How Technology Is Shaping The Future Of Farming

We use technology in almost every aspect of our lives. It helps us accomplish tasks at work and home, stay up to date with current events and provides countless hours of entertainment.

From a business perspective, technology is helping across all industries as well. It aids in production, customer service, talent acquisition, security and much more but what impact is it having on the planet?

Some might argue outdated devices are contributing to the ever-growing pollution problem or that our data is at risk by using these technologies and while that may be true, several innovations are aiding in land and water sustainability.

According to FAO, the world population is expected to grow by over a third between 2009 and 2050. We are in the midst of this growth so we must continue to adopt more efficient and sustainable production methods while also adapting to climate change. Many farmers are utilising technology to help achieve those goals, reduce water consumption, improve operations and increase profits.

Author’s Note: Sonnet Malakaran George, Agro-Food Industries and Losses Expert from FAO (Food & Agriculture Organization) will be one of the keynote speakers sharing his valuable insights during the World Intelligent Farming Summit.

Here are a few of the tools & strategies helping farmers to achieve these goals and more:

Mobile Technology

The first tool we will look at is mobile technology since it has been around the longest. Tasks or data that farmers would traditionally use a pencil and paper for have been transferred to mobile devices and tablets.

Smartphone technology and applications have provided many benefits to farmers without costing them a lot of money. These software solutions provide real-time feedback and let you send out new work assignments to your team, all from the field.

One example of this is the Field Navigator app, a popular driving application for Precision Agriculture. It allows you to measure the size of your farm easily, even in poor conditions or low visibility.

It also has a steering assistance feature that helps with driving to parallel tracks, reducing your workload as well as the size of untreated areas and avoids overlapping. The app works for any size farm and is compatible with external GPS antennas for even further accuracy.

Image Source: Play Store

Big Data Analytics

Like many other industries, farmers can use big data to increase productivity and profitability. For farmers, big data can provide rainfall patterns, water cycles, fertilizer requirements and much more.

By having this information, farmers can make smarter decisions that will ultimately increase the farm’s yield. There is a lot of information to analyze with the data collected by mobile devices and wireless technologies but farmers need to be able to gather it all into one platform.

That is where our next tool comes in.

Farm Management Software

Farm management software can collect huge amounts of data and help farmers better manage it to make informed decisions at every stage of the production process. There are also other software options to help with machine operations and production.

Agrivi is one example of a farm management software that lets you plan, monitor and analyze all of your farming activities easily. You can also manage tillage, planting, spraying, fertilization, irrigation, harvesting and all other activities with a few clicks.

Image Source: Agrivi

Boost your performance with a farm management software by gathering and storing substantial information. Make timely and informed decisions based on accurate data.

Agriculture Drones

Agriculture drones are one of the latest innovations transforming the farming industry and its popularity is only increasing. The agriculture drone market is predicted to be worth $5.19 billion USD by 2025.

Drones help farmers in many of the same ways the other technologies mentioned do, with increasing crop yield, saving time, reducing expenses and providing data to enable accurate and precise decisions making.

Here are a few ways drones can be used for agriculture:

• Estimating Soil Conditions
• Planning Future Crops
• Fighting Infections & Pests
• Agriculture Spraying
• Crop Surveillance
• Livestock Monitoring

Many of these tasks required the farmer to be in the field, performing them manually before but now, through drone technology, farmers do not have to be in the field and these tasks are completed faster with more accuracy.

Even top brands are recognising the importance of drone use in agriculture. Recently John Deere collaborated with Volocopter to create a VoloDrone-based aerial crop-dusting system. The drone is mounted with a tank and sprayers to dispense pesticides, liquid fertilizer, anti-frost agents and more. Both companies see potential for sowing seeds for new crops in the air as well.

Image Source: TechCrunch

To discover even more ways technology is shaping the future of farming, read our full blog post here.

Join us and industry experts to learn more about these technologies and trending topics in smart farming. Register today to save your seat for the World Intelligent Farming Summit in March.

Best Tips For A Great Conference Experience

Best Tips For A Great Conference Experience (Full Blog)

Business conferences or summits provide great value but they can be overwhelming if you are unprepared. These events are usually filled with speaker panels, networking sessions, interactive workshops and more.

So, how do you make the most of your conference experience without being overwhelmed or getting lost in the crowd?

Do not wander through the crowd hoping to meet your favourite speaker or worse, finally meet them and forget what you wanted to discuss.

In this guide, we will provide some of the best tips to overcome traditional summit woes and achieve a great conference experience.

Focus Your Goals

The first thing you should do before you even start travelling to a conference is to focus on your goals and establish what you want to get out of the event.

Are you hoping to build your business connections? Do you want to gain more industry knowledge? Or, maybe you are hoping to pitch a new strategy to like-minded individuals and receive feedback?

Whatever your reason for attending is, setting specific goals beforehand will help you focus during the event and accomplish more.

Plan Your Day

Our next tip is to plan your day. Many summits have different programs set up and some of them overlap so you must research the topics and prioritize which ones you will attend.

Besides planning the actual panel sessions you will attend, you also need to think about what you will need for a full day of networking and learning.

Here are a few of the things we suggest:

• Extra pens
• Power bank or extra chargers
• Chapstick
• Gum/Mints
• Hand Sanitizer
• Hand Lotion
• Snacks
• A light jacket (even in the summer)

For a list of more things to pack and other travel tips, check out our guide for business travellers.

Utilise Online Resources

In the months/weeks leading up to the conference, take advantage of any online resources offered. Each of our events has a subscription area at the bottom of the page that helps you stay up to date on event changes.

Simply enter your full name and email and then you will be alerted if a speaker is added or removed, if social activities are added, etc.

We also provide individual LinkedIn groups for each summit as a resource before the summit. The event chairman, keynote speakers and other industry executives are all added to these groups well in advance of the summit.

These groups are a great place to connect with the other attendees of the conference and share challenges or ideas before or after the event.

LinkedIn also has a great nearby feature to use during the conference.

Connect With Your Internal Team

Companies do not always have the budget or resources to send more than one representative to an event. If you are the lucky one chosen to attend, connect with your internal team before you leave.

See what issues they are facing or what questions they want answered and then take that with you to the conference.

Schedule Time With Speakers

As we mentioned earlier, the schedules during these events are usually packed and even during the “free time” you have speakers can be approached by many different people, making it hard to establish a genuine connection with them.

To help avoid this, connect with the speakers before the summit and try to schedule one-on-one time with them. Even if it is grabbing coffee or lunch, this creates valuable time for you to get your questions answered.

We mentioned our LinkedIn groups that provide a platform for you to connect with speakers or attendees on but you can connect through any social media channel. Tweet at the speaker you are most excited to meet and watch the relationship evolve from there.

We also have a complete guide on how to utilise Twitter before, during and after the conference.

Have A Networking Plan

Having a networking plan is vital to your success at a conference or summit, yet most people still show up to an event without one.

Maybe you are thinking — I will just show up and meet a bunch of people. While you can easily accomplish that, it does not create a solid foundation to build those relationships on. Either you or your new connection will possibly forget the meeting ever occurred because you meet so many people over a few days.

Establish a plan with whom you want to meet, questions you need answered and successful examples to add to the conversation. By researching and preparing this information, you create valuable topics to discuss which creates a more memorable experience for everyone.

For even more advice on how to create a great conference experience, read our full blog here!

Looking for business conferences to attend or speak at? Check out our upcoming events and register today!