Technology Is Taking Farming Into a Brave New World

Necessity is the mother of invention, and farming is facing a bunch of necessities. There’s a major worker shortage. Farm land is shrinking while world population growth calls for higher food production. Consequently, we're seeing tons of inventions. In recent years there's been an explosion of farm technology advances, from soil-monitoring sensors to crop-spraying drones, from autonomous harvesters to robot fruit pickers.

Farmers are turning to technology to solve a world of problems that are increasing  pressure on the agricultural business model. “With the population increasing, more food has to be produced on less land. You drop in worker shortages and climate change, and you'll see the stressors on agriculture,” Andy Castillo, editor of farm equipment and machinery at Farm Progress, told Design News.

Data collection and analytics are becoming a must when optimizing farm production. “Land is unique. Every field is different, and even within fields you might plant at a different depth within ten feet. Collecting data has become a big step in farming,” said Castillo. “The next step will be AI. Farmers are gathering tons of data. AI will be a big player in sifting through the data, identifying the best practices, and spitting out a new business model.”

Related:The Automated Farm, from Field to Office

Technology arrives in multiple forms

Agriculture pressures tend to hit the family farm hardest, but technology is relieving some of that pressure. “In some ways technology is saving the family farm,” Eric Braun, senior executive of content for Farm Progress told Design News. “Many of the corporate farms are still family farms, but they’re much bigger now, and they’re farming more acres. Technology is allowing farmers to farm more land.”

Automation in farming often combines a number of  technologies. A recent position paper from the International Society of Automation (ISA) – Advancing Precision Agriculture Through Control System Technologies – noted that precision agriculture relies heavily on the integration of various technologies that can include GPS, sensors, data analytics, and automation, with industrial control systems serving as the backbone. “By working together, we can drive the advancement of precision agriculture, which promises enormous benefits for farmers and the global economy,” said Claire Fallon, CEO and executive director of ISA.

Breaking down the technology in agriculture

The technology that contributes to advancements in farming includes IoT sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence, and drones. Here's a breakdown of the different forms of agriculture technology and the agressive growth rates we're seeing in adoption.

Related:Automation Enters All Areas of Agriculture

IoT connects the farm to the cloud

The Internet of Things (IoT) connected sensors allows farmers to monitor crops and livestock in real-time. Sensors can detect soil moisture levels, track animal health, monitor environmental conditions, and help farmers make data-driven decisions.

Deloitte predicts that the installed-base of IoT end points for precision crop farming, livestock management, and agricultural equipment tracking will near 300 million by the end of 2024 – a 50% growth over the 200 million installed-base in 2022.

Deloitte notes that the adoption of IoT technology is driven by climate issues, geopolitical tensions, water and energy shortages, rising fertilizer costs, and inefficient production. “Agricultural technology solutions can help improve crop yields, use equipment and livestock efficiently, plan harvests better, and adopt sustainable agrifood-production methods,” noted the Deloitte study.

Let the robot do the heavy lifting

Robots in farming provide a wide range of tasks, from harvesting and weeding to planting and soil analysis. Robots also monitor crops. The aim is to reduce labor costs, minimize environmental impact, and significantly increase efficiency.

Related:Personalizing Plant Care With AI and Computer Vision

According to a Market.us report, the agricultural robot market size is expected to hit $86.5 billion by 2033, up from $13.4 billion in 2023, roughly 20% per year for the coming decade. The report looks at robot systems and technologies specifically designed for agriculture. These robots are equipped with a variety of sensors, actuators, and intelligent software to help with cultivation, harvesting, monitoring, and other agricultural activities.

Agricultural robots are designed to automate and enhance farming processes in order to increase efficiency, reduce labor, and optimize resources. These robots can operate in fields or greenhouses. The rise of robotics is prompted by a growing global population and escalating labor costs. Farmers are faced with the need to enhance production while dealing with limited labor availability and rising expenses. These robots automate crucial tasks like planting and harvesting, reducing dependence on human labor while boosting productivity, efficiency, and precision.

Let AI plan the farming

On the farm, AI is being used to analyze data from multiple sources and optimize farming practices. AI can predict weather patterns, recommend the best times to plant and harvest, and even identify pests and diseases in crops.

