Precision agriculture integrates new technologies with the agronomic experience to intelligently manage the high spatial variability of all agricultural variables and the time scales at which these variables change. The right application of this approach increases the size and quality of the agricultural production; saves resources; improves environmental quality; helps to achieve self-sufficiency, food security, and agricultural sustainability; increases exports; and more. Precision Agriculture Technologies for Food Security and Sustainability is an essential reference source that compiles a comprehensive, multidisciplinary review of current research in the field of precision agriculture. It also discusses cutting-edge tools and models that can help facilitate and improve the systems implementation. Featuring coverage of a wide range of topics including agronomy, public policy, and internet of things, this book is ideally designed for agriculturalists, government officials, economists, environmentalists, academicians, researchers, students, and engineers in the fields of electronics, ICT, and agriculture.

Precision agriculture (PA) involves the application of technologies and agronomic principles to manage spatial and temporal variation associated with all aspects of agricultural production in order to improve crop performance and environmental quality. The focus of this book is to introduce a non-specialist audience to the the role of PA in food security, environmental protection, and sustainable use of natural resources, as well as its economic benefits. The technologies covered include yield monitors and remote sensing, and the key agronomic principles addressed are the optimal delivery of fertilizers, water and pesticides to crops only when and where these are required. As a result, it is shown that both food production and resource efficiency can be maximized, without waste or damage to the environment, such as can occur from excessive fertilizer or pesticide applications. The authors of necessity describe some technicalities about PA, but the overall aim is to introduce readers who are unfamiliar with PA to this very broad subject and to demonstrate the potential impact of PA on the environment and economy. Chapter 3 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 3.0 license.

Precision Agriculture (PA) is an approach to managing the variability in production agriculture in a more economic and environmentally efficient manner. It has been pioneered as a management tool in the grains industry, and while its development and uptake continues to grow amongst grain farmers worldwide, a broad range of other cropping industries have embraced the concept. This book explains general PA theory, identifies and describes essential tools and techniques, and includes practical examples from the grains industry. Readers will gain an understanding of the magnitude, spatial scale and seasonality of measurable variability in soil attributes, plant growth and environmental conditions. They will be introduced to the role of sensing systems in measuring crop, soil and environment variability, and discover how this variability may have a significant impact on crop production systems. Precision Agriculture for Grain Production Systems will empower crop and soil science students, agronomy and agricultural engineering students, as well as agronomic advisors and farmers to critically analyse the impact of observed variation in resources on crop production and management decisions.

Around the world, the public faces a stark dilemma: food scarcity and food abundance, with food waste now reaching a trillion dollars a year. Rich countries have easy access to food products and can purchase a 300-gram chocolate bar for $4.00, yet a cocoa farmer in Africa earns less than $1 a day. This book provides a comprehensive study of the food production system, from farms and farming to the ultimate haute cuisine of the finest restaurants, and corporate business models, from commodity traders, food producers, and food retailers. Problems arise with the rising value of land and corporate strategies to minimize risk and seeking low-cost inputs, including the prices paid to farmers. For centuries, science and technology have played a role in all aspects of the ‘total system’. Together, they have improved plant yields, soil condition, animal health, and machine mechanization, including plant-based meat and dairy products. A new paradigm, precision agriculture, now beckons.

With the growing popularity and availability of precision equipment, farmers and producers have access to more data than ever before. With proper implementation, precision agriculture management can improve profitability and sustainability of production. Precision Agriculture Basics is geared at students, crop consultants, farmers, extension workers, and practitioners that are interested in practical applications of site-specific agricultural management. Using a multidisciplinary approach, readers are taught to make data-driven on-farm decisions using the most current knowledge and tools in crop science, agricultural engineering, and geostatistics. Precision Agriculture Basics also features a stunning video glossary including interviews with agronomists on the job and in the field.

A thorough, critical, and up-to-date look at precision farming around the world In most developing countries, farming is the best safety net against hunger and keeping production costs under control without sacrificing crop yield is essential for survival. The Handbook of Precision Agriculture presents up-to-date research, field studies,

This book provides a review of precision agriculture technology development, followed by a presentation of the state-of-the-art and future requirements of precision agriculture technology. It presents different styles of precision agriculture technologies suitable for large scale mechanized farming; highly automated community-based mechanized production; and fully mechanized farming practices commonly seen in emerging economic regions. The book emphasizes the introduction of core technical features of sensing, data processing and interpretation technologies, crop modeling and production control theory, intelligent machinery and field robots for precision agriculture production.