Smart farming
1 May 2018 News from the Company
At the beginning of the third millennium, agriculture has received a new and powerful impetus for development through the integration of agricultural machinery industry and information and space technologies. A new term was coined: “smart farming”.
According to experts, the resources and farming management practices covered by the term are going to become common practice for any major agricultural enterprise throughout the world in 3 to 5 years. We discuss how smart farming works with Bjorne Drechsler, First Deputy General Director of EkoNivaTekhnika-Holding.
Bjorne, where and how did smart farming emerge?
The pioneer in this area definitely was and still is John Deere. In 1999, they started researching GPS-based technologies, took first steps in introducing them into agricultural production and went on to design proprietary software. Applied as a package, the developments have taken farm machinery management to a principally new level. For enterprises with over 10,000 hectares of farmland, the technology is an absolute must-have.
What is the rationale behind growing adoption of smart farming practices?
Smart farming provides a tremendous management edge. The software, which is currently being tested, combined with record keeping software, satellite-based and other cutting-edge solutions allow the owner to keep track of and analyze all the key parameters – from soil and crop stand condition on a given square metre of a field to employee performance. This, in its turn, makes it possible for the farmer to evaluate the input structure, make good and timely management decisions and efficiently work the soil using modern machinery. Thus, the economics of the enterprise improves: the yield increases, whereas the cost of production goes down.
What IT solutions to this end are currently available for farmers?
There are plenty of tools. For record keeping, John Deere Farmsight and JD Link are conveniently integrated into 1С system. Another development is the CPS software lineup for automation of agriculture by branches. John Deere HarvestLab is a useful data management and documentation tool. The opportunities are so ample that it could be a topic of a separate article.
What elements of smart farming are currently being put into practice in Russia?
We have begun extensive testing of “smart” solutions in Voronezh oblast with the current focus on the following three areas: variable rate fertilization, variable rate plant protection agent application, and variable rate seeding. We carry out green mass analysis, soil structure analysis, yield mapping. Once all the data are consolidated, we manage the soil accordingly.
Variable rate technology is already used in this country, isn’t it?
Yes, until recently it was used haphazardly and so without significant effect, guided by the following principle: if a crop grows poorly on a field plot, then it requires more fertilizer, if it grows well – less. Nobody wondered: what if the crop fails to grow not because of soil depletion but due to ill-suited soil type or some other reasons? And why waste fertilizer if the effort will anyway be in vain?
Is it not better to apply it to more promising plots? The aim of our developments and testing is to provide optimum conditions for every plant. No more and no less. In the coming years, we are going to establish, which exactly smart farming methods provide economic benefit in Voronezh oblast.
I suppose, we will have a clear understanding of the same in the context of variable rate fertilizer application and variable rate seeding by next year. It is my firm belief that an exciting practice and impressive results are in store for us.