[This post was originally published on The Food Rush]

Precision agriculture is helping farmers around the world to be more efficient, tech-savvy, sustainable, and profitable.

Precision Agriculture has been in the news recently as agriculture technology (AgTech) startups gain popularity and attract investment. This dialog is filled with buzzwords such as drones, cloud-based platforms, and big data analytics. But what exactly is Precision Agriculture, and is it really new?

Precision agriculture is the practice of collecting information — whether from sensors in the mud, satellites in space, or robots roaming the fields — that helps a farmer (or agronomist) optimise his or her operation. The goal is to ultimately maximize on-farm profits, but precision agriculture often has other positive side effects. These include reducing environmental impact, improving traceability, and saving time and effort.

PRECISION AGRICULTURE IS NOT AS NEW AS YOU THINK

Despite all the hype, precision agriculture is not as new as it may seem. Precision agriculture started in the United States in the early 1980s when researchers in Minnesota divided up test fields into a grid and began experimenting with applying different inputs to different parts of the grid. This research led to a new approach for managing and optimizing's farm yields, and precision agriculture was born. Farmers can now monitor and measure different aspects of their operations, such as soil and moisture conditions, and then apply inputs or take action only in a particular area based on what is required.

Since then, new technologies such as GPS, advanced tractors, and skyrocketing amounts of computing power have enhanced our ability to manage all this data and enabled precision agriculture techniques to be used around the world.

THE LATEST IN THE WORLD OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE

Given the huge potential, startups and big agribusinesses are racing to develop and deploy the best precision agriculture technologies. Here are a few examples.

FarmersEdge (Canada)
FarmersEdge provides hardware and software solutions integrated into their FarmCommand™ platform. They are supported by a team of agronomists who can advise their clients in person. Their system collects data from machinery and sensors on the farm, satellite imagery, and weather stations.

GeoSys (France)
GeoSys has built a suite of products, including visualizations, analytics and algorithms, and databases, to help participants along the supply chain, including farmers, make data-driven decisions. GeoSys has operations around the world.

Observant (Australia)
Observant has built user-friendly hardware and software to help farmers apply precision agriculture techniques to managing their water. They provide a cloud-based platform that interoperates with sensors such as irrigation equipment, soil monitors, and cameras.

Farmers Business Network (FBN) (USA)
FBN is a farmer-to-farmer network that provides aggregate and farm-level data and analytics about inputs, soil, crop yields, and prices. FBN was founded by an ex-Googler and has raised nearly $50M from industry-leading investors such as Kleiner Perkins, Campbell’s VC arm, Acre Venture Partners, and Google Ventures.

The Climate Corporation (USA)
The Climate Corporation, also founded by an ex-Googler, analyzes and presents historical and real-time data such as weather, crop yields, and field information pulled right from the tractor via their FieldView platform. The Climate Corporation was acquired by Monsanto in 2013 for nearly $1B.

Did we miss your favorite precision agriculture startup, or do you have other ideas for precision agriculture innovations or applications? Let us know in the comments below