Precision Farming: Introducing Spot Spraying & Variable Rate Weed Control

With the Precision Farming Free DLC for Farming Simulator 22, the weed growth on your fields will change. A new spraying option is added, and the way you control the weeds will have an effect on the environmental score of your farm. Let's take a look!

The Precision Farming Free DLC is a project initiated by John Deere and funded by EIT Food, Europe’s leading Food Innovation Initiative. Co-funded by the EU, it is meant to highlight sustainable technology in agriculture. It releases on April 19th for PC and consoles.

• Read here what Precision Farming is
• Find out more about EIT Food

Spot Spraying Reduces Herbicide Usage

With Precision Farming enabled in Farming Simulator 22, weeds won't appear as evenly spread out as they do normally in the game. Instead, weeds appear in smaller or bigger patches, like on most real fields. That means, as they do not grow all over the field, you have the chance to save a lot of herbicide, and therefore money since you don't have to treat the whole field. 

Simultaneously, the reduced usage of herbicide will have a positive effect on the environmental score of your farm. Over are the days when you just turn on your sprayer and cover the whole field with herbicides. Instead, you need a special sprayer using so-called spot spraying technology. This will save you up to 90% of herbicide, reducing costs and protecting the environment.

"See & Spray" with John Deere

With the Precision Farming Free DLC, we introduce the John Deere R732i PowrSpray. Thanks to its "See & Spray" feature using machine vision and artificial intelligence software, each nozzle of the sprayer will only turn on to apply herbicide if there are actual weeds below them. 

A set of cameras using a special software can distinguish between crops from weed plants. If enough weeds are detected, the nozzles open and the herbicide is applied. You need to add the "Spot Spraying" configuration in the shop when buying the sprayer at the dealership.

More Info On New Features Coming Soon!

The Precision Farming Free DLC will be made available through the official ModHub on PC and consoles for Farming Simulator 22 on April 19th. See the complete list of features, below. We will share more information about each new feature in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned! 

Precision Farming Features in FS22

• Soil Types*
• Soil Sampling*
• Soil Map Purchase
• Yield Map*
• Environmental Score
• Economic Analysis*
• Crop Sensors
• Variable Rate Seeding/Drilling
• Variable Rate Weed Control
• Variable Rate Manure Fertilizing
• Variable Rate Mineral Fertilizing*
• Variable Rate Mineral Lime Spreading*

* Returning features based on Precision Farming for Farming Simulator 19

Goals and Members of the Collaboration

The EIT Food funded project aims to provide knowledge regarding sustainable farming technology. Implementing Precision Farming in the global video game phenomenon Farming Simulator is one of EITs multiple steps to increase awareness.

Various other partners from the European Union are part of the project: The University of Hohenheim (Germany), the University of Reading (UK), Grupo AN (the largest cereal cooperative in Spain) and the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of Polish Academy of Sciences cooperate to promote the technology.

Downloaded more than one million times, the first version of the Precision Farming DLC for Farming Simulator 19 proved a great success.