Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are marvelously useful for drivers who need to navigate new cities, find the fastest route to their destinations, or simply have no sense of direction. But for farmers, GPS systems are allowing them to do something even better—be kinder to the planet all while saving money and increasing crop yields.

Over the past several years, the use of GPS systems in machinery operation and farm management has exploded, and today most fertilizer and chemical dealers offer GPS-guided application equipment. What's the draw? Farmers using this technology can map their fields and apply crop inputs faster and more accurately, reducing operator stress while increasing efficiency.

According to John Pointon of Omnistar, the world's market leader in providing GPS enhancement data via satellite, "Fertilizer does not need to be applied uniformly across a field. With GPS, a farmer can apply more or less in certain areas depending on what is needed, and there is less chance of overlap."

Similarly, because insects do not attack fields uniformly—outbreaks are usually concentrated in certain areas—GPS systems can record the location of problems and target these zones.

GPS systems started appearing on farms in the late 1990s, but only in the past five or so years have they really caught on across the United States. In 2009, CropLife® magazine and Purdue University's Center for Food and Agricultural Business conducted their annual survey of retail crop input dealers and found that more than half of the respondents used GPS guidance systems with auto control/autosteer for fertilizer/chemical application—an enormous jump from 2004, when only 5.3 percent used this technology.

GPS systems not only help farmers achieve their ongoing goal of limiting their impact on the land, they also have numerous economic advantages. Pointon estimates that farmers can easily save $3 to $5 an acre on fertilizer and weed controllers through the better field management that GPS provides. Plus, additional soil analysis combined with market information about predicted crop prices can help farmers figure out the best crop rotation. During a time when farm budgets are tighter than ever, this can mean the difference between profit and loss for the year.

So, the next time you're lost driving in a strange neighborhood and your GPS system helps you find your way home, remember that these systems' impact goes far beyond your personal needs and that they are taking us one step closer to a greener, healthier planet.