CHAMPLAIN—Using a Global Positioning System to spray crop protectants in farm fields helps some Virginia farmers reduce the amount of chemicals being applied to their crops.

“It definitely cuts down on excess,” said Jay Hundley, an Essex County corn and soybean producer who has been using GPS on both his sprayer and combine for three years.

Hundley is one of a growing number of farmers tapping into modern technology to improve efficiency on their farms.

“GPS technology is not new, but every year more and more farmers are discovering how it can help their farming operations,” said David Coleman, grain manager for the Virginia Farm Bureau. “As GPS technology evolves, its benefits to agriculture will become even greater, and it will help farmers continue to be good environmental stewards.”

GPS is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. In the 1980s the government made the system available to civilians, and farmers have since discovered ways the technology can benefit them.

Hundley said the GPS on the sprayer detects the edges of a field and will automatically stop spraying if spray nozzles no longer are over the crop. Because the system knows exactly where to spray, it eliminates any excess chemicals ending up on the field or beyond.

“It avoids double spraying, saves money and is environmentally sound,” said Bryan Taliaferro, an Essex County grain producer who recently bought a GPS for his sprayer. “It’s just good all around.”

Taliaferro said he and his brother David previously had used a GPS yield monitor on their combine and found the yield maps helpful to determine places in the field where crops were not growing well.

Hundley said he thinks the benefits of the GPS on his sprayer will outweigh the initial expense. “Since I have a relatively large operation—6,000 acres of corn and soybeans—I get a faster payback,” he said.

The GPS on his combine records yield data, moisture levels and other information that previously was recorded manually.

“This gives historical data across the field, and we can look at the GPS maps and compare yields,” Hundley said. “Before I had the GPS, I didn’t realize how much we were losing at the ends of the fields. We found out that there were spots where crops weren’t growing, and no amount of fertilizer was going to help.”