Yields are growing and efficiency is increasing thanks to GNSS innovations that have made centimeter-level positioning accuracy possible for agricultural use cases. Previously, while the technology was widely available, precise accuracy was unaffordable for the majority of farming applications. However, this has now changed with the arrival of recent real-time kinematic (RTK) correction technology, which is used to support greater location accuracy for global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communications. Now, use cases such as auto-steering of tractors and controlling other vehicles and high-value equipment can be achieved cost effectively with advanced technology that enables farms of all types and across all locations to access the benefits of precise location regardless of scale.

The key innovation that has unlocked precision farming capabilities is the mass-production of GNSS receivers that feature RTK positioning and offer affordable global RTK correction services. This means that RTK is no longer only for high-value machines, and devices from seeders to sprayers and harvesters to livestock trackers can now be securely positioned using the technology. Advanced technologies, such as RTKHOLD are also being provided to deliver high-quality performance for rural users. Critically, greater accuracy and robustness for mainstream agricultural applications have now been field-validated, and farmers can reap the benefits of the technology with greater accuracy, resulting in reduced waste and higher yields.

Importantly, this new wave of precision farming has not involved dumbing down of GNSS, and farms are being supported by innovations enabling field-grade GNSS rather than iterations of consumer GPS, which cannot offer the same location accuracy. Understanding the technology is fundamental to specifying the most appropriate solution for precision agriculture, and this was explored in a recent Quectel Masterclass which details how to evaluate the technology behind precision farming.

Precise and secure GNSS farming solutions

The services are delivered as a combination of device, connectivity, and correction service provider to create comprehensive, precise, and secure solutions. In addition, limitations inherent to farming use cases need to be considered. For example, a soil sensor might need to rely on very low power consumption by the communication module in the device to ensure a long lifespan. Other applications, such as autonomous machinery, might rely on RTK updates to keep running smoothly across large fields.

The Masterclass, titled ‘Enabling precision farming with high-accuracy GNSS technologies’, deep dives into real use cases, showcasing how RTK provides the highest accuracy using real-time corrections from a base station or correction network. Centimeter-level precision is not always needed. The Galileo High Accuracy Service, for example, takes a different approach, broadcasting free PPP corrections via satellite. This achieves sub-20cm horizontal positioning without any ground infrastructure, making it an attractive option for GNSS for precision farming.

In addition, the Masterclass featured a live field demonstration of Quectel’s LG290P GNSS module and its new RTKHOLD capability, introduced in the latest firmware. RTKHOLD is designed to maintain high-precision positioning during temporary RTK correction outages. In real-world farm conditions, the LG290P demonstrated the ability to maintain positioning accuracy from the centimeter to decimeter level for up to 10 minutes after losing the correction connection—performance that cannot typically be achieved with conventional RTK solutions. This capability significantly improves the availability and continuity of high-precision positioning in agricultural applications, particularly in rural areas where cellular connectivity can be intermittent or unreliable.

The Masterclass, which can be viewed here, details the various options available for environments with limited cellular connectivity – which is typical for many farms. The session, presented by Chang Xu, GNSS Product Manager for the EMEA region at Quectel, provides practical guidance on which option suits various use cases most effectively. The Masterclass concludes with a technology overview and practical tests and demonstrations of the technologies.