Despite the pastoral imagery many have in their minds, modern agriculture is undeniably high tech. Farmers operate cutting-edge equipment that efficiently allows them to feed the world.

Some of the same technology that powers smartphone location services and enables your vehicle’s navigation system to provide accurate turn-by-turn directions is also used to reduce agriculture waste and costs while boosting harvests.

The Eyes in the Sky

Global Navigation Satellite Systems, or GNSS, is a generic term for a group of related technologies including the U.S.-developed Global Positioning System, or GPS. According to NASA, this technology “can pinpoint a three-dimensional position to meter-level accuracy and time to the 10-nanosecond level, worldwide and 24/7.” Enabling this incredible capability are at least 24 satellites orbiting high above, the space agency notes.

But what does any of this have to do with farming? A lot, actually. As Eric Shuman, the head of global precision technology product management at CNH, a company that owns several large agricultural brands including Case IH, New Holland and STEYR explained to Newsweek, GNSS can determine the exact position of a tractor in a field, which can provide huge benefits to farmers.

Automation and Precision Tracking Deliver Many Benefits

Along with automatic steering technology, “GNSS-guided equipment can support more efficient and environmentally responsible farming by helping farmers reduce overlap, avoid unnecessary passes, and place inputs more accurately,” said Schuman.

“More precise application of seed, fertilizer, crop protection products, and other inputs can reduce waste, help limit over-application, lower fuel consumption, and improve overall field efficiency,” he added. Beyond that, the fewer passes a tractor drives on a field, the less soil damage occurs.

Many crops today are planted in tight rows, so satellite-based guidance has to be precise, and it is far more accurate than many people might expect. “A standard GNSS signal, like the GPS you use on your phone, is typically accurate within a few feet, which is more than enough for everyday navigation,” Jason Blanchette, the product manager of StarFire and AutoTrac at John Deere told Newsweek.

“In agriculture,” he continued, “a few inches of error can have real consequences. It could mean planting seeds in the wrong place or spacing, driving over emerging crops, or spraying the same area twice while missing another altogether.”

GNSS keeps equipment on the proverbial – and in this case, literal – straight and narrow, but real-time kinematics (RTK) is what provides the super-accurate positioning that is demanded in agricultural applications. Shuman said RTK uses data from a fixed base station, to deliver centimeter-level precision, helping keep equipment “within 1.5 cm between each pass, and within 2.5 cm repeating season after season.”

Similarly, Blanchette noted RTK along with automated steering provides consistency and repeatability over hundreds or even thousands of acres, enabling farmers to return to the exact same planting lines year after year if desired, though these can easily be adjusted if necessary.

He also said RTK can be combined with field data, that is, information about soil types, moisture levels, elevation and even previous harvest results, allowing farmers to fine tune how they plant in specific sections of a field. “For example, areas with rich, fertile soil may receive more seeds to maximize yield, while sandy, wet, or less productive areas may receive fewer seeds to give each plant the best chance to thrive,” said Blanchette, a strategy that can improve efficiency and crop performance.

Scalable Technology Benefits Farms Globally

Whether this technology is used on a tight, irregularly shaped plot in Europe or a mammoth swath of land in the heart of the American Midwest, GNSS and RTK provide real results, no matter the scale. “In smaller fields, operators may be more worried about reducing skips and overlaps in headlands that curve or have odd shapes, while in larger fields, like in Kansas, operators may be more worried about field efficiency and operator fatigue,” noted Kaleb Rulon, strategic marketing specialist at PTx, a division of AGCO, in a reply to Newsweek.

He also noted that the biggest gains from using GNSS and RTK are seen in large fields where the passes are long and repetitive, but in Europe, for instance, where the fields are generally smaller and more specialty items are grown, the cost-per-acre goes up significantly. “This means it is even more important to avoid running over standing crops and place inputs exactly where they belong,” he added.

Tractors that are guided by satellites and can steer themselves are far more precise than any human operator. This accuracy can prevent double planting or driving over existing crops, it can reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, save farmers time and deliver higher yields.

Additionally, Rulon said that according to several studies, fuel consumption can also be reduced by anywhere from 5-6% or more in typical operations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 2024 U.S. farms collectively spent $15.4 billion on fuel. A 5% savings on that amount equals $770 million.

The Future of Food and Agriculture Forum, hosted by Newsweek during New York Climate Week on September 22, 2026, brings together the leaders deploying capital, shaping policy, and scaling solutions across food and agriculture. The focus is on moving from ambition to execution, turning food systems into investable, scalable climate solutions that deliver measurable impact. Click here to learn more.