Every industry in the world has had to adapt to technological advancements over the past few years. The farming industry is no exception to this, and smart farming is a concept that we are seeing used more and more around the world today. If you are wondering what is smart farming, today we’re going to discover everything you need to know about this concept and how it’s revolutionizing the world of farming.
When researching the smart farming definition, you’ll find that it’s farming that relies on modern information and communication technology. These technologies are used to make the farming processes more efficient than ever before. The aim of smart farming is to help continue providing for our growing population of animals and humans while also reducing costs and minimizing the damage to our planet. It’s a concept we are extremely excited to learn more about and hope that it will be adopted on farms worldwide in the future.
Smart Farming Technologies | Smart Farming Challenges | Smart Farming IoT
Smart Farming Technologies
Smart farming technologies vary depending on the aim of the project and the type of farm that the work is taking place on. One of the most common examples of a smart agriculture system is the addition of sensors. These can be used to scan soil and also monitor and manage water, light, temperature, and humidity. Telecommunications technologies are also used for GPS and on advanced networks, with connectivity being one of the top smart farming advantages. Smart agriculture engages hardware and software that’s designed specifically for this industry. This is becoming more complex year after year and includes IoT-based solutions and robotics. No doubt, as technology progresses, we’ll see more robots and machines involved in even the most basic of farming tasks.
While most of the technology solutions we’ve shared so far would be used within the fields and farms, another part of the smart farming technologies is the use of data analytics tools. The smart farming market size is only continuing to increase, and this technology can be used to make good decisions and predictions. This might involve soil mapping, combating climate change, weather data, and fertilizer application. Farms can then use smart farming IoT technology options to keep an eye on their fields, even when they are working remotely or somewhere else in the country.
Smart Farming Challenges
As smart farming is still in the early stages of its life, it of course isn’t without many smart farming challenges. While the benefits of smart farming generally outweigh the challenges, it’s important for farmers to be aware of these when looking at adopting new technology. There is still a lack of infrastructure within smart farming solutions, which leads to poor communication. In areas where the internet connection is still weaker than average, smart agriculture technology is unlikely to work to its full capacity. These smart farming solutions could be useless without any connection, meaning you would be better off sticking to more traditional farming practices.
At the current time, one of the biggest barriers to smart farming is the high costs. It’s not quick or cheap to implement IoT within farms, and for many farmers, this simply isn’t within their budget at the current time. Of course, governments are likely to soon see the advantages of these solutions and may offer support and incentives in the future for farmers. Finally, the other concern with intelligent farming is a lack of security. Many farmers are concerned about IoT in agriculture for this reason, especially if they aren’t fully trusting of technology. If someone gets their hands on the data from smart farming applications, this could be absolutely disastrous for everyone involved.
Smart Farming IoT
Smart agriculture using IoT has both its pros and cons, but finding farms that are willing to adopt this technology is still a challenge in some regions of the world. More traditional farms are reluctant to use IoT-based agriculture, but no doubt this will continue to change in the future. In a recent interview, Maximilian Treiber and Josef Bauerdick stated about the challenges of the IoT and smart farming; “The challenge is to connect these systems to the IoT. This will make them faster and easier to use, and processes that currently take up a lot of a farmer’s time can be automated in the background so that they can devote their attention to the areas of the farm where their expertise is most needed.”
Over the next 30 years, our population needs to find a way to feed the growing number of people on our planet. With the current concerns around climate change, the time is now to start using smart farm systems and prepare for the future. Farmers have to contend with so many issues now, including water shortages and less land, but this type of technology can help to overcome these issues. It’s predicted that food production needs to increase by 70% by 2050, so the time is now to look at IoT-based agriculture.
Even just adding sensors and data analysis tools to a farm could make a huge difference to their crops. The more information farmers can gain surrounding their work, the more likely they’ll reduce costs and increase production. It’s beneficial for absolutely everyone involved in the farming process, so we hope that in the future, there will be more support on offer to encourage the adoption of agriculture 4.0.
The use of smart agriculture using IoT is starting to increase as farmers begin to see the many benefits of smart farming. Of course, there are still some concerns surrounding security and the high costs associated with this technology. As it becomes more readily available, we hope that these concerns will be overcome and that we’ll start to see more changes within the industry. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the world of farming and how new and innovative solutions will work to transform farming in the future. With our growing population, this is one way that farmers can work together to help feed our planet for many years to come.