In the Research and Markets report Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture Market, global AI in agriculture was valued at $1.82 billion in 2023. It is expected to reach $12.47 billion in 2034. AI is delivering a transformative shift in how farming operations are conducted across the globe. By integrating advanced algorithms and machine learning models with traditional agricultural practices, AI enables a more precise and efficient approach to farming.

AI harnesses vast amounts of data from drones, satellites, ground sensors, and IoT devices to optimize crop yields, reduce waste, and increase efficiency. AI applications in agriculture include predictive analytics for weather and crop health, automated equipment control for planting and harvesting, and intelligent systems for pest and disease management. The adoption of AI in agriculture promises to enhance the productivity of farms, enable sustainable practices, and reshape the agricultural landscape by making it more data-driven and technologically equipped.

Drones: the optimization eye on the farm

Drones are being used for aerial surveys of fields, monitoring crop health, and spraying pesticides. They provide a bird's-eye view of the farm, which can be invaluable for large-scale operations.

Drones allow farmers to monitor crop and livestock conditions from the air, to keep watch for potential problems, and to help optimize field management. There are a number of drone functions farmers can use to optimize production:

The Markets and Research report, The Global Market for Agriculture Drones, notes that $3.8 billion was spent on farm drones in 2023. That number is projected to reach $22.5 billion by 2030. That’s a growth rate of 29.2% from 2023 to 2030. The expansion of the agriculture drone market is driven by several factors, including technological advancements, the increasing adoption of precision farming techniques, and economic pressures to increase crop yield.

Drones help by reducing the time and labor required for tasks like crop surveying and data collection. Agriculture drones are also becoming sophisticated enough to apply spot treatments of pesticides and fertilizers. This helps by reducing chemical runoff, which benefits nearby crops and the soil.

Traditional farm companies are going full tech

A number of suppliers that have supported farmers for decades are morphing into technology companies. In recent years, John Deere has started to turn its tractors into robots that can plow a field without a farm worker on board. The reduction in labor can be as much as 80% on some farm tasks. In addition to robots, John Deere is adding AI, GPS field mapping, see-and-spray technology, even digital twin solutions.

We caught up with Igino Cafiero, CEO of Bear Flag Robotics, a John Deere company, to get his view on the way technology is revamping farming.

What is the value of autonomous systems in farming?

Igino Cafiero: One benefit of autonomy in food production is that it helps farmers address their crushing labor burden. In California agriculture, for example, almost half of all machine-operated jobs are unfilled. Looking forward a decade, the economics of farming in the state don’t make sense without major productivity gains. Solutions like autonomous air-blast spraying help this significantly.

How important is sensor technology to farm automation?

Cafiero: The sensors used for autonomous operations can also be leveraged to gather various information about the crops that they are working with. This means that over the course of a season, a farmer can correlate the growth (and yield) of their crops to the specific weather conditions, input, and operations done in that field. This level of detail is simply not observable by humans, nor is it currently available. Converting that data collection into meaningful insights will unlock new opportunities for farmers.

Do automation efficiencies help the family farm?

Cafiero: Family farms often feel labor crunches the hardest, as they can’t flex their resources up and down as easily. Today, farmers don’t have to trade working a field to make it to their kid’s football game or theatre performance. Thanks to autonomy, farmers can step away for personal benefit or to handle other value-added tasks around the farm. This not only helps farmers accomplish tasks within short windows of time but keeps work steady to improve overall yield.

Does automation enable growers to run equipment 24/7?

Cafiero: Absolutely. These machines are designed to be run without direct human supervision. Of course, in spray, planting, and harvesting applications, tendering and loading inputs will be a necessary human component of the operation. However, each of the machines can run without a human, materially increasing the productivity of the workers that are still needed.

Is the expanding global population a challenge for farming?

Cafiero: With the global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, farmers face increased pressure to produce more food. Today’s farmers understand that to make this possible, they must lean on technology to help make decisions (like when and where to place seeds), to get the job done with fewer people, and to do so sustainably. Farmers cover a broad array of specialties and skills during the course of each season.

Autonomy helps reduce operational burden, allowing farmers to concentrate on the parts of their business that move the needle. Other technologies, such as connectivity, AI, computer vision, and advanced sensors provide intelligence and precision that help farmers do more with less while they produce enough food to feed the growing population.