Economic and Environmental Impact Assessment of Tractor Guidance Technology

Abstract

Core Ideas Tractor guidance (TG) technology allows for spatially precise input applications. A decision‐support tool was developed to quantify environmental and economic impacts of TG. Greatest C equivalent emission reductions and cost savings occurred with Cotton‐Only scenario. TG was profitable for operations evaluated and led to C equivalent emissions reductions. This tool may improve agricultural sustainability and enhance technology adoption. Tractor guidance technology allows for more spatially precise input applications, which leads to efficiency gains that are difficult to quantify at the systems level. A decision‐support tool, Tractor Guidance Analysis (TGA), was developed to quantify carbon equivalent (CE) emission reductions associated with this technology for three scenarios (500 ha each): (i) cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), (ii) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], and (iii) cotton and soybean mixed. Carbon equivalent emission reductions for cotton, soybean, and mixed enterprises were 27.5, 5.6, and 16.5 kg ha−1, with attendant increases in farm profitability ($68,700, $16,900, and, $42,900, respectively). Tractor guidance led to total farm CE emission reductions of 15.7, 3.5, and 9.6 Mg for cotton, soybean, and mixed operations, respectively. These results highlight that CE reductions are (i) crop specific, (ii) scale dependent, and (iii) equipment and input‐use specific. Consequently, TGA can improve agricultural sustainability by informing users of economic and environmental repercussions of tractor guidance and may thereby enhance technology adoption.