Stikkord: Precision Agriculture

The widespread adoption of precision agriculture may be attributed to several critical technologies: mobile phones, drones, satellites, and on-site sensors. Even if not all of them are brand new, the fact that they are becoming more reasonably priced and readily available makes them more relevant to farmers everywhere.

However, despite the generally optimistic view, many obstacles must be overcome before smallholder farmers can implement these solutions. The concept of “The Five A’s of Technology Access,” which consists of “availability,” “affordability,” “awareness,” “ability,” and “agency,” is a helpful framework to analyze these many difficulties.

In many areas of the world, the availability of precision agriculture technologies may be severely limited for reasons such as a deficiency in the digital infrastructure required to support such solutions (for example, power or the Internet).

Although if they are accessible, many farmers may not have the financial means to purchase them. For instance, farmers may not afford a smartphone with an Internet connection, an essential prerequisite for many precision farming technologies.

Even when viable solutions are accessible and cost-effective, farmers could be unaware of them. It is also the case with several other technological services provided by both public and commercial organizations. There is also a possibility that farmers lack the literacy and technology abilities necessary to utilize the solutions.

In a poll conducted by the GSMA, respondents from low- and middle-income countries who were familiar with mobile Internet said that this was the primary barrier preventing them from using the Internet.

Finally, farmers who belong to underserved groups, such as women farmers, may not have ‘agency’ because of the many socio-cultural hurdles that stand in their way and hinder them from gaining access to technology solutions.

To overcome these obstacles, interventions are required on operational and policy levels. These involve creating solutions with the user in mind, developing business and service delivery models that are creative and inclusive, and enacting legislation making it possible to transform the sector digitally.

The multifaceted nature of the obstacles highlights the need for enhanced cooperation between many stakeholders, including the governmental and commercial sectors, civil society, and the academic community, to accelerate the use of digital technology by smallholder farmers.

Relevant precision agriculture technologies

In this section, we will present an overview of the most critical and relevant precision farming technologies to promote the growing use of these technologies.

1. Use of mobile phones 

Growing mobile and internet penetration has paved the way for developing a wide variety of mobile phone-enabled services for the agricultural industry.

These services are also referred to as “m-Agri services.” These incorporate ensuring that farmers have access to inputs, loans, insurance, and marketplaces where they may sell their products.

Mobile phones make it possible for farmers and agricultural professionals to communicate in both directions, provide real-time monitoring facilities, and facilitate the digitization and simple collecting of field data.

Smartphones equipped with GPS may facilitate the collection of precise position data and allow the distribution of individualized information to farmers. Cell devices are a very accessible medium for spreading information and insights using other precision farming technologies such as satellites, on-site sensors, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Perhaps a phone with only the most fundamental features and no “smart” functionality offers various capabilities for farmers to unlock individualized information.

This makes it possible