The food industry is changing. As people become more conscious about where their food comes from and how it’s produced, there’s an increasing demand for fresh, local produce that is grown without chemicals. It has led to a rise in organic farming and urban farming—and the need for technology to support these new types of farming.
If you’re looking to “move up” your business and stay ahead of the competition, here are some of the technologies that you should watch out for in 2022:
Drones
Drones, those flying robots taking over the world, are already starting to be used in farming. They’re being used for aerial imagery to map fields, spray pesticides, scout for pests and diseases and gather data on crop health.
Drones provide real-time monitoring of crops and data collection from sensors mounted on them. It is practical for farmers who need to know about what’s happening in each field at any given time.
But drones aren’t just a tool for farmers; they’re also a tool for regulators! These devices can help governments detect illegal farming practices or combat food fraud.
Labour Saving Robots
Let’s face it. Farming is a labour-intensive industry. It takes a lot of people to get the job done. But that can be expensive, and it also means you have to find workers who want to work in agriculture. If you’re looking for another way to lower your costs and improve productivity, then robotics could be an attractive option for your business.
Examples of robots used in agriculture today:
There are already several different kinds of robots working on farms today—from autonomous tractors that drive themselves around fields to drones that monitor crops from above and help farmers with seeding decisions by detecting optimal conditions for planting and harvesting.
Vertical hydroponic farming
Vertical hydroponic farming is a technique that allows for farming to take place indoors and under artificial light. People are already using them commercially in Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands and the United States. However, it’s still relatively new to the world of agriculture.
It’s about growing food in a controlled environment on vertical racks that allow light to stream through from above. It can be done indoors or outdoors. Though indoor systems are generally more efficient because they don’t need to deal with all the variables of weather or seasonality.
The goal of vertical hydroponic farming is to increase yield while reducing costs through efficiency, automation and energy savings.
Satellite Imagery
Satellite imagery and drones are both crucial tools for farmers to use. Still, satellite imagery has an advantage over drone imagery when it comes to identifying yield drag and other problems with crops. That is because satellites offer extremely high-resolution images that are updated regularly, and they’re also available for free. Drones on the other hand, usually only take pictures from one angle, which means you’ll need multiple shots to get a full picture of your entire field. Additionally, using satellite images instead of drone photos can save you money in the long run because satellites are much cheaper than drones (you don’t have to pay someone else to fly them).
Automation and AI
Farm automation is one of the biggest trends in agriculture right now. And it’s likely to continue growing as technology improves. Automation makes sense because it allows farmers to spend less time working on the farm. It means that they can spend more time doing other things—like marketing their products directly to consumers or improving their farm’s productivity.
AI has been widely used in agriculture for several years now — particularly for crop management software. However, its potential is still largely untapped. As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, we can expect it to automate many of the processes involved in farming, such as soil analysis or crop identification by drone cameras. It will also become more vital in our ability to predict weather conditions and climate change to adjust our crops accordingly.
Welcome to the future of farming
The next level in farming has arrived, and it’s about time.
A lot has changed since the days of John Deere’s green tractors and plows. Farmers now have access to technologies that make their work easier, more efficient and more precise than ever before. They can now monitor their crops from a smartphone, which means they don’t have to spend all day in the field just to make sure everything is OK with their crops. And they can use drones to take aerial photos of their land and find issues that may not be visible from the ground level.
But this is only the beginning of what’s possible in modern agriculture. The future of farming is going to be even more innovative than what we’re seeing now. So growers need to stay on top of emerging technologies and trends. They can, therefore, continue improving their business practices as well as their bottom line.
Which trend do you like the most?