An educational workshop on the use of precision agriculture as a risk management tool

The value of precision agriculture (PA) in reducing the risk borne by farmers has been demonstrated in prior research. This educational project used the teaching of teams consisting of a county extension agent and one or more farmers in Western and Central Kentucky, USA with necessary training and tools to use and help others use PA in managing risk. Three workshops that consider the effects of other risk management techniques such as land tenure (e.g., owned land, crop share) were conducted. The project aimed to change behavior of the participants; upon completion, participants were expected to be able to competently apply three PA risk management tools at either a basic or advanced level. Preliminary results show that the workshops were well received and accomplished the goal of providing decision aids useful in applying PA techniques in reducing risk. The more difficult and uncontrollable task of having teams help others remains ongoing.