Farming for the future

For any sector to thrive, disruptive technologies and innovations must fall into place. Agriculture technology is some of the most advanced tech seen today with these vast and varied innovations setting out to achieve two main goals:

1. Feed the world – populations are expanding rapidly and we need a 70% increase in food production by 2050

2. Alleviate the decreased workforce in the farming sector – it’s come down to machine over man!

It’s the beginning of a new future for agriculture as farmers seek new ways to increase their yield per acre, and at the same time, deal with rising input costs.

The transformation of agricultural tools

We’ve all heard about autonomous vehicles – but what about self-driving tractors? Farmers get ready to bid farewell to long, hard hours toiling in the sun, harvesting large-scale crops –and welcome robots and drones who are set to increase yields and cut back on labor costs.

Innovations in farming technology will replace the large, heavy machines we are used to, with small, unmanned robots.

The upside?

These lighter robots create far less impact on the way soil is compacted by traditional machines, which allows for:

  • healthier soil
  • happier crops

All of this without having to wait until the cows come home! Research shows that the agricultural robot industry will reach the $21 billion mark by 2026.

What jobs can we expect farming robots to perform?

Fast, efficient farming is here. Is the latest agritech limited to performing only certain jobs? It seems the possibilities are endless. We outline some of the functions these innovative farm bots can perform:

  • Video imaging to analyze and mark out precise rows for planting seeds
  • A wireless smart seeder able to deliver up to 6 products independently
  • Fully autonomous robots that pick only the ripest fruit as gently as a human hand
  • Weed pulling - machine-learning cameras use millions of images to differentiate between crop and weed
  • Drones - used for soil analysis, planting, crop spraying, irrigation and crop health analysis

Innovation is essential, and currently more relevant in agriculture than ever before. Farmers are sorting the wheat from the chaff by embracing new technologies, like robotics and machine learning, and realize they are key in the changing face of agriculture worldwide.

Find out more about these fascinating farming innovations here.