I had a great time at the Smart Farming Days exhibition where GeoPard Agriculture, as a member of the Agrirouter association DKE Data GmbH & Co. KG, had a stand. It was an excellent opportunity to connect (and reconnect) with #AgTech enthusiasts and learn about the latest industry advancements, particularly in machinery data exchange and usage.
Here are some key insights from the event:
Agrirouter is gaining recognition as a standard in the agricultural industry. More machinery producers are supporting it by default and displaying the “ready for agrirouter” label. In short, Agrirouter is an open data exchange platform that enables seamless data transfer and integration between different agricultural machinery and software solutions.
When discussing trends in agricultural machinery, I would like to highlight:
- Versatility, where machines can perform multiple operations in one pass to reduce the number of field visits. For example, the PRIOS 404 exhibited by GRIMME combines soil cultivation, potato planting, fertilizing, seed dressing, and ridge shaping.
- Real-time calculations on agricultural machinery, such as spot spraying based on computer vision. This approach reduces overall chemical use by targeting specific areas on the run. Check out the exhibited Ecorobotix ARA.
- Autonomy in agricultural machinery.
- Open data connectivity.
I was especially pleased to see the great interest in the development of AgTech from technical universities to keep up to date with new developments and share knowledge with students, future AgTech innovators. Regards to Simon Grebner and Maximilian Treiber from the Technical University of Munich.
Marc Favier from RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau is leveraging digital farming software to organize a workshop that aims to educate farmers about precision farming technologies.
It was exciting also to see more farmers adopting #PrecisionAg tech. I was asked about high-density soil scanners to prepare VR irrigation and fertilizing. Companies like geo-konzept GmbH and Geoprospectors GmbH offer soil scanning services, and GeoPard Agriculture is a handy tool for transforming the data into actionable VRA strategies.
Reporting Ag inputs applications for regulatory purposes is getting attention as well. Farmers need to record field operations, and machinery data about executed operations simplifies the process. There were solutions presented specifically targeting this topic. At GeoPard Agriculture, we are adding the possibility to generate PDF reports from as-applied maps and other analytics.
I also had the opportunity to discuss various topics with industry experts and business partners:
- The “Digital Label Compliance” initiative, expertly explained by Martin Herchenbach, aims to use standardized digital labels for crop protection. The labels contain information from authorities and manufacturers on how to use the product. Farmers can access the information by scanning a code on the packaging or directly in the Farm Management Systems, which connects to a centralized database.
- Spot spraying was a hot topic, and I had an insightful conversation with Dr. Robin Mink, co-founder of SAM-DIMENSION precision farming start-up. Their service involves flying a drone over a field (just 30 minutes for a 40ha field), running weed detection in the cloud, and creating a spraying map. The spraying is then done by a tractor on the same day (could be even 2-3 hours after flight). It allows for optimizing herbicide usage and avoiding visiting non-weed areas. Since the model is cloud-based it can be easily adjusted and retrained based on the new datasets.
- Nicole Bartelds highlighted the reporting for regulations topic and the importance of knowing historical field operations for better planning. I am looking forward to her training program for farmers, agronomists, and ag consultants on Precision Ag!
- Gottfried Pessl emphasized the value of real-time weather and soil moisture data for agricultural operations, yield prediction, and historical weather data for land assessments, particularly in vineyards.
- The importance of integrating machinery data into digital farming solutions through platforms like Agrirouter and JD Operation Center was discussed with Thomas Schilling
- With Nikola Strah we explored the synergies between high spatial and temporal resolution Planet remote sensing data and ground-level data for agricultural insights.
- With Tamme van der Wal and Matthias Lautenschläger we delved into the market readiness for precision agriculture adoption topic, emphasizing the need for reliable, affordable, and easy-to-use technologies for farmers. Separately touched on the use of drones for spraying and authorization challenges in Germany and the Netherlands. Tamme, I hope you write the “30 Years of Precision Ag” book someday!
Attending AgTech exhibitions is always an enriching experience. By working collaboratively, we can drive positive change and make farming more sustainable and efficient.
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