By Scout Nelson
The adoption of digital agriculture (DA) tools in Nebraska faces several challenges, as highlighted in a statewide survey conducted by the University of Nebraska’s Digital Farming Lab. This study is part of the ongoing series, “How Digital is Agriculture in Nebraska?”
Digital agriculture combines advanced technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence, and big data to improve food production systems. While its potential is vast, barriers to adoption hinder its widespread use among Nebraska farmers.
The survey categorized barriers into levels of intensity, ranking them as high or moderate. The top barriers include:
- Lack of information about DA value (75%)
- Lack of qualified labour to manage technologies (65%)
- Lack of time (63%)
- Overwhelming number of technologies (60%)
- Limited number of service providers (58%)
- Technology cost (56%)
- Limited available training (53%)
- Not enough field days (44%)
The primary obstacle is the lack of information about the value of DA, followed by the need for skilled labor and time constraints. Interestingly, the historically significant barrier of technology cost ranked sixth.
A literature review (Dibbern et al., 2024) supports these findings, citing economic constraints, infrastructure gaps, and a lack of technological knowledge as common challenges. Academic training and perceived usefulness of technology also play a role.
These insights guide the University of Nebraska’s efforts to develop solutions through research and extension programs. The Precision Nitrogen Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) supports this initiative.
Stay tuned for the next article in this series, which will explore the top five digital agriculture tools most used in Nebraska and their benefits. For more information, visit the UNL Digital Agriculture website.
Photo Credits:gettyimages-shotbydave.
Categories: Nebraska, General