"Precision agriculture" is revolutionizing farming as we know it. Taking advantage of information technology, farmers can now collect precise data about their fields and customize how they cultivate each square foot, boosting yields and reducing waste. Big data is the key to the future of the green revolution.
Thousands of years ago, agriculture began as a highly site-specific activity. The first farmers were gardeners who nurtured individual plants, and they sought out the microclimates and patches of soil that favored those plants. But as farmers acquired scientific knowledge and mechanical expertise, they enlarged their plots, using standardized approaches—plowing the soil, spreading animal manure as fertilizer, rotating the crops from year to year—to boost crop yields.