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Abstract
Precision agricultural (PA) technologies can decrease input costs by providing farmers with
more detailed information and application control, but adoption has been sluggish, especially
for variable-rate technologies (VRT). Is it possible that farmers have difficulty realizing these cost
savings? Combinations of PA technologies are considered as complements, testing several patterns
of PA technology adoption that may show different levels of costs. The USDA’s Agricultural
Resource Management Survey of corn producers is used to estimate a treatment-effects model
that allows for selection bias. VRT contributes additional production cost savings when added to
soil mapping, but not when done with yield mapping alone.