Duration: 10/01/2027 to 09/30/2032

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Farmers today have access to more data than ever before through technologies such as sensors, yield monitors, and precision agriculture tools. However, having data does not automatically lead to better decisions. Many producers face challenges in interpreting information, integrating data from different systems, and understanding whether new technologies provide a clear return on investment. As a result, the potential benefits of precision agriculture are not always realized. Addressing these challenges is important for improving farm profitability, using resources more efficiently, and maintaining productive agricultural systems. The goal of NCERA-180 is to advance the development and adoption of precision agriculture by connecting researchers, Extension professionals, industry partners, and agricultural stakeholders across states and disciplines. Objectives are to: (1) advance data-driven precision agriculture systems that improve economic and environmental outcomes, (2) identify and communicate key research needs and opportunities, and (3) increase adoption through coordinated education, Extension, and workforce development efforts. Target audiences include farmers, crop advisors, Extension personnel, students, agricultural professionals, researchers, and industry stakeholders. These groups will benefit from improved access to research-based information, educational resources, analytical tools, and training opportunities that help them make more informed management decisions. By linking research, education, and outreach, the project will increase the effective use of precision agriculture technologies, strengthen workforce capacity, and improve decision-making on working farms.

 

Statement of Issues and Justification

Agricultural production is no longer constrained by a lack of data, but by the ability to translate information into decisions (Cravero et al., 2026; Friedman et al., 2024). While new technologies have enabled detailed characterization of spatial and temporal variability, most management decisions remain insufficiently informed by these insights (Drewry et al., 2019; McFadden et al., 2023). Bridging this gap between observation and action is essential for improving resilience, optimizing inputs, and sustaining soil and ecosystem function on U.S. farms. Precision agriculture (PA) technologies provide the foundation for managing variability, but their impact depends on how effectively they are integrated into decision-making systems. Coordinated research and Extension efforts that move beyond technology deployment are needed to advance the state of the science and realize the full potential of PA to inform farming practice (Lowenberg-DeBoer & Erickson, 2019).

PA adoption depends on a farm’s ability to recognize, interpret, and apply new technology. A recent technology assessment conducted by a multi-agency expert panel highlighted that, despite demonstrated benefits, the broader adoption and effective use of PA remain constrained by persistent technical, economic, and organizational challenges (US GAO, 2024). These include high initial costs, difficulties in data interpretation, and a lack of interoperability among platforms and technologies. These challenges are further supported by recent meta-analyses, which indicate that adoption is additionally constrained by gaps in technical knowledge and the absence of clearly defined and validated return on investment information (Kroupová et al., 2025). Opportunities to advance PA exist in improved data analytics, coordinated research, and expanded education and outreach. However, realizing these opportunities requires sustained, multi-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration to achieve meaningful impact at scale, particularly across diverse production environments where adoption constraints differ. The NCERA-180 membership is uniquely positioned to address these needs by integrating expertise across disciplines, production systems, and regions, thereby accelerating the development and delivery of PA approaches that are scientifically rigorous, operationally feasible, and directly relevant to farmers.

Strengthening the network among Extension personnel, researchers, and the future agricultural workforce will improve the capacity of farmers to adopt precision agriculture in ways that fit their operations (Lee et al., 2021; McDonald et al., 2022). This support enables farmers to translate data into actionable decisions, resulting in better management of within-field variability and clearer expectations of return on investment. In this way, PA functions not simply as a collection of technologies, but as a reliable management approach that reduces complexity, improves decision making, and delivers measurable, farmer-relevant outcomes on working operations.

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

Meetings will be the primary mechanism to achieve the stated objectives. This organization of multi-disciplinary, multi-state, and multi-commodity efforts has been the most significant achievement of NCERA-180. Participants and stakeholders will meet annually to discuss potential projects, disseminate research results, and share Extension and educational advancements. Past meetings have drawn large numbers of multi-disciplinary researchers and stakeholders. To ensure continued participation, virtual and hybrid meetings will be used. Meetings will be organized by the current Chair and will consist of sections focused on stakeholder input, focus area breakout sessions, research updates, and advances in instructional material. Stakeholder involvement will be a key aspect of the annual meetings and will serve as a chance to not only improve PA literacy but also to receive input from those we are serving. As the digital agricultural revolution continues to accelerate, so too will the opportunities in PA-related activities such as applied research and Extension which are well represented areas of the NCERA-180 committee members. These meetings will be critical to promote efforts in PA and as a community to identify knowledge gaps and specific opportunities. From these meetings, reports will be generated identifying high-priority needs that this community must address to further the stated objectives.

Research priorities will focus on advancing precision agriculture approaches that improve field-scale decision-making. These priorities include:

• Crop input management. Crop input management remains a critical control point due to its economic importance and its influence on soil health and overall system performance. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of input, including nutrients, seed, and crop protection products, requires a stronger scientific basis for defining and adapting management zones, which are inherently dynamic and driven by both spatial variability and temporal conditions. At the same time, application and sensing systems continue to increase in technical complexity, creating a need for coordinated research and Extension efforts to evaluate performance and demonstrate the practical value of emerging technologies under real-world conditions.
• Data integration and interoperability. As the volume and diversity of agricultural data continue to increase, challenges related to data compatibility, interoperability, and accessibility have become more pronounced. Research efforts will focus on developing approaches that enable integration across platforms and data sources, with emphasis on creating systems that support seamless data flow and practical decision-making. This work will reduce fragmentation in precision agriculture systems and improve the usability of data for farmers and advisors.

