{"id":42926,"date":"2022-07-04T14:57:11","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T12:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intellias.com\/?p=42926"},"modified":"2024-07-23T14:34:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T12:34:56","slug":"smart-farming-what-is-the-future-of-sustainable-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/intellias.com\/smart-farming-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Farming: What Is the Future of Sustainable Agriculture?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Even though farming is one of the world\u2019s oldest professions, its importance has not declined. On the contrary, there are good reasons to say that global sustainable development will become only more dependent on farming in the next decades.<\/p>\n
Just take a look at the dynamics of global population growth and think of the post-Covid economic normal \u2014 along with the undermining of international logistics. You\u2019d be right to conclude that agricultural businesses and other industry stakeholders are challenged like never before.<\/p>\n
The good news is that the current challenges can be tackled sustainably. The key is to use smart farming technologies. Let\u2019s explore how and why agribusinesses should start implementing smart farming solutions right now.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s inside this article?<\/b><\/p>\n The big idea behind a smart farming system is to use advanced data and new technology to boost the effectiveness of an agricultural company. Simply put, it\u2019s all about increasing the quantity and quality of agricultural products while reducing resources allocated at every stage of the business lifecycle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Depending on a company\u2019s specialization and particular needs, the optimal blend of farming tech tools might differ. Some common elements underlying a smart farming system include:<\/p>\n Using a combination of new technology, farmers and agricultural industry stakeholders can both deal with the current economic, political, and environmental challenges and ensure the sustainability of their company development in the coming decade.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a closer look at some of the crucial innovations<\/a> behind smart agriculture.<\/p>\n Agricultural Technology Solutions<\/p>\n Almost any smart farming technology, from precision agriculture and livestock farming to smart greenhouse automation, is based on the use of IoT devices. Let\u2019s look at the essential elements of an IoT-driven farming cycle.<\/p>\n To optimize the field management process, IoT devices are installed throughout the farm, vehicles, or other machinery so that data can be collected smoothly and continuously. The timely and complete transmission of data enables farmers to keep key parameters and metrics under control and react proactively once particular risks are identified.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The first stage of the IoT smart agriculture cycle is observation. At this point, data is collected from livestock, crops, soil, water, machinery, and other things.<\/p>\n Then, procession is done after data points<\/a> are transmitted to a cloud-based integrated platform where the preset logic comes into play. For example, if farm parameters exceed certain values, a manager may receive a real-time \u201caction required\u201d notification.<\/p>\n In other cases, the IoT platform may act as a self-sufficient decision-maker, activating particular patterns if a certain event occurs and specific criteria are met. Afterward, the new observation-action cycle starts again.<\/p>\n Find out how Intellias developed GIS-based agricultural farm management software for effective field operations and planning<\/p>\n Precision agriculture, or precision farming<\/a>, is a broad concept covering diverse IoT-driven approaches enabling farmers to manage agriculture and livestock with more control and accuracy. The basic idea behind precision agriculture is that the soil and plants are treated with ultimate precision and accurate means are defined with the help of smart farming technology.<\/p>\n While traditional farming approaches relied on a field as the major management unit, precision agriculture enables farmers to make decisions per square meter or even for a single plant or animal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Due to the traditionally high cost of precise data collection, no more than 20% of global acreage<\/a> is covered with advanced farming technology today.<\/p>\n But the benefits from optimizing resources associated with precision agriculture substantially outweigh the cost of the new technology. Particularly, it enables farmers to buy and use precisely needed quantities of pesticides<\/a> and fertilizers.<\/p>\n Precision agriculture solutions<\/a> also enable farmers to define and choose the scope and size of the smallest farm management unit<\/a> on their own. This means that farmers can compare grain varieties or test new fertilizers in a safe environment without risking the sustainable development of the entire field.<\/p>\n Similar to precision agriculture, precision livestock farming allows for optimizing resources and applying precise treatment for every animal. For example, farmers can find out how much nutrition is needed for every single animal.<\/p>\n Identification of health risks and diseases at early stages is another good example of how IoT-powered precision livestock farming is already being used by businesses. Integrated IoT devices track the food consumption and physical conditions of each animal and notify a farmer when critical levels are reached.<\/p>\n The more data is collected by IoT devices, the more accurate and timely are the actions taken. That\u2019s how livestock intelligent farming enables farmers to make decisions on the level of each separate animal rather than managing the herd as a single unit.<\/p>\n\n
What is smart farming?<\/h2>\n
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Smart farming system: IoT is the key<\/h2>\n
Precision agriculture as a means of intelligent farming<\/h2>\n
Precision livestock farming<\/h2>\n