An economic evaluation of site-specific input application R_x maps: evaluation framework and case study

Commercial consultants frequently sell site-specific crop input management recommendation maps (R_xs) to their farmer-clients. This study proposes a method to empirically evaluate the efficacy of commercial R_xs. The method takes three steps: (1) it uses precision agriculture technology to conduct randomized on-farm precision experiments; (2) it estimates yield response functions for the R_x’s management zones using the data; and (3) it conducts economic analysis to test the hypothesis that implementing the R_x is an economically optimal strategy. The method is illustrated using data from a 2018 on-farm nitrogen and seed rate precision experiment on a 31-ha Ohio field, for which nitrogen and seed R_xs were created by the farmer’s professional consultant. The study demonstrates the promise of improving input management through on-farm precision experimentation and data analysis. Future research must conduct trials over multiple years to account for weather. A call is made for the development of public and private research infrastructure to lower the costs on-farm precision experimentation and data analysis.