Once upon a time, back in the 1960s, a young farm boy was earning money for college working on the weekends for a farmer. Pulling a fertilizer spreader, the boy headed out to the field.

“The setting is already set; the co-op guy set it for 250 pounds per acre,” the farmer said. “You should cover at least half the field with this load of potash.”

Off the boy went, dust flying off the back when the spreader was engaged. But only two rounds later, the dust stopped. The boy climbed up the old spreader to look inside. Sure enough, it was empty after covering only a fourth of the acreage. Fortunately, the farmer blamed it on the co-op guy not knowing his math, or the gate having plopped wide open accidentally.

Fertilizer application has come a long way since the ’60s. Mistakes could still happen, but they are much less likely with today’s fertilizer application tools. Some have nearly foolproof monitoring systems built in to apply not only the right rate per acre, but also certain areas of a field.

Check out this slideshow of new fertilizer-related equipment uncovered at fall farm shows.