Top Digital Transformation Trends in Agriculture
Just like any other industry, agriculture is always on the move. The most innovative tech solutions are emerging every day, making this industry move forward with the times. Since no industry is immune to trends, agriculture is on the verge of a complete digital transformation.
Thanks to the technological revolution that took the world by storm, technology has found its application in every industry. Agriculture is no exception. We’re going to discuss the changes the latest technology has made in the industry as well as how digital trends led to the complete digital transformation agriculture is currently going through.
AgTech has Rapidly Changed the Industry
AgTech has quickly changed the entire industry since 2015. Because the world’s population is continually growing, the agriculture industry had to do something to cope with this growth. The main goal was to prevent population growth from affecting resource availability.
Nowadays, the agriculture industry falls into the category of high-tech industries. There are more and more agriculture startups every day. AgTech helped agriculture businesses make a shift from farming to smart food factories.
The emergence of AgTech led to the mass adoption of technology in the agriculture industry as this advanced technology is a means that helps agribusinesses cope with the emerging and ongoing trends as well as address the most pressing challenges and issues. AgriTech innovations, which mostly depend on the internet of things, help farming businesses work smarter rather than harder. Because of this, AgTech has become an irreplaceable part of every agriculture business of today.
The most advanced technology also helps address one of the most significant issues of the industry – how to work faster with less waste. Farming businesses need innovative tech solutions to ease the burden of labor, improve their scalability, lower carbon footprints, reduce waste, and increase animal health and crop yields.
That aside, AgTech is also giving way to entirely new business and industry model that allows innovative new techniques. The most recent studies have found out that the output of the agriculture industry must increase by 60% by 2030. The only way to make this possible is by embracing the digital transformation trends in the agriculture industry.
Digital Transformation in Agriculture Industry
1. Farm Management System
There’s a lot of buzz around farm management software on the global market. It’s expected to see notable growth in the next few years. This is a direct result of the growing focus on the growth of crops and using the most advanced tech solutions to enhance yield development.
Farm management software goes far beyond the management of crops. It can be used to control finances, livestock, inventory, and taxes as well as cost accounting and profit center analysis. Tracking and monitoring such data gives valuable insights to farm owners. They can use it to manage revenue and anticipate ROI.
2. IoT and Sensors in the Field
IoT isn’t disrupting just the agriculture industry but the entire world, and that’s an excellent thing. IoT holds the most incredible potential, and it can help achieve so many great things within the food sector.
Farming businesses can use this potential to streamline and simplify the processes of collecting, inspecting, and distributing agricultural resources by using various sensors on the materials and equipment.
If combined with image recognition technologies and placed strategically around the field, these sensors allow farming businesses to access critical up-to-date data and view their crops from any location around the planet in real-time.
Farm owners can make changes accordingly while on the go, which is essential for remaining relevant and competitive today. This method of managing your crops is excellent for adjusting a farming business for higher food production while reducing waste.
3. IoT and Sensors in Equipment
Pretty much the same thing as the technology within the field. Just like sensors can be placed in the field to monitor the conditions and health of crops, the same can be done with agricultural equipment.
The equipment is pretty expensive, especially on a larger scale, and maintaining its health and making sure it operates at its full capacity is paramount. This precision agriculture equipment includes various farming equipment and machines that come with a wide range of sensors and navigation systems.
They use GPS or other types of technology to harvest information or map the yield, monitor the condition of the equipment, and so on. The IoT sensors help maintain the necessary farming machines and equipment to reduce downtime and ensure maximum production.
4. Drones and Crop Monitoring
Monitoring crops on vast fields is impossible without the help of technology. The latest drone technology allows farmers to get a bird’s eye view of their crops so that they can know what’s happening with them at all times.
This helps farmers prevent various problems, react when necessary, and take every step to ensure maximum production. Drones are an excellent way of monitoring crops, and this aerial source allows farming businesses to visualize their crops in real-time, which is a fantastic way of increasing the return on investment.
Drones are also the best crop monitoring way simply because they allow farmers to combat any harmful environmental factors such as drought or bug infestation on time. The 3D imaging that drones produce provides a valuable source of data farmers use to plan their every move from seed planting patterns to predict soil quality.
Drones also provide an excellent way to distribute chemicals quickly and safely to ensure your crops are sprayed equally and carefully, without risking penetrating groundwater.
5. Farming and Robotics
Robotics are finding their place in many industries, and agriculture isn’t an exception. They can significantly help improve many things, such as efficacy and productivity, allowing farming businesses to produce faster and higher yields.
Weeding and spraying robots are incredibly effective at reducing agrochemical use while other startup robots help to locate and remove weeds without any human assistance. Farming businesses can reduce the workforce needed to manage crops by allowing robots into their ranks.
There’s so much the power of automation can do for agriculture. Robots are the most significant trend that has contributed the most to the digital transformation agriculture is still going through.
6. Machine Learning and Farming Analytics
Probably the best thing about digital transformation in agriculture is the ability to use the most advanced and sophisticated analytics and machine learning to mine data for the current and ongoing trends.
Machine learning can help forecast which genes and traits will be the most suitable for crop production. Farmers can use the power of intuitive prediction to adjust the best breed according to their climate and location.
Machine learning can also be used within the manufacturing and sales aspect of agriculture. Farming businesses can use smart algorithms to see which products consumers buy the most so they can predict and forecast their future farming efforts.
Outsourcing AgTech Analytics can boost the growth in the Agricultural Industry
Big data has found its way into the industry of agriculture. These huge trends of digital transformation in the global food & agriculture sector are just the beginning of the digital revolution that will not only change agriculture but the entire world, and the way we interact with technology and each other.
By combining powerful analytics and technology, farming businesses can improve every aspect of their business, from decision-making and productivity to collecting and compiling novel data. Data is the new currency of this digital world, and every industry needs to find a way to cope with the latest trends to remain competitive.
In the case of agriculture, technology and digital transformation gave birth to precision agriculture. The main objective is simple – to ensure maximum sustainability, efficiency, and profitability.
Big data analytics, market research, etc can help farming businesses enhance their operations. That’s why data analysis plays a huge role in agriculture today. If they want to ensure a sustainable farming future with less waste, farming businesses need precise measurement tools to improve their conservation practices, increase soil health, and maintain their crops in the best way possible.They also need to make efforts to protect the natural resources required to meet the ever-increasing food demands. Outsourcing can help the entire agricultural industry come up with actionable solutions to ensure a brighter future of the world.
-Backoffice Pro