SEA Working Paper 99/02
Abstract - The
economics of monitoring crops at the micro level:
Precision weed management
David J. Pannell and Anne L. Bennett
Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of W.A., Nedlands, 6907
Abstract
Precision farming technologies for weed control offer the prospect of reduced herbicide use and greater profits. However evaluating their overall impact on profit can be very difficult. It is shown in this paper that simple evaluations based only on savings in herbicide can be very misleading. There are a number of important complexities which influence the level of benefits gained and unfortunately the complexities tend to reduce the level of benefits. In a case study of the WASP technology for detection of weeds during pre-crop treatment, it is found that the realistic level of benefits is very low in most scenarios - too low to cover likely costs. This is not primarily because of limitations in the technology. Even if these limitations could be overcome, the benefits would still be low because of the nature of the problem. This finding is reinforced by an assessment of an hypothetical in-crop precision sprayer. It is found that the benefits are likely to be even lower for the in-crop situation because of the greater importance of weed detection errors in this case.
Citation: Pannell, D.J. and Bennett, A.L. (1999). Economic feasibility of precision weed management: Is it worth the investment? In: R.W. Medd and J.E. Pratley (eds), Precision Weed Management in Crops and Pastures, CRC for Weed Management Systems, Adelaide, pp. 138-148. http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/u/dpannell/dpap9903f.htm
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