Effective communication within NCERA-180 serves to connect researchers, Extension personnel, and stakeholders, enabling the exchange of ideas, identification of shared challenges, and dissemination of research outcomes. Information sharing will occur through a combination of established channels, including scientific and Extension publications and professional meetings. Dissemination of knowledge generated through NCERA-180 will occur through established professional and educational channels, including peer-reviewed publications, Extension programming, and university instruction. Members actively contribute to, and provide leadership within, key professional societies such as the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA), and the tri-societies of American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), which serve as primary venues for exchange between members and with the broader research and practitioner community. Engagement will also occur through industry-facing meetings and conferences (e.g., TechHub), where interaction with technology developers, service providers, and farmers provides critical feedback on emerging needs and practical constraints. Collectively, these efforts ensure that advances in precision agriculture are communicated through trusted networks and translated into formats that support use in practice. This approach supports the timely dissemination of findings, strengthens connections across disciplines and regions, and helps ensure that research outputs are translated into practical, decision-relevant insights that support effective use of precision agriculture technologies.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Participation Form/Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

NCERA-180 will support education and workforce development by improving the capacity of students, Extension personnel, and agricultural professionals to effectively interpret and apply precision and digital agriculture technologies. Educational efforts will focus on developing technical literacy and decision-making skills needed to work with increasingly complex datasets and management systems. These activities will prepare the next generation of agricultural professionals while also strengthening the capabilities of the current workforce for supporting on-farm implementation.

Participants will incorporate research findings and datasets into university coursework, professional training programs, and Extension programming. This includes the development and sharing of instructional materials such as course modules, example datasets, and analytical workflows that reflect current advances in precision agriculture. By aligning educational content with ongoing research priorities, the group will ensure that training materials remain relevant, field-oriented, and directly applicable to real-world management challenges.

Extension and outreach efforts will provide educational opportunities for producers, crop advisors, and other stakeholders through workshops, demonstrations, and applied learning resources. These efforts emphasize translating complex concepts into practical knowledge that supports on-farm decision-making. Engagement through regional, national, and international symposia will further expand access to emerging knowledge while fostering interaction among researchers, educators, and practitioners.

Together, these activities create a coordinated approach to education and workforce development that links research, teaching, and Extension. This approach supports a more informed and capable agricultural workforce and ensures that advances in precision agriculture are effectively adopted and applied across diverse production systems.

Organization/Governance

The recommended Standard Governance for multi-state research activities include the election of a Chair, a Chair-elect, and a Secretary every year. All officers are to be elected for a one-year term. Administrative guidance will be provided by an assigned Administrative Advisor and a NIFA Representative.

Literature Cited

Cravero, A., Sepúlveda, S., Gutiérrez, F., & Muñoz, L. (2026). From Precision Agriculture to Intelligent Agricultural Ecosystems: A Systematic Review of Machine Learning and Big Data Applications. Agronomy, 16(5), 516. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16050516

Drewry, J. L., Shutske, J. M., Trechter, D., Luck, B. D., & Pitman, L. (2019). Assessment of digital technology adoption and access barriers among crop, dairy and livestock producers in Wisconsin. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 165, 104960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2019.104960

Friedman, N., Tan, Z., Haskins, M. N., Ju, W., Bailey, D., & Longchamps, L. (2024). Understanding farmers’ data collection practices on small-to-medium farms for the design of future farm management information systems. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 8(CSCW1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1145/3637416

Kroupová, Z. Ž., Aulová, R., Rumánková, L., Bajan, B., Čechura, L., Šimek, P., & Jarolímek, J. (2025). Drivers and barriers to precision agriculture technology and digitalisation adoption: Meta-analysis of decision choice models. Precision Agriculture, 26(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-024-10213-1

Lee, C.-L., Strong, R., & Dooley, K. E. (2021). Analyzing Precision Agriculture Adoption across the Globe: A Systematic Review of Scholarship from 1999–2020. Sustainability, 13(18), 10295. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810295

Lowenberg-DeBoer, J., & Erickson, B. (2019). Setting the Record Straight on Precision Agriculture Adoption. Agronomy Journal, 111(4), 1552–1569. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2018.12.0779

McDonald, N., Fogarty, E. S., Cosby, A., & McIlveen, P. (2022). Technology Acceptance, Adoption and Workforce on Australian Cotton Farms. Agriculture, 12(8), 1180. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081180

McFadden, J., Njuki, E., & Griffin, T. (2023). Precision Agriculture in the Digital Era: Recent Adoption on U.S. Farms (EIB-248; p. 52). USDA Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=105893

US GAO. (2024). Precision Agriculture: Benefits and Challenges for Technology Adoption and Use (GAO-24-105962 GAO-24-105962; p. 80). US Government Accountability Office. https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24105962.pdf

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions