• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • LinkedIn
  • SUBSCRIBE
U.S. Wheat Associates
  • Our Story
    • About USW
    • Dependable People. Reliable Wheat.
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff Directory
    • Office Locations
  • Market Information
    • Market Information
    • Price Reports
    • Price Charting Tools
    • Supply and Demand
    • Commercial Sales
  • Crop Quality
    • Crop Quality
    • Harvest Reports
    • Hard Red Winter
    • Hard Red Spring
    • Hard White
    • Soft White
    • Soft Red Winter
    • Durum
  • Working With Buyers
    • Working With Buyers
    • Customer Conferences
    • Wheat Classes
    • Wheat Glossary
    • Wheat Grade Factors
    • How to Buy
    • Ask the Expert
    • Resources
  • Who We Represent
    • Who We Represent
    • Board Meetings
    • State Wheat Commissions
    • Partners
    • Trade Activities
  • Policy
    • Policy
    • Trade Negotiations
    • Trade Barriers
    • Innovation and Sustainability
    • Food Security and Assistance
    • Public–Private Partnership
  • News
    • Newsroom
    • Wheat Letter Blog
    • News Releases
    • Videos
  • Stories of Stewardship
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: Wheat Letter Blog 1
Steve Mercer, Sustainability

Precision Agriculture Advances Sustainable Wheat Production

Showing precision ag equipment that helps improve environmental stewardship

By Steve Mercer, USW Vice President of Communications

No two wheat fields in the world are alike. The fact is, there can be wide variations within a field or even a very small sections of a field.

Not that long ago, farmers had limited ability to change production strategies in ways that more directly correlated with this natural variability. Now, however, farmers in the United States and around the world have high-technology systems that allow them to instantly adjust seed, fertilizer and crop protection inputs with near pinpoint accuracy, ensuring the right rates are applied or seeded in the right location while on the go in their field.

According to information from “Let’s Grow Together,” an online information source in Washington state to help consumers better understand agriculture, “farmers collect information using crop yield monitors, soil maps and global positioning systems (GPS). The yield monitor measures the amount of wheat harvested and the GPS uses satellite signals to track the exact location where the yield measurements were taken.”

The resource notes that software creates a detailed map of high- and low-yield zones. Using enhanced GPS guidance systems, the wheat farmer can operate seeding and application equipment with as little as 2.5 centimeters (about one inch) of overlap. Such precision drastically reduces waste and the unnecessary application of fertilizer and crop protection products.

“I believe this technology makes us far more efficient,” said Janice Mattson, who with her family grows hard red winter and hard red spring wheat in Montana’s “Golden Triangle” region. “There is a financial benefit in using only what we need, but we also see environmental benefits on our own land, in our communities and for our customers.”

 

Janice Mattson sees environmental benefits from precision agriculture.

 

U.S. farmers know that seeking ways to improve the sustainability of the crop and environment is increasingly important to the world’s buyers and wheat food processors.

Jeff Newtson, who with his family grows soft white wheat in northeastern Oregon, says technology like satellite imagery of crops helps them vary the rate of fertilizer across the hilly terrain of their farm to produce more uniform wheat.

 

Jeff Newtson says precision agriculture helps his family produce a more consistent soft white wheat crop for overseas buyers.

 

“We know that our customers want high-quality food products and 90 percent of the wheat we grow is exported,” said Newtson. “They come from overseas to support our farm and our families, so we have to give them a good product in return.”

“We have changed and adapted and we will keep changing and adapting,” said David Clough, who grows hard red spring wheat in central North Dakota. “We are doing that to survive economically and to keep our land in good shape for future generations.”

 

David Clough says farmers will keep changing and adapting to survive economically and keep their land in good shape.

 

“First and foremost, sustainability is economical and generational, which leads to environmental sustainability,” said Mark Linnebur, a family farmer from Byers, Colo.

His family’s focus on applying high-technology and no-tillage systems as well as other practices is all about being good stewards of the land.

“We are not trying to mine the land for what we can get out of it in the near term,” he said, “because we want to pass it on to our children.”

 

Mark Linnebur says sustainability on the farm is economic and generational.

 

Caption for image at the top of this page: Precision agriculture is allowing farmers to adjust inputs to near pinpoint accuracy, enhancing sustainable wheat production. Photo copyright “Let’s Grow Together.”

March 11, 2019/by actualize
Share this
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://www.uswheat.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Precision-Ag-Image-Copyright-Lets-Grow-Together.jpg 683 1024 actualize https://www.uswheat.org/wp-content/uploads/USW-Logo-Full-Color.png actualize2019-03-11 15:24:302021-07-12 06:54:36Precision Agriculture Advances Sustainable Wheat Production

Wheatletter Sidebar

Quick Links

  • Newsroom
  • Wheat Letter Blog
  • News Releases
  • Videos

Wheat Letter Related Blogs

Artisan bread baked by USW consultant Miguel Seguel to demonstrate the quality and versatility of flour milled from U.S. wheat classes
USAID, USDA, Vince Peterson, Wheat Industry News

Wheat Industry News

News and Information from Around the Wheat Industry “Some will say that's just how markets…
MORE
September 28, 2023
https://www.uswheat.org/wp-content/uploads/Artisan-Bread-Baked-with-U.S.-Wheat-Flour-Chile-2023.png 480 640 Steve Mercer https://www.uswheat.org/wp-content/uploads/USW-Logo-Full-Color.png Steve Mercer2023-09-28 11:09:002023-09-28 11:09:00Wheat Industry News
durum, Hard Red Spring, Trade Delegation

USW Hosts Delegation of European Flour Millers

Flour milling companies from nine European countries made up a delegation that visited Washington,…
MORE
September 28, 2023
https://www.uswheat.org/wp-content/uploads/Ian-presenting-scaled.jpg 1190 2560 Ralph Loos https://www.uswheat.org/wp-content/uploads/USW-Logo-Full-Color.png Ralph Loos2023-09-28 07:33:072023-09-28 07:34:44USW Hosts Delegation of European Flour Millers

Stay up to date on wheat industry news!

SUBSCRIBE

Think Farm Export Programs Don’t Matter? Think Again.

GET THE REST OF THE STORY

Our Story

  • About USW
  • Dependable People. Reliable Wheat.
  • Board of Directors
  • Staff Directory
  • Office Locations

Market Information

  • Market Information
  • Price Reports
  • Price Charting Tools
  • Supply and Demand
  • Commercial Sales

Crop Quality

  • Crop Quality
  • Harvest Reports
  • Hard Red Winter
  • Hard Red Spring
  • Hard White
  • Soft White
  • Soft Red Winter
  • Durum

Working with Buyers

  • Working With Buyers
  • Customer Conferences
  • Wheat Classes
  • Wheat Glossary
  • Wheat Grade Factors
  • How to Buy
  • Ask the Expert
  • Resources

Who We Represent

  • Who We Represent
  • Board Meetings
  • State Wheat Commissions
  • Partners
  • Trade Activities

Policy

  • Policy
  • Trade Negotiations
  • Trade Barriers
  • Innovation and Sustainability
  • Food Security and Assistance
  • Public-Private Partnership

News

  • Newsroom
  • Wheat Letter Blog
  • News Releases
  • Videos

DTN Wheat Detail
DTN Corn Detail

2008-2013 U.S. Wheat Associates. All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy | Non-Discrimination Statement

Scroll to top