Precision Agriculture

The ongoing use of technology to predict and prevent losses is a development that The Institutes and Risk & Insurance are keeping a close eye on.

We even have a website, predictandprevent.org, and ongoing podcasts dedicated to the topic. Some recent reports in the New York Times from the agricultural sector give one hope that prediction and prevention can both protect the environment and increase the output of our hard working farmers.

In one hopeful missive, we read of smart collars being placed on dairy cows to monitor their health. Should something be amiss, the cow’s ear tag turns a different color. This allows the farmer to quickly identify which cow needs treatment.

He or she can monitor all of this from their desk. Another innovation that triggers admiration is the use of drones to identify which portion of a farmer’s fields are most in need of fertilizer. Rather than blanket the entire crop with nitrogen, too much of which will poison streams and other waterways, the farmer can apply fertilizer more precisely.

This gives the farmer better yields by bolstering parts of his field which need the most help. It also saves the farmer money in the form of not wasting fertilizer where it’s not needed. Our farmers are under pressure and they operate on very thin margins.

Developments like these give one hope that the use of technology can both protect our vital food supplies and make American farmers, already the most productive in the world, even more productive with the hope that their businesses can be more resilient and sustainable.

That’s the type of prediction and prevention this desk likes a lot. &