Integrating New Technologies in Farming

Farmers generate a better return on investments (ROI) with technology-integrated farm equipment like automated functions, driverless tractors, and sensors.

FREMONT, CA: Integrating emerging technologies with farm equipment and cattle streamlines farm operations like milking, plowing, irrigation, and farm management. Automated technology reduces the time taken to complete manual tasks enabling farmers to expand productivity by a larger margin. New technologies reduce potential losses in the future, allowing farmers to utilize resources more efficiently.

Farmers can gain a more comprehensive hold on all farm activities, including harnessing weather conditions to manage resources and maximize profits. The following areas improve farming practices:

Robotic milking: Manual milking is time-consuming and inefficient. Many farmhands are required to milk multiple cows taking large amounts of time that can be spent on other tasks. Robotic milking stations involve the coordination of one farmhand who feeds and milks the cows. The station monitors the quality of milk and its output. On average, human effort results in milking twice a day. With robotic milking stations, productivity milking sessions go up to six times a day.

Driverless tractor: Driverless tractor makes planting and growing crops easier. The farmer can link one tractor to another to make seed distribution and harvesting less time-consuming. They can plow more accurately and for longer than human-driven tractors. Farmers can rely on driverless tractors beyond human incapacities, reducing the number of workers needed.

Drones: Farmers can use drones to measure crop health and water management and identify trends in pests and patterns that cannot be identified from the ground. Drones used in farming are quadcopters auto-piloted by GPS and are equipped with point-and-shoot cameras.

Irrigation: Advancements in irrigation technology connect irrigation equipment to applications through GPS technology. Smart irrigation apps help appropriate, accurate quantities of water for certain crops. The app uses real-time trends in local weather conditions to conserve water.

Ear tags: Tags equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips communicate with antennas on feeding troughs and receive signals that relay the feeding habits of cattle to farmers. Farmers can intervene before their cattle fall sick, causing downtime. Medical intervention before the event limits the occurrence of diseases that can spread to other cattle.

Nitrogen sensors: Excessive fertilizers lead to nitrogen binding with the soil and leaking into waterways. Nitrogen not incorporated by plant roots is harmful to crops and the environment. Handheld devices generate reading that guides farmers on how much fertilizers crops need.