Precision spraying: helping farmers apply only what is needed
Read time: 4.5 minutes
By controlling exactly where and when they apply an input, farmers can save money, and increase long-term yields and returns on their investments
A farmer’s number one asset is their land, often passed down through generations. As yields depend on the quality of the soil, they know their land’s health is vital not only for them to make a good living, but for their successors to do so, too.
Soil degradation is a widespread issue that generally refers to a decline in soil quality, including the loss of essential nutrients and reduced water retention capabilities. Indeed, just 11% of the earth’s surface is suitable for arable use and one-third of that land is already classed as degraded. By 2050, that figure could rise to 90%, according to UNESCO.
Meanwhile, rising costs of inputs such as diesel, fertilizers and pesticides alongside broader economic and market pressures increase the need to be more efficient.
Precision technology is both an economic and sustainability driver. The dollars and cents speak for themselves
Input control
As a result, there is a strong demand among farmers for precision agriculture technologies (PATs) which allow them to carefully control what inputs go onto their land. According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Research Service, PATs can reduce applications by up to 20%. By implementing advanced Green-on-Green (GoG) targeted spraying, these technologies can reduce input applications by up to 80% under specific field conditions, keeping costs down and helping to support better long-term soil management.
“Precision technology is both an economic and sustainability driver. The dollars and cents speak for themselves,” says Chad Biegler, Crop Protection Product Marketing Manager at CNH.
This technology isn’t just being driven by a faster return on investment; it’s also become easier to quantify and understand how the technology is going to help farmers into the future.
“Take the AIM Command FLEXTM II used with SenseApplyTM,” he says. “The farmer gets the benefit of AI-enhanced cameras that utilize Green-on-Brown (GoB) technology to detect weeds. The system turns individual nozzles on and off according to need, saving up to 60% of herbicide depending on weed pressure. What’s more, the nozzle will spray at the right droplet size and the right pressure every time for maximum effect.”
The result is high-precision spraying that reduces overlap, cutting herbicide use. Farmers can also see the benefits continue to develop over time.
Aerial view of a Case IH Patriot 4450 sprayer with SenseApply technology.
Accumulated benefits
“One year’s data is valuable, but farmers would much rather see a trend. With three years of data from their fields, they can produce a really good weed pressure map that they can use to inform their spraying practices,” Biegler says.
Weeds tend to grow in the same places within a field year after year. Having an accurate weed pressure map to control sprayers means the farmer uses only the optimum amount of herbicide on a field. By spraying precisely the amount needed onto the specific weed, a farmer also lowers the overall chemical load within the soil, potentially reducing pressure on beneficial soil micro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi. “That’s where a lot of the long-term yield benefits come from,” he explains.
Data also helps farmers manage nitrogen levels in the soil. When they know the health of plants within a field, they can create accurate variable-rate maps that dictate where and how much nitrogen to spray. By only spraying where the plant can absorb it, there’s less residue on the soil, helping reduce the risk of unused fertilizer remaining in the field or being lost to nutrient runoff.
Data also helps farmers manage nitrogen levels in the soil. When they know the health of plants within a field, they can create accurate variable-rate maps that dictate where and how much nitrogen to spray.
Real-time management
“Variable-rate maps are nothing new. What’s great about this technology is that we’re creating the maps off this year’s crop on the fly, while we’re driving in the field. It saves a whole load of pre-work and frees up the farmer or agronomist to work on higher-order problems such as soil testing or tissue sampling.”
Essentially, this technology helps farmers make better decisions. This is particularly important as it draws upon artificial intelligence to generate suggestions based on data collected over the years. For example, it could suggest planting a certain crop at a given density across a particular field. But the farmer is the one to make the ultimate decision based on their experience.
“This technology makes the farmer’s historical knowledge as informed as possible,” Biegler says.
The Case IH Patriot 50 sprayer series.
Support and training
As the technology becomes more sophisticated, CNH is expanding the training and support it offers.
“It’s our job to make it as easy as possible for farmers to collect the data, use that data and gain maximum return from their investment,” explains Biegler. “I love going on a follow-up visit after a customer has bought a sprayer and telling them about a feature they’ve not been using. It might be because they’ve not had time to read the manual, or to experiment. Our goal is to ensure they feel fully supported as they integrate this technology into their daily routine. These visits help them speed up their learning, give them the opportunity to experiment and see how easy it is,” he says.
Data will drive the future
The high levels of interoperability between CNH’s different offerings means data can easily be shared across tools and applications. With the right interface, it can also be shared among a farmer’s partners, including agronomists and buyers.
Looking ahead, Biegler can see data use “going through the roof.” For example, he says, it could help farmers judge their yields well ahead of harvest to allow them to lock in the best price.
“Farmers typically know their breakeven cost before the seed is even in the ground. But today they have to wait to harvest the crop until they know the yield, which might be after the best price has been offered. In future, our technology and the data it provides could allow them to confidently predict their yields and sell it in forward markets when they judge it best,” he says.
CNH currently offers sprayer drone technology in Brazil, with plans to expand to the rest of Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. Although not currently available in the U.S., Biegler notes that CNH is continuously exploring how future technologies, including drones, can eventually integrate with and support its leading sprayer portfolio to offer farmers even greater operational flexibility.
In these and many other ways, CNH’s precision spraying technology gives farmers a practical way to use data, automation and machine control to manage inputs more accurately — supporting both productivity and more responsible land management.
CNH is a world-class equipment, technology and services company that sustainably advances the noble work of agriculture and construction workers.
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