This article presents research carried out in Scotland that explored the role of advisors in supporting the adoption of variable rate precision farming (VRPF). Examining data from in‐depth interviews with farmers and advisors in Scotland through a responsible research and innovation lens with a focus on inclusion, we consider the implications of a changing advisory landscape for responsible digital innovation. Our findings show that the main advisors supporting the adoption of VRPF are based in commercial companies, which mostly target large farms. We explore concerns over bias in the advisory process on the one hand and long‐running trusted relationships between commercial advisors and farmers on the other. The research shows that the current system excludes certain stakeholders from the process. Recommendations include policy and programmes to support collaboration between a broader range of stakeholders, including advisory suppliers and farmers in the innovation process. This can promote more inclusive development of VRPF technologies, which represent the interests of more diverse farm types and avoid exacerbating agricultural digital divides.

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Data were collected using a simplified version of the Triggering Change Model of farm decision-making, developed by Sutherland et al. (2012). In this model, farmers' path dependency -i.e. where the decision options presented to them are dependent on decisions or experiences encountered in the pastis conceptualised as being interrupted by a trigger event (such as a period of low profitability, or entrance of a farm successor to the business) which leads to active information seeking about potential innovations and development options. This is followed by assessment of potential innovations, and if these innovations are deemed promising, a period of implementation while the innovation becomes fully embedded in farming practice. The model is idealised and recognises that farmers may skip or repeat steps, depending on specific situations. It has similarities to Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations Model, which identified a process of knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation (Rogers, 2003).