Data Transforms Agriculture: From Smart Machines to Carbon Capture


08/14/2023


How do you use data? That is the question that determines its value.
 
Data is a vital tool for building more efficient, productive and profitable businesses in agriculture. It also opens up possibilities that many never imagined, such as applying selective inputs to each plant in a field or developing strategies for farms to actively remove carbon from the air. But perhaps the most amazing thing about data is that farms around the world already produce it. They always have. And now, it’s becoming easier for farmers to benefit from it. Using intelligence On the farm, even the smallest improvement can lead to big gains in efficiency.
 
This is where digital insights make a huge difference. By uncovering new layers of information, farmers can make more informed decisions about how to manage their operations, allowing them to conserve resources, optimize inputs, and ultimately achieve more with less. Discover some of the many new and unexpected ways farmers are using their field data to their advantage. When data meets machinery: the real-life impact of AI By creating customized algorithms for each farm, Artificial Intelligence helps farmers by analyzing historical and real-time field, weather, and environmental data to generate personalized recommendations that maximize efficiency throughout the growing cycle.
 
The impact of these insights can be extraordinary, whether it means significantly reducing the amount and frequency of inputs required in the field or identifying key problem areas within the field that need extra attention for a more abundant harvest. Smart machines doing manual labor Using these detailed in-field measurements, smart machinery such as advanced sprayer systems are taking on more of the everyday grunt work. Equipped with new nozzles that relay information from in-field sensors, automated sprayer technology can identify and treat plants on an individualized basis.
 
With unparalleled accuracy, this selective spray system ensures that farmers only use resources when and where they’re needed. That helps to conserve water, nutrients and other applications—not to mention cutting the associated costs. In fact, farmers have been found to save anywhere from $13—$25 (€11.5—€22.1) per acre each season just using GPS and precision applicator technology alone. Sowing seed: the scientific method Every seed you plant is an investment. That’s why it pays to consider every factor that could influence your return. This is where digital management platforms come in.
 
By constantly monitoring the moisture levels, nutrient density, and soil temperatures throughout your fields, these tools generate tailored recommendations to optimize the performance of every seed. What’s more: these platforms can also pair with your equipment to not only select the ideal hybrids before the season starts, but to then precisely plant them with variable-rate depth and spacing down to mere fractions of an inch.
 
The sheer precision of these technologies makes a huge difference when you’re talking about 75,000–225,000 individual seeds per acre. And that doesn’t even begin to factor in the additional economies of scale farmers these technologies enable for conserving resources, reducing costs, and increasing harvest potential. Measuring up to a prosperous future Data is driving incredible opportunities for farmers around the world, but we’re only just beginning to understand the true power of these insights.

Today and into the future, farm data is helping create better agricultural practices that benefit farmers, global communities, and the planet we all share. Looking forward, these technologies promise to provide farmers with even more insights that enrich their already intimate knowledge of their land.