Growers in the top corn, soybean and wheat producing states are almost twice as likely to use precision technology than growers in other states, according to the most recent USDA Technology Use (Farm Computer Usage and Ownership) report released on Thursday.

More than half of growers surveyed in Illinois (51%), Iowa (54%), Nebraska (55%), North Dakota (57%) and South Dakota (53%) said they used precision technology in the last 12 months, including GPS guidance systems, GPS yield monitoring and soil mapping, variable rate input applications, drones for scouting fields or monitoring livestock, electronic tagging, precision feeding or robotic milking. The U.S. average was 27% in 2023, 2 percentage points higher than 2021.

85% of farms reported having access to the internet. 32% of farms used the internet to purchase agricultural inputs in 2023, which was a 3-point increase from 2021. 51% of internet connected farms utilized a broadband connection while 75% had access through a cellular data plan.

The report is based on responses from approximately 14,000 agricultural operations, representing all sizes and types of farms. 

Click here to read the full report.

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