Agriculture is the science and art of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in cities.
IoT in agriculture technologies comprises specialized equipment, wireless connectivity, software, and IT services. Internet of things smart farming solutions is a system that is built for monitoring the crop field with the help of sensors (light, humidity, temperature, soil moisture, crop health, etc.). IoT can also be implemented to monitor the livestock, that is their daily traveling routine, and their health status.
This article will not be focusing on how IoT can be used in the agricultural sector but it will present the various real-life examples of the application of IoT in helping farmers to improve their productivity, whether it’s livestock or farming.
The various aspects included in this blog are:
- Crop management
- Soil management
- Monitoring environmental conditions
- Monitoring livestock
- Post-harvest crop management
1. Crop management
(i) Motorleaf
Motorleaf is a Canada based company that focuses on combining greenhouse operations with AI. It automates harvest yield estimates and disease scouting and provides insights into growing conditions that cause skin cracking and blemishes in vegetables. Using the greenhouse data, it develops custom-made AI automation technology that works at a farm–all within weeks (depending on data availability).
2. Soil management
Soil Monitoring with IoT uses technology to empower farmers and producers to maximise yield, reduce disease and optimise resources. Data from the IoT sensors are then transmitted back to a central point (or the cloud) for analysis, visualisation and trend analysis.
>> Soil Temperature
The temperature of the soil is an essential factor in belowground plant activity, influencing things such as root growth, respiration, decomposition, and mineralization of nitrogen. The most accurate measurement is to use a probe, buried in the soil. Depending on the root structure of the plan in question, multiple probes can be installed at different depths. Surface soil temperature can be monitored using a different type of IoT sensor that uses IR technology.
>> Soil Moisture
The moisture content of soil can also be monitored using buried probes with electrodes.
There are numerous companies that provide soil management using IoT. These include:
(i) Hortau
Hortau is a wireless soil and irrigation management platform. Hortau integrates with ST field monitors which can connect to irrigation infrastructure to perform tasks such as starting pumps on-demand, based on a schedule, or based on soil conditions. With Hortau, you can trigger your field automation with your phone or laptop based on any of the existing conditions (weather, soil, etc.).
(ii) Pycno
Pycno offers wireless, modular soil sensors for use in determining what the soil needs so that farmers can use only the fertilizer and other additives they need in order to reduce waste. Beyond resource distribution recommendations, Pycno also offers information related to disease probabilities as when farmers should water crops. All of Pycno’s insights come from real-time data.
3. Monitoring environmental conditions
(i) Agrosmart
Agrosmart helps farmers monitor more than 10 environmental conditions so that they can make more educated decisions about how to allocate their resources and deal with pests. Agrosmart is trying to change the way agricultural operations are handled to incorporate real-time data, maximize efficiency, and enhance farmers’ ability to feed the world.
4. Monitoring livestock
When it comes to managing livestock and feed, the goal for every farmer is to be as efficient and productive as possible. While today’s farmers have embraced some technology, such as GPS auto-steering tractors, many of their processes are the same as those used in previous generations.
During the calving season, many farmers rarely leave the farm. Ranches with livestock, particularly large-scale agricultural operations, provide one of the best use cases to leverage new technology that uses the Internet of Things (IoT).
Because IoT enables farmers to monitor remote locations from one centralized location, they can more efficiently monitor livestock and get more detail on each animal, its health using the data collected.
There are numerous companies that provide monitoring of livestock using IoT. These include:
(i) Cowlar
Cowlar is a wearable tech agriculture company creating smart collars for cattle. Cowlar monitors the vital signs of cattle and allows for ranchers to adjust the diet and living conditions until the animal is happy. Cowlars have seen an increase in milk productivity and higher reproduction rates. Cowlar features a water-resistant and durable design to ensure your information is current and accurate.
(ii) HerdDogg
HerdDogg is a smart ear tag producer for keeping up with livestock and their conditions. The system works in three parts–the tag which collects and stores the data and the reader or “DoggBone” which aggregates the information from the tags so that it can be uploaded to the last segment, the cloud, where the data is analyzed and turned into an easy to digest display.
5. Post-harvest crop management
(i) Amber Agriculture
Amber Agriculture allows farmers to manage their stored crops to ensure they receive the maximum price per unit for their sales. Amber is a solution for storing crops after harvest when a significant amount of product tends to be lost. They are not open to the public yet, but they are taking applications for early access.
