Determinants of adoption and adoption intensity of precision agriculture technologies: evidence from South Dakota

Precision agriculture technologies (PATs) are promoted as part of both economically efficient and environmentally sustainable agriculture practices. Available PATs are generally classified into two groups; namely, embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs. Adoption levels of embodied-knowledge PATs are high relative to information-intensive PATs. Previous studies on the adoption of PATs do not differentiate between embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs. Additionally, most studies focus on the adoption of one or two of the available PATs rather than on adoption intensity—defined as the total number of individual PATs adopted. This study fills this gap in the literature by focusing on PAT adoption in general, and adoption intensity of embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs in particular. The study uses data from 198 farm-operator respondents in eastern South Dakota from a 2017 survey and employs descriptive statistics and probit and Poisson regression models for the analyses. As per the study, GPS guidance, yield monitor, and automatic section control systems are the most popular PATs, each with adoption rates of over 50%. Overall, findings from the study show that the effect of cropland size, producers’ perceptions of profitability, and operator off-farm income are similar for both adoption and adoption intensity of embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs. However, there are differences in the effect of land productivity and familiarity with computer use between adoption and adoption intensity and between embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs. The effect of producers’ perception of the environmental benefits of PATs is inconclusive and needs to be investigated in future research. The results indicate that analyzing PATs as a group of technologies masks differences in determinants between embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs. The study provides insights for developing programs, policies, and outreach efforts that encourage the adoption and adoption intensity of both embodied-knowledge and information-intensive PATs. Findings from the study will also be of interest to precision agriculture researchers, extension personnel, agribusinesses, and policymakers who may consider PATs as tools for improving agricultural sustainability and food security.