Latest news
How precision farming makes for happier, healthier cows
An ever-increasing amount of data is being collected and processed at dairy farms using smart, interconnected devices. But how does this technological innovation benefit dairy farmers and their animals? The following article will shed some light on the benefits of smart farming technologies for the dairy sector.
Data integration in irrigation: California takes the lead
Squeezed between urban sprawl and lingering droughts, vegetable and fruit growers in California’s agricultural powerhouse, the San Joaquin Valley, are under pressure to reconsider the way they use water. Luckily enough, the Silicon Valley is stepping in to unlock the potential of Agriculture 4.0 in irrigation management. Will the benefits of the cooperation between California’s Silicon and Food Valleys trickle down to the rest of the world? While agriculture makes up only 2% of California’s $2...
Researchers bring precision farming closer to the orchard
Researchers from Cornell University, New York, are teaming up with apple growers to boost the efficiency of chemical thinning in orchards. The research program called ‘Precision Chemical Thinning’ aims at optimizing the spraying of plant growth inhibitors according to an optimum number of apples per tree.
IoT: taking precision irrigation to the next level
With world population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050 and meat diets on the rise, the impact of irrigation on blue water resources (i.e. ground and surface water) will become unstainable—unless we reconsider the current form of irrigation altogether: the average water footprint of a beef calorie is 7 to 8 times higher than it is for vegetables or pulses.
Agriculture 4.0: tackling the productivity challenge
With global population projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, meeting the growing demand for food represents one of the main challenges of our time. Considering the mostly negative impact of climate change and increasingly pronounced resource constraints, much will depend on the capacity of the agricultural sector to improve productivity, thus producing more with less. Smart farming might provide some of the answers to this challenge.
UK: a field farmed without humans
Robotics and agricultural engineers at the Harper Adams University (UK) have been using open-source code to programme a fleet of connected autonomous vehicles and implements to carry out a variety of farming tasks—from sowing and fertilizing through weeding and field condition analysis, and beyond to the harvest. The underlying project named “Hands Free Hectare” resulted in the fully automated growing, tending and reaping of 4.5 metric tons of spring barley on a farm near the English village of Edgemont.
Smallholder farming and digitalization: not a contradiction
Smallholder farming represents a crucial component of the global food production system. Competition from international conglomerates, rural flight, ecological changes and the fragmentation of landholdings leave many smallholder farmers vulnerable. Digitalization can help these smallholder farmers to improve productivity, while at the same time having the potential to bringing social, economic and environmental benefits.
365FarmNet: turning old machinery into smart devices
Agriculture 4.0 is a smart farming concept where farm holdings are turned into intelligent webs of connected agricultural equipment, including mobile and non-mobile machinery (e.g. tractors and combine harvesters), and implements (slurry and fertilizers sprayers, ploughs, etc.).
IoF2020 at the CEMA Summit 2017
‘Farming 4.0 – moving towards connected & sustainable agriculture in Europe: What can digital technologies & advanced farm machines deliver?’ was the theme of this year’s summit of the European Agricultural Machinery Industry Association (CEMA) that took place in Brussels on 12 October 2017. Among the showcases was the Internet of Food & Farm 2020 (IoF2020) project, which aims to augment the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in the European food and farming chains.
