How Technology And Agriculture Coalesce

Over the past 50 years, technology and agriculture have had their share of turmoil, but advancements in agricultural technology have changed the face of farming today. Modern-day farmers have bigger and more efficient machines than ever before. Plus they are able to be a part of things such as a farmer coop to help farmers pool their resources and help each other during these new changes and times.

Farms can produce far more than they ever have, and production requires less manpower than ever before to complete.  For a business person, these are all reasons to celebrate.  Take a moment to look over a short summary, highlighting the ways in which a half-century of technological evolution has changed agriculture for the better.

Image Source: Pixabay

BUS displays simplify farming processes

The implementation of binary unit system, or a BUS cable, allowed farmers to take five screens in the tractor cab down to one.  The ISOBUS system is a result of many hardworking process engineers over many years.  One screen to control them all!  One screen to bind them!

One screen called a virtual terminal provides a BUS cable that is capable of plugging into any brand of device.  For example, farmers can hook a Deere aircart to a Case IH tractor, or a TeeJet spray controller to a Deere tractor.  In short, the creation of the BUS cable made farming simpler.

Satellite technology revolutionized farm planning

In 1994, farmers were gifted an extreme advantage with the launch of satellite viewing technology.  Agricultural planners could now look down on their land from an aerial view and more efficiently plan the timing and layout of their crops.  Imagine a farmer who grew up working the land having the ability to see it all at once for the first time.

Telematics provide farmers with a “Big Brother” perspective

Through technology, agricultural specialists were granted the ability to access information about every one of their working vehicles in  real time.  Farm Works Dispatch and Trimble’s (the company who produces the software) new DCM-300 modem provides farmers with the ability to see all of their vehicles on a live, interactive map.

The program will further provide vehicle fuel levels, maintenance schedules, how much product has been applied or crop harvested, and the software will even warn farmers of an impending equipment breakdown.

Soil and crop sensors take out the guess work

Tech advancements in farming equipment have been most influential upon the agricultural industry.  Soil and crop sensors are now commonly implemented to read out pH levels in the soil and the nitrogen levels in the crops.  Farmers can monitor the health and environment of their crops consistently and efficiently.

Automated processes are becoming more prevalent

Overall, automated farming processes are becoming more and more prevalent in agriculture.  In the next few years, farmers should expect to see a flux in automated machinery.