Today’s world is run by many different technologies. Cars are driving themselves, lights in your house can be turned off from your smartphone – so why shouldn’t farming join the 21st century? So, what IS smart farming? Smart farming is a technology that allows farmers to utilise modern technologies to run their farms. They can check things like crop growth and irrigation through the use of smart sensors, GPS technologies and agricultural drones. Time and money can be saved by utilising these new technologies in tandem with crops and livestock on farms.
What is the smart farming process?
Smart farming uses a technology called precision farming, which utilises modern technology with a digital management hub like the IoT (Internet of Things) system. It allows farmers to track and manage all of these in real time from IoT enabled devices. Precision farming has a digital collection process that it analyses before notifying the farmer.
The smart farm collects data by the use of sensors that communicate with one another and store information from different points in the farm. It reads data from the farm such as the moisture levels in the soil, air quality, field conditions, plant growth, and livestock monitoring. This data collected is analysed by processors within the system, and any issues or problems are identified and flagged. If there are issues, the smart farm will diagnose them, and then begin the process of taking action. The smart farm will notify the farmer of anything that needs attention, or flag the issue to them if the system can’t fix it by itself. Then finally, it executes any actions it needs to take to better manage the farm, saving human labour. Anything the farmer may have done is taken into the system and analysed, then starts the process again.
This control runs 24/7 and allows farmers to prioritise certain jobs on the farm, and can still monitor the rest of the farm live from a device such as a smartphone at the same time.
Energy and water consumption is massively reduced by smart farms, crop yields are increased, and human error is minimised from taking advantage of smart agriculture and IoT technologies. This better time management will save money, and help to better manage the farming process so it is at its most efficient and healthy.
What can a smart farm do?
Farming has a lot of aspects to it that farmers have to manage. This can include measuring soil moisture levels, checking chemicals in the soil, monitoring livestock health, maintaining farming equipment such as tractors, combines, and fence quality, plus so much more. All of these things typically would require a farmer to do it themselves. This monitoring takes time, and the farmer doesn’t know if there is an issue without going out onto the farm and checking everything. Whilst it isn’t time wasted, it can be time better managed by a system that can do all of this in an instant.
Precision Farming technologies micromanage many areas of the farm. For example, farms that have multiple types of crops can allocate the correct fertilisers, water and manage soil care depending on the crop from sensors that have connections to smart irrigation systems and control it all remotely. Unmanned aerial vehicles such as agricultural drones can be controlled using a GPS system.
IoT systems give data and analyse all of these to allow the farmer to have better control and understanding of their farm. For example, IoT can keep track of animal health, and notify the farmer when one of their cattle needs checking for pregnancy, or their location if they have wandered off.
Do you need smart farming?
As you have might have gathered, smart farming is a powerful system that utilises some of the best aspects of advancing technologies that are changing how we understand the world at an alarmingly rapid rate. As demand for higher quality food, and at a faster rate, increases year by year, farming is a lifestyle that does, unfortunately, go almost unrewarded for the amazing efforts and jobs that our farmers do. Unpredictable weather and climate change also add to the hardships of farmers around the world. Utilising a smart farm will ease some of the strain that is felt by farmers by making their job not only easier, but more manageable, sustainable, safer and more profitable to farmers. The world is always changing, and the farming industry should, and can, catch up.
Smart farming can also effectively reduce your environmental footprint, making your farm more sustainable in more ways than one.
Ready to get started?
Here at Remote Power Solutions, we use these industry-leading technologies to give innovative solutions that cater to your specific needs on your farm. Talk to the experts and discover the smart farming possibilities for your own property.