What Do Precision Agriculture Technicians Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Precision Agriculture Technicians apply geospatial technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS), to agricultural production or management activities, such as pest scouting, site-specific pesticide application, yield mapping, or variable-rate irrigation. May use computers to develop or analyze maps or remote sensing images to compare physical topography with data on soils, fertilizer, pests, or weather. They also collect information about soil or field attributes, yield data, or field boundaries, using field data recorders and basic geographic information systems (GIS).

Other tasks include:

• Use geospatial technology to develop soil sampling grids or identify sampling sites for testing characteristics such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium content, pH, or micronutrients.
• Demonstrate the applications of geospatial technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), automatic tractor guidance systems, variable rate chemical input applicators, surveying equipment, or computer mapping software.
• Document and maintain records of precision agriculture information.
• Identify spatial coordinates, using remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
• Apply precision agriculture information to specifically reduce the negative environmental impacts of farming practices.
• Create, layer, and analyze maps showing precision agricultural data, such as crop yields, soil characteristics, input applications, terrain, drainage patterns, or field management history.

We asked Precision Agriculture Technicians how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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69% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 65% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Precision Agriculture Technicians document and maintain records of precision agriculture information. They draw or read maps, such as soil, contour, or plat maps.

A typical day for a Precision Agriculture Technician will also include:

• Identify spatial coordinates, using remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
• Demonstrate the applications of geospatial technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), automatic tractor guidance systems, variable rate chemical input applicators, surveying equipment, or computer mapping software.
• Apply precision agriculture information to specifically reduce the negative environmental impacts of farming practices.
• Collect information about soil or field attributes, yield data, or field boundaries, using field data recorders and basic geographic information systems (GIS).
• Analyze geospatial data to determine agricultural implications of factors such as soil quality, terrain, field productivity, fertilizers, or weather conditions.

We asked some Precision Agriculture Technicians a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	71% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	25% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	50% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	25% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	0% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	39% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Precision Agriculture Technicians also contact equipment manufacturers for technical assistance, as needed. They may also program farm equipment, such as variable-rate planting equipment or pesticide sprayers, based on input from crop scouting and analysis of field condition variability.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Precision Agriculture Technicians Analyze geospatial data to determine agricultural implications of factors such as soil quality, terrain, field productivity, fertilizers, or weather conditions. They might also Document and maintain records of precision agriculture information.

In addition, they Create, layer, and analyze maps showing precision agricultural data, such as crop yields, soil characteristics, input applications, terrain, drainage patterns, or field management history.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Divide agricultural fields into georeferenced zones, based on soil characteristics and production potentials.

To some Precision Agriculture Technicians, it is also their responsibility to Recommend best crop varieties or seeding rates for specific field areas, based on analysis of geospatial data.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Irregular work schedule that changes depending on weather conditions, customer demand or contract duration.

In a typical work week as a Precision Agriculture Technician, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/agricultural-and-food-science-technicians.htm

https://www.agronomy.org/

https://www.soils.org/

http://www.ift.org/