Acres & Assets | Evolution of Farming: From 'Lightning Strikes' to Precision Agriculture

As I mentioned in last month’s article, I grew up in farming spending a lot of time cultivating corn and soybeans.  Since it was hot and the job was tedious causing my mind to wander or to even doze off once in awhile, there would be the occasional “lightning strike” in the field.  At least that is what we called those spots where I wiped out 8 rows of the crop for a short distance when I veered off the row.  The ultimate result was a few less bushels of corn or soybeans in that field because those plants were eliminated by me.  It is different today.  Over time, many big and small improvements have come to production agriculture to make great strides in yields.

Corn and soybean yield trends in the United States have both increased over 40% during the past 30 years as seen in the two charts below.  Of course, weather variability from year to year as well as regionally experienced extremes have a huge impact on the country’s average yields for each crop.  However, actual yield trends have been on an upward slope over the years while the yield potential of corn and soybeans has expanded even more.  

The small changes that have taken place in each field over the years are numerous and ones mostly influenced by choices made by each individual farmer.  The use of GPS technology and auto steer has improved field production in several ways. With precision guidance, planting can be done on the contour with the most even spacing in the field and there should be no more “lightning strikes” taking away bushels.  Point rows in a field can be more accurately planted and a loss in yield from double planting on the ends can be avoided with GPS guidance and row unit shut off mechanisms on the planter.  Precision guidance and control allow for exact spacing of herbicide applications avoiding overlapping which wastes chemicals and can cause yield loss in some situations.  

GPS and other technologies now allow grid sampling of fields for better and more precise nutrient use.  Soil test and soil type data can allow for varying the number of corn or soybean seeds planted according to the capability of the soil in a specific grid or location.  Fertilizer and lime can be applied where needed and at the appropriate rate to optimize yield and and cost.  Together, all these options have improved field yields by producing more bushels from the lower productivity areas of a field while maximizing the output from the better areas.  

Big developments have increased yields over the years in a number of ways.  The potential from today’s seed varieties is much greater than 3 or 4 decades ago.  Varieties are now bred with herbicide and insect tolerance along with better plant health. The adoption of genetically engineered crops as shown in the graphic below has been a major factor in yield improvements.

Equipment manufacturer's have made huge advancements in planting, spraying, and harvesting machinery and technology.  More precise planting with better placement and spacing helps improve yield potential.  Today’s combines and headers are designed to gather all the crop and not leave any of it in the field helping increase the yield from each field.  

The knowledge of how to farm has grown and changed over time.  Science and technology have come together to assist farmers in knowing how best to use nutrients, pesticides, and fungicides to protect and improve yields.  Each field, each part of a field and now even each square inch can be monitored and treated with specific inputs thanks to advanced technologies.  

There are many more small and large improvements that farmers and others can adopt to help increase crop yields in today’s ever improving production agriculture.   More are on the way that we don’t even know about at this time.