Economic Impact of Double Planting and the Benefits of Automatic Section Control Technology for Planters

In the context of Precision Agricultural (PA) technologies, Automatic Section Control (ASC) Technology for planters provides control over planting operations such that sections or rows on the planter are turned off in areas of the field that had been previously planted or areas that have been marked not to plant. Potential benefits of this technology are lower seed costs due to reduction in double-planted acres, and improved yield potential in these double-planted areas at harvest time (Fulton et al. 2010). Reduced cost (i.e. seed savings) and additional revenue (i.e. improved yield) will vary based on field shape and size. A study was conducted in West Tennessee to identify proportion variation of double planted areas based on field geometry (i.e. field shape and size). Information on twenty seven cotton fields, totaling 1,117 acres, was collected between April and June of 2010. Additional cost and reduced revenue due to double planting was compared to a base case scenario where the use of an ASC technology for planter is assumed. An economic evaluation of potential economic losses that could be avoided by using an ASC technology for planters was conducted using a partial budgeting analysis.

Fields in this study were classified based on their percentage of double planted area. Preliminary results showed that losses from double planting increased with the irregularity of the field shape. Very irregular-shaped fields resulted in higher net losses due to double planting when compare to more regular-shaped fields.  Therefore, potential economic benefits ( i.e. lower seed costs due to reduction in double-planted acres, and improved yield potential in these double-planted areas at harvest time) from adopting ASC technology increased as the proportion of fields with irregular shapes on a farm operation increases.