Major Supportive Technologies For Agriculture

For farmers, cloud-based agricultural services provide access to vital information anywhere at any time.

FREMONT, CA: Farmers rely on information technology for many things, not just managing farm operations. For example, information technology has changed how farmers manage crops and livestock. In short, such e-Agriculture is a new phenomenon, is here to stay, and is dramatically changing farming and food production processes.

Technology Trends and Applications

Cloud Computing for Farm Management

Cloud computing is one application farmers can use to better manage crops and their business through its software-as-a-service application (Saas). In this sector, start-up firms are expanding business applications specifically useful to the agricultural sector. Few of these applications are such that farmers can produce budgets and operational schedules per production plans.

However, farming-specific software is available, and workforce management can turn more efficient. Work plans facing weather forecasts can also be written off and progress supervised. Mobile task management tools & data integration techniques measure machine operations and production.

Aside from this, there is also analytics software that helps farmers track costs, production yields and profits against benchmarked values. This is a technology that many sectors utilize, but here, it is tailored for farm production.

For farmers, cloud-based agricultural services provide access to vital information anywhere at any time.

Mobile Technology

Mobile technology is modifying the way monitoring and evaluation are being carried out. What has customarily been done with pencil and paper can now be done through smartphones and tablets. Some apps are specifically designed for field teams to collect data. It also provides real-time data collection, which can send updates through mobile to the field teams, updating them on new assignments.

This is viable because cellular networks are readily available in the field. It’s also the most cost-effective way to supply data access in the field.

RFID and Security Technologies

The technology utilized for agricultural tracking and security is called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). For instance, livestock can be tracked using ‘livestock tracking tags’ equipped with RFID.

This can help track cattle daily and can also be used for health monitoring and holding a database of the health history of every animal. Also, during crop shipments, specifically certified organic crops, this technology helps cut down on counterfeiting/ impure food shipments with its security tagging.

Big Data, Analytics, and Smart Farming

Data analytics is also a tool that is being used for precision agriculture. This is designated ‘smart farming, which is now being applied by numerous agri-businesses to cut costs and increase yields. This works: Farm offices collect information regarding crop yields, weather patterns, fertilizer applications, soil mapping, and animal health.

Agricultural companies can utilize big data analytics to decide what crop to plant, when and where to do it.

Even small farmers can collect data from different sources, which helps them with decision-making that will help lower costs and increase yields. An important application is water sensors, through which future crops and water usage can be planned. This is of specific help in drought-prone areas.

Communication is at the core.

In the course of all this smooth functioning of e-agriculture are dedicated communication networks and computer infrastructure. Furthermore, all the data gathered must be integrated for reviews, and even data stored in the cloud must be accessible for analysis. As farmers rely more on data and technology, their communication network needs to be strong. This finally makes technology an integral part of farm operations.