Modern farms and agricultural operations operate far differently than those a few decades ago, mainly due to advancements in technology, including devices, sensors, information technology, and machines. Today’s agriculture usually uses complicated technologies such as robots, temperature and moisture sensors, aerial images, and GPS technology. This precision agriculture and robotic systems and advanced devices permit businesses to be more efficient, profitable, safer, and more environmentally friendly.
Significance of Agricultural Technology
Farmers no longer have to apply fertilizers, pesticides, and water uniformly all through the entire fields. Rather, they can use the minimum quantities needed and target very specific areas, or even treat individual plants differently. Benefits comprise:
- Higher crop output
- Increased worker security
- Reduced impact on natural ecosystems
- Decreased use of pesticides, water, and fertilizer, which in turn keeps food prices down
- Less overspill of chemicals into groundwater and rivers
Additionally, robotic technologies allow more consistent monitoring and management of natural resources, such as air and water quality. It also offers producers greater control over animal and plant production, distribution, storage, and processing, which results in:
- Greater efficiencies and reduced prices
- Safer growing conditions and foods
- Lessened environmental and ecological influence
Here are seven emerging technologies that can usually alter the agricultural landscape in the years ahead:
- Weather Tracking
This technology can give farmers adequate advanced notice of hail, frost, and other weather that they can take safeguards to guard the crops or at least alleviate losses to a noteworthy degree.
- Soil and Water Sensors
These sensors can identify nitrogen and moisture levels, and the farm can use this information to find out when to water and fertilize rather than depend on a predetermined agenda. That results in more well-organized use of resources and thus reduced costs, but it also assists the farm to be more eco-friendly by limiting erosion, conserving water and decreasing fertilizer levels in local lakes and rivers.
- RFID Technology
The water and soil sensors mentioned earlier have set a foundation for traceability. The industry has just begun to understand this infrastructure, but it is taking shape fast. These sensors offer information that can be related to farming yields. It may appear like science fiction, but we are staying in a world where a bag of potatoes can have a barcode that you can scan with your smartphone to access information about the soil that yielded them. A prospect where farms can market themselves and have faithful consumers track their yields for purchase is not far-fetched.
Technology is converting approximately every aspect of modern lives, and farming is no exception. The produce on your table tonight will have gotten there fresher, faster and more economically thanks to leading-edge technology in agriculture. Agriculture technology will turn out to be ever more computerized in the decades further on!
Benedict T. Palen, Jr., has over three decades of experience working in agricultural investments, operations, and management. As of now, Benedict T. Palen, Jr., serves as manager and co-owner for Great Plains Farms, LLC, managing all from the purchase and assessment of farmland to offering proposal on irrigation development and operator training.
Benedict T. Palen, Jr - Fifth Generation Farmer And Principal 