apple Watch or that ShamWow towel that’s supposed to magically replace the “$20 per month” we spend on paper towels.

One of the annual challenges for me and other precision farming managers is planning and budgeting for the upcoming year. Looking back on 2014 and what worked and what needed changing, I found that our dealership had an incredible response to the service agreements we implemented last year.

There are some strange things going on right now within the world of precision agriculture. No, I'm not talking about things like zombie controlled tractors or drones that buzz the barnyard at midnight.