Precision farming is being hailed as a set of new technologies promising private economic gains and societal environmental benefits. These new technologies are used to identify and measure within-field variability and its causes, prescribe site- specific input applications that match varying crop and soil needs, and apply the inputs as prescribed. Reduction of input levels, increased efficiency of inputs as well as proper timing of the inputs can reduce costs as well increase yields/returns.

Extensive research has been conducted in low value grain crops for which yield monitors have been commercialized. The use of precision technology for cotton (a higher valued crop) is more limited because accurate yield monitors have only recently become commercially available. Because cotton is an important high-value crop in Mississippi, an assessment of the use of precision farming practices, an investigation into the factors that influence adoption of precision farming technologies, and an evaluation of the likelihood that cotton producers will adopt newly developed yield monitoring systems would provide important information for Mississippi cotton producers and agri-businesses alike.

The adoption of precision farming technologies depends on the characteristics of the decision-maker, the farm, and the cotton market. The 1997 Census of Agriculture revealed 1700 cotton producers in Mississippi. Overall characteristics of Mississippi farms as reported in the 1997 Census were 65 percent full ownership of farm land, 96% family/partner ownership of the farming operation, 3% corporate ownership, 6.8% of the farms contained 1000 acres or more. Planted acres of cotton in Mississippi have ranged from .95 million acres to 1.3 million acres over the last five years. Statewide cotton yields have averaged 753 pounds for the period 1996-2000. The future of precision farming in cotton production depends on how producers view this set of new technologies and how willing they are to improve current management practices.

The objectives of this study were 1) to determine attitudes toward and current use of precision farming technologies by Mississippi cotton producers and 2) to examine Mississippi cotton producers’ willingness to pay for a cotton yield monitoring system. A mail survey of cotton producers located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee was conducted in January and February of 2001 to establish the current use of precision farming technologies in these Southeastern states. This report provides information dealing with the Mississippi portion of the survey.

Results indicate cotton producers are listening to crop consultants, extension and research personnel at universities, and farm dealers in making decisions about precision farming. Most responding cotton producers use computers for farm management decisions, believe precision farming will be profitable in the future, and those producers who adopt these technologies do so to increase profit. The top four precision farming technologies being used by adopters were soil survey maps, soil grid sampling, soil sampling by management zones and variable rate fertilizer application. Responding producers indicated less willingness to purchase precision farming equipment (yield monitors) as price increased.