Returns to Zone Management Under Varying Conditions

A framework for individual-farmer evaluation of the net benefits of adopting precision agricultural technologies was developed and tested. Partial budgeting analysis was used to calculate the net profit effect of adopting precision agriculture technology bundles on three farms differing in input use and location. @Risk was used to account for risk. Results show that adopting zone application of fertilizers and seed can be profitable for farms with moderately variable soils and this is amplified with higher prices, but that adoption of zone application may not be profitable for farms with low input use variation such as those irrigated.