ABSTRACT
Precision farming (PF) can be defined as the management of spatial and temporal variability to improve economic returns and reduce environmental impact. This can be achieved through using appropriate technologies within a coherent management structure. The technology gives the tools and the management decides how the tools should be used. PF uses these new technologies to reduce the unit area of treatment from, in some cases, the farm down to field or even subfield level. At the farm level management is relatively easy, as it is a process of managing by averages. Inputs are calculated to a certain level that can be applied across the whole farm. At the field level local conditions can be taken into account such as soil type and previous crop. These added data sources increase the decision-making complexity, but when used correctly they improve the efficiency. At the subfield level the complexity rises further when talking into account changes in soil type, shading from trees, areas of compaction, etc. At this level, the complexity can become so great that data overload occurs and the manager cannot use all of the available data. PF technology now has the ability to produce data about soils and crops at submeter levels across the whole field, but the capability to use this data is very limited until suitable information systems are developed.
