Precision Agriculture technology

Technological advancements allow both small and large-scale agricultural businesses to implement precision agriculture. The origins of this trend can be traced back to the 90s. Back then, GPS-satellite adoption allowed farmers to gather datum and steer equipment automatically. Now, more technologies allow farmers to gather more precise data for precision agriculture. Precision agriculture reduces crop waste along with the negative impact on the environment. It also allows farmers to get as much yield as possible out of each site. Hence the reason why researchers consider precision agriculture an efficient way to solve food crises all over the world.

Advantages of Precision Farming in Agriculture Farmers are gradually coming to recognize the advantages brought by precision farming using IoT. Agriculture business owners see incorporating technology into crop and cattle management as a way to improve the quality of decision-making, the return on investment (ROI), as well as the overall site security.

More metrics for agriculture monitoring

Thanks to digital tools, a grower will be able to continuously monitor a wide range of metrics — including rainfall levels, the number and the nature of nutrients that crops need to grow to a peak level, soil samples, fertilizer inputs, and so on. A deeper insight into the state of crops helps farmers make informed decisions across all fields.

Improved decision-making efficiency

Use of sensors in field monitoring means longterm access to real-time data for farmers. This way, a site manager will be able to distinguish patterns and predict changes, potential risks, and yields, both through harvest and the growing season.

Access to farm records

Using technology for farm management increases data accessibility. With precision agriculture, the team members are no longer bound to the office space. Thanks to cloud-based technologies, all the necessary data is free for access any time from any device.

Better crop protection

The excessive use of chemicals is one of the causes of high crop and soil pressure. To protect the site from crop-damaging insects, farmers tend to go overboard with their nitrogen usage. Apart from reducing the environmental sustainability of the site, using chemicals is expensive. With precision agriculture, a farmer will be able to administer chemicals only when needed and protect crops more efficiently.

Irrigation management

As the world is experiencing drinking water shortages, careful distribution at farming sites is imperative. By adopting centralized commandand-control tools, farming teams can tell precisely when to irrigate a given field. As a result, crops are preserved in a better state and the management framework is socially responsible.

Using Progressive Technologies in Precision Agriculture

The meaning of precision agriculture by default implies the heavy use of technologies, and most advancements used here are closely connected with the Internet of Things. Below are the technologies that are effective for precision farming using IoT:

Sensors. They can detect a range of biomolecular, chemical, optical, thermal, electrical, radiation, and biological metrics to get a 360-degree view on the health of crops. By mounting health monitoring sensors on animals, farmers can track the state of livestock in real-time. Precision farming software. Controller tools are widely used in precision agriculture technology. IoT improves software maintenance (e.g. automatic equipment updates) and introduces new solutions for farm management (managing a safe-driving tractor remotely via a controller). The capacity of modern precision agriculture and IoT allows controlling dozens of equipment units simultaneously.

Location monitoring tools. Satellites are widely used to estimate the amount of water in the soil, crop biomass, and many other metrics. The data collected by connected GPS satellites or a location monitoring solution is then used by crop insurance companies, governments, scientists, policymakers, and commodity bodies.

Thanks to these technologies, farmers can expect enhanced precision in data gathering and analysis, monitor the status of crops, and get a big-picture view of farm sites.