Enhance Your Equipment with Precision Ag | How to upgrade your current equipment with new technology

July 11, 2022

As farmers, we can’t control everything, but we can always make improvements. Short of being able to dial in the perfect temperature or annual rainfall amount, precision ag technology is one of the best ways to get the results – and peace of mind – we’re after. 

Precision ag solutions are changing the face of farming, and getting started with precision ag is easier than ever. Enhancing your equipment with precision ag allows you to reap all the new technological benefits without tremendous upgrade or replacement costs.

Level Up with Precision Ag

After asking what is precision agriculture, many farmers want to know how to upgrade their current vehicles with the technology. It’s an economical way to improve yields without investing in new equipment. And even better: it’s often simply a matter of plugging in new PA parts to your existing vehicles! 

A guidance display is a great way to introduce precision ag principles into an operation. Trimble’s GFX-750™ Display is easy-to-read and ruggedized for your existing cab and can be customized for your work. With three several different options for correction services that include a roof-mounted receiver, your pass-to-pass accuracy level can be centimeter-level precise. 

Once you get a taste of what precision ag can do for your farm’s productivity and bottom line, there’s a whole world of additional options to explore.

Enhance Your Equipment’s Performance

When enhancing your equipment’s performance, it’s essential to get into the details of what you hope to accomplish. What is the goal of using precision ag on your operation?

For higher accuracy on even the most rugged terrain, an Autopilot™ Automated Steering System may be the tool for you. This hands-free solution achieves maximum precision through assistance, affordability, and accuracy. The EZ-Pilot® Pro Assisted Steering System will keep you on-line, making both low-accuracy broadacre and high-accuracy row-crop farming much easier. 

That level of accuracy is achieved with correction services, which are based on real-time GNSS position and location information. Trimble RTX™ correction services can be added to your existing Trimble guidance system to maximize the full benefits of the precision ag solution. For example, Trimble CenterPoint® RTX is a reliable correction service delivered via satellite or IP that can be used for a variety of tasks. With broad-based functionality, it will optimize your resource use, increasing efficiencies and profitability while saving you time. Even more importantly, it brings the peace of mind that your precision ag solution is accurate and consistent with every pass. 

While correction services are typically purchased as a one-bundle solution with new hardware, they can be added at any time to a compatible receiver. And if you’re already using RTK, an upgrade to satellite-based corrections can be even more helpful. 

Benefits of Investing in Precision Ag Technology 

Whether you’re satisfied with your current practices, concerned about time constraints, or skeptical of the initial costs, investing in precision ag technology can afford many benefits—even for you. 

Precision ag technologies are quite versatile and can transform your existing equipment at a fraction of the total upgrade cost. Whether your farm is on the smaller side or you run a more complex operation, most guidance systems can pair with machines from most brands—making the technology simple to bring on-farm and easy to integrate. 

If hesitation has kept you from trying out this technology, consider starting with the GFX-350™ Display. It’s compatible with several steering solutions and comes with built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. 

It can boost ROI.

Fewer errors, less time, more accuracy, and better yields all translate to better productivity and a boosted ROI. In a 2019 study, fertilizer application accuracy alone translated to ROI benefits of 7.2%. Similarly, another study found that crop row guidance improvements by precision ag reduced input waste and minimized soil compaction, also providing some financial savings.  

Many precision ag solutions will quickly pay for themselves, providing benefits beyond a better bottom line. Precision ag offers a user-friendly way to tackle farming applications with ease, which carves out more time to do what matters—whether that’s next season planning, creating a marketing plan, or enjoying quality family time. 

It’s the tool of the future.

Agriculture is constantly changing. Weather fluctuations, commodity market swings, and supply chain issues create an increasingly challenging playing field. Even if you’re content with your current equipment, precision agriculture implements will continue to become more useful and valuable in the years to come.

Operations of all sizes benefit from precision ag—and so does the environment. According to an AEM study, precision agriculture has resulted in 30 million fewer pounds of herbicide used worldwide, 100 million fewer gallons of fossil fuel use, and enough water saved to fill 750,000 Olympic-sized pools. Precision agriculture also leads to more efficient use of existing land and yield increases for many major crops, helping farms see significant economic savings worldwide.

Even if you’ve been hesitant to try it out yourself over the past few decades, now is the time to bring it on board. The future of farming is optimized, automated, connected, and precise—and Trimble has the precision ag services, options for retrofitting existing equipment, and dedicated team to ensure that you and your crops don’t get left in the dust. Connect with your local reseller to enhance your equipment with precision ag today.