Agriculture is a widely encompassing industry that entails a range of practices such as horticulture, aquaculture, biotechnology, livestock raising, and animal husbandry. Typically, agribusinesses utilize a variety of processes to produce a number of goods from natural resources. Most commonly, these products include fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, fish, dairy goods, tobacco, wine, and other items obtained through farming operations.
Like other lines of businesses, the industry of agriculture continuously aims to improve through the adoption of the latest technologies. Newly designed and discovered innovations are helpful in boosting the efficiency of many agricultural-based procedures.
A lot of people agree that agriculture is the top essential industry, considering that it’s primarily involved in providing food for all mankind. Thus, it only makes sense that numerous manufacturers, scientists, and government-owned organizations are always looking into methods to enhance the performance of agribusinesses.
Here, we’ll discuss several innovative farming solutions that are being practiced in today’s agriculture industry. Let’s begin.
Agricultural Apps
According to Farm Research Media, about 44% of farmers own tablets, while 59% use smartphones for basic operations. Farmers utilize mobile applications to boost efficiency and productivity. These offer support in farm management, record-keeping, scheduling, budgeting, and drafting marketing strategies and provide updates on the latest farming practices, industry headlines, quotes and pricing of commodities.
Water-saving Irrigation Systems
Of course, like all living creatures, crops need water to survive. In line with that, farms utilize agricultural irrigation systems with an irrigation water flow meter that measures fluid movement because it’s necessary to maintain the pressure at a consistently high level. These mechanisms are often electrically powered and require considerable volumes of water.
However, a lot of farming areas face water scarcity. Thankfully, many energy-efficient systems are being developed nowadays to resolve this persistent issue. A specific example is the portable solar-powered irrigation system designed by the R.U. Foundry and Machine Shop Corporation in the Philippines, which helps farmers irrigate their crops in an economical and sustainable way.
Another innovative method is introduced in south-western Kansas in Missouri, United States. The Kansas Water Office teamed up with farm owners to develop a project called Water Technology Farms that’s meant to address water supply issues in the city. The farms are incorporated with technology-based irrigation management systems that use less water and therefore promote higher economic return.
On-farm Weather Stations
Weather conditions highly affect the growth of crops — in fact, extreme temperatures and gusty winds can cause damage or even lead to plant death. That is why it’s important for farmers to be informed about the daily state of the weather so they can be well-prepared.
Portable weather stations help them do just that. These high-tech wireless systems are capable of providing accurate geographical measurements and real-time data to aid with farming applications. These involve the synergy of instruments including a thermometer, anemometer, hygrometer, barometer, wind vane, solar radiation, and rain gauge. Additionally, more sophisticated and advanced weather stations are also able to measure leaf wetness, soil temperature and moisture, ultraviolet index, and water temperature.
The agriculture industry benefits immensely from technological advancement. In the near future, more innovations will be developed, and as agribusinesses continue to embrace changes, we can only expect more eco-friendly and cost-effective farming procedures.
