Targeted sprayers have gained interest in the marketplace and from soybean growers to more effectively manage herbicide-resistant weeds while reducing chemical input costs and protecting natural resources. Targeted sprayers provide the opportunity to obtain runoff mitigation points to satisfy US EPA Endangered Species Act Herbicide Strategy regulations (US EPA, 2025). Despite the push towards targeted sprayers, farmers are unsure whether this technology could be adopted in their operations. As these technological developments continue to be commercialized, this project will assess product effectiveness, identify benefits and drawbacks, learn soybean yield impact and assess profitability, to ensure farmer success.
Objectives of this project include field research that explores weed control, yield impacts, and economics of targeted spray applications compared to broadcast applications; identify value-added services that targeted spray equipment may provide such as field maps that correlate with harvest yield monitors and recording of weed distribution data for predicting future weed pressure.
In 5 to 10 years, it is expected that targeted technologies will become standard additions to sprayers, similar to pulsing technology today. Establishing best management practices can ease the farmer’s transition into these tools. The assessment of herbicide savings, yield impacts, and overall profitability potential with these tools will help soybean farmers on an annual, input-cost basis. This research can also provide insights that may influence industry business structure, capital costs, and subscription fees to aid soybean farmers on a long-term investment basis.