The Challenges of Precision Agriculture: Is Big Data the Answer?

Precision farming utilizes information technology to add exactness to the quantity, quality, timing and location in the application and utilization of inputs in agricultural production. Though having tremendous potential, after two decades of work pertaining to precision agriculture, our abilities to capitalize on this technology have fallen far short of expectations. This manuscript frames the discussion concerning the challenges and opportunities of precision farming identifying critical knowledge gaps that must be addressed before precision agriculture technologies will be more widely embraced. A review of the literature provides the foundation for this discussion, helps identify knowledge gaps and outline some of the progressions in technologies needed for the industry to better capitalize on the potential advantages offered by precision agriculture.