Farm Technology Should Earn Its Place
Why farmers should embrace useful technology, not technology for its own sake
We really need to think hard around embracing useful technologies because modern agriculture is increasingly a competition for margin, timing, efficiency and resilience.
Water, fertiliser, agricultural remedies, fuel, electricity, machinery hours, labour and time all carry a cost. At the same time, weather variability, infrastructure pressure, energy uncertainty (combined with market expectations) keeps adding complexity to the already intricate farming environment.
Many agri-technologies give today’s farmers better ways to measure what is happening, identify where performance is falling short, and allows us to respond with greater accuracy.
That doesn’t mean every farmer needs every new gadget, platform or subscription. Technology for the sake of technology becomes an expensive distraction!
As outlined in this co-authored publication, the starting point should always be the problem, the requirement, or the desired outcome.
We should also first define what needs to be understood, improved, inspected or applied. Four focus areas that cannot be ignored.
As an example, an issue could involve uneven crop growth, irrigation faults, poor drainage, missing plants, difficult spraying conditions, construction progress, security concerns or the development of new infrastructure.
Once the requirement is clear, the right technology angle, product, or service becomes much easier to identify.
This approach is important because as farmers we shouldn’t adopt technology through fear of being left behind alone. In other words the ”FOMO” factor.
We should focus on adopting relevant agtech only when it supports an improved decision making process, strengthens an existing system, mitigates and reduces risk, or creates measurable operational value.
Drone systems provide a strong example.
As UAVs carry a sensor or application system: Positioning technology records where information was collected or where a product was applied. Software plans the flight and processes the results.
Cloud platforms store, compare and share the data. While artificial intelligence counts plants, identifies objects, selects representative sampling points, and highlights unusual patterns that drives inspection route planning and diagnosis.
The value doesn’t sit in any one of these elements alone. It comes from how the full process supports a real decision.
A drone survey, for instance, identifies an area of weaker crop performance. The team then inspects and samples that area, compares it with irrigation layouts, soil information and crop history, and plans an intervention. A later survey shows whether the action improved the situation.
The process:
Observe the variation
Investigate the cause
Decide on the response
Implement the intervention
Measure the resulting change
Similar thinking applies to drone-based spraying applications. The goal isn’t to fly and apply a product. We need to understand why the application is required, which area needs treatment, what coverage is required, and how the result will be assessed.
It also applies to infrastructure and energy. A drone inspection of a roof, dam, road, pipeline, construction site or solar PV system should lead to a specific technical or operational decision.
Collecting images without a purpose adds little value. Farm technology works best when it strengthens the farmer’s own knowledge and hard-earned wisdom.
As farmers we understand our land, crops, seasons, people and commercial pressures. Agri-technology gives that experience another set of measurements and observations to work with.
This becomes increasingly important as farming moves towards more resilient systems.
Precision tools support efficient resource use.
Renewable energy reduces unpredictable supply and reduces electricity costs.
Regenerative practices build long-term sustainable ecosystem function.
Together, these approaches are a massive lever in strengthening productivity and overall resilience for any farming operation.
Agriculture depends on a close observation and a deep understanding of nature. And technology does not replace that innate management philosophy inside all of us who cultivate, plant, grow, sow, reap, and harvest. It just so happens to expand our field of view and this improves the quality of the decisions that follow.
The standard rule farmers should apply? “The right agtech solution only earns its place in your farming toolset because it solves a very real problem.”
The thinking starts here, but the real change starts when we take action.
