Advances bring farm tech to tipping point Farmlands’ Head of Enabling Technology, John Arrell, says the stars are finally aligning for digital farm technology. pharmacy to buy vitamins at 8 o’clock at night, whereas if you have a headache and there are no painkillers in the house, you will drive to get some straight away. The headache is an immediate need and the payback for taking painkillers is immediate relief from discomfort. Digital tools have been used in agriculture since the late 1990s. It was in 1999, while working with John Deere, that I first came across a satellite receiver. It immediately became apparent to me the benefits that accurate positioning of machinery would have for agriculture. Yet it has taken 20 years for this to become mainstream technology in modern tractors. The need for more efficiency in the field has moved the market to see this technology as a must-have rather than a nice-to-have.
To make matters worse, because widespread market adoption has been slow, the companies producing the tech have not had the scale to invest in the user experience to make it simple to adopt. Nor have they offered
business models that ensure the investment in new technology keeps up with innovation. Just think how the mobile phone market now works. The handset is part of a monthly payment plan that ensures the customer can update their hardware every few years at minimal or no capital cost to ensure they keep up with innovations. Why do I think agtech is turning a corner? Farmers are facing more challenges today than in the last 20 years. They have always been driving for efficiencies but it has stepped
What this illustrates to me is the adoption timeline for technology in agriculture. Most agtech is a vitamin, not a painkiller. If you take vitamins you know you will be better off long term but there is no immediate need to go to the
Most agtech is a vitamin, not a painkiller.” 16 | THE FARMLANDER
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