In the Bay Area, he says, farmers have to achieve a higher output than farmers in, say, Kansas or Nevada. The average acre of alfalfa in California yields 6.7 tons per season. His farm produces nine tons an acre. In agriculture, you can go over the edge real quick.'' The high-tech equipment can help keep farmers in the black. Boosting profits For many growers, site-specific technology has revealed greater variables within fields than they ever imagined.
Precision agriculture offers an opportunity to get the most from a field.
Seed and fertilizer can be better applied, with less waste and runoff. The new technologies can't replace years of experience in the fields. Growers still must know basic agronomy before they will reap any benefit from precision-farming technology. And despite the improvements in efficiency, the technologies have not been embraced by all farmers. Reliability and durability also have been a problem in the past.