PRECISION AGRICULTURE, WHOLE FIELD FARMING AND IRRIGATION PRACTICES: A PRODUCTION RISK ANALYSIS

One of the potential management practices of precision agriculture (PA) is the capability of varying input application rate across a field. A potential benefit of that practice is the reduction in yield variability. Temporal reduction in yield variability can also be achieved through irrigation practices. Combining both practices should lead to a reduction of the yield risk faced by the farmer. In this study, variable rate application of nutrients will include to nitrogen, potassium and phosphate. Mathematical programming techniques will be used in a standard E-V framework to analyze the ability of PA and/or irrigation to reduce production risk.