The industry of farming and agriculture has been through a lot of change and has seen multiple revolutions over the last few decades. Technology has played an essential role in agriculture and has changed the way of land cultivation. Agriculture has recently found itself in the midst of yet another revolution.
Technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence are now being used in farming, which is not only increasing the yields and bettering water efficiency but is creating resilience and sustainability across crop cultivation, making the job much easier for the farmers.
Let us understand the impact of digitalization-led agricultural movement on conventional farming practices.
Agricultural Robots
Now that people prefer urban areas, there is a lack of labor in the field of agriculture. Farmers are facing troubles due to overwhelming work and fewer hands to help. This is where advanced technology comes to the rescue.
Several companies have started manufacturing robots that can be trained to assist farmers in manual-intensive tasks such as planting, weeding, harvesting, fruit picking, and spraying.
Farmers have already started using these agricultural robots in their fields, where they have experienced increased efficiency while saving a lot of bucks. Some of the most popular technologies include smart agricultural machines and robots for livestock management, including auto feeders, incubators, milking machines, and automated weighing scales.
Multi-Purpose GPS
The introduction of GPS technology in farming has created a lot of buzz. It can provide precise location information on the earth’s surface at any point. The farming machines integrated with GPS receivers can therefore recognize their location within the farm and adapt their operation to maximize their efficiency.
Tractors with GPS technology, along with automatic steering systems, can improve seed placement, hence, reducing waste and costs. In addition to this, GPS-guided drones can be used for 3D mapping, crop spraying, and livestock monitoring.
Crop Sensors
Crop sensors are helping farmers apply fertilizers and pesticides in an effective manner, maximizing their effect. They are built to sense how your crop is responding to the chemical and thereby decrease the potential runoff into groundwater. These sensors can tell the applicant’s equipment how much to apply so that the application is just right – not less, not more.
While these sensors work great with measuring the right amount of fertilizer your crops need, as a farmer, you must be extra careful while choosing the fertilizer or pesticides. Choosing the wrong chemical to put in your field can cause disastrous results. The most infamous example of this situation is the Roundup Lawsuit.
Roundup is a very popular weed killer. However, exposure to this chemical has the potential to cause cancers such as Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. This is due to the active ingredient in this pesticide – Glyphosate.
A number of people in the U.S. have filed suit against Monsanto, the manufacturer of this herbicide. Victims are getting the best lawyer for the Roundup lawsuit in order to get a good settlement amount.
According to TorHoerman Law, the average settlement amount for Roundup Lawsuits can differ based on a person’s specific claim, their injuries, their costs, and other damages that can determine how they’ve been impacted by Roundup exposure.
IoT (Internet of Things)
It can be hard to keep frequently monitoring the crop fields in conventional farming. It can take time, physical equipment, intensive labor, and effort. IoT can be a great alternative to this as it consists of sensors that can collect farm data and provide precise information.
These IoT sensors can perform agricultural activities, including:
- Remote farm monitoring
- Automatic water delivery to plants
- Soil temperature and humidity sensing
- Plant and livestock tracking
Climate-Controlled Barns
Nowadays, farmers are raising livestock inside climate-controlled barns. This technology helps protect them from extreme weather, predators, and several diseases. With the advent of technology, many livestock barns now have Wi-Fi, automated feed, and climate control systems.
They help the farmers in monitoring all sorts of activities. They can even adjust the temperature in a barn from their smartphones. In case there is a power cut, the backup generators start automatically, and the farmer is notified with a text. This technology has enabled farmers to be more efficient and better at caring for their livestock.
Precision Agriculture
The agricultural field has different parts with different soil properties. They get different sunlight levels and also have multiple slopes. Therefore, treating the entire field in the same way can easily result in inefficiency and a waste of labor, time, and resources.
This is why precision-based agriculture is required. The industry came up with this technology, where the farmers can know the level of attention needed at a particular area of the farm. They can efficiently decide the inputs of water and fertilizers in different portions of their field.
This information is gathered through AI-backed analysis and sensor-based drones. With the help of this technology, farmers can put the right amount of attention to the right area, thus saving time and resources.
Conclusion
Farming methods have evolved greatly over time. From conventional hand-held tools and manual labor to sophisticated machinery and AI – we have come a long way. It has greatly influenced our capabilities and shown us the extent of advanced agriculture.
This technology is here to stay, therefore, as a farmer, you must make yourself aware of this change and implement them in your farming activities. This can make your work more refined and less manual. By embracing modernity, one can achieve the highest potential in every farming activity.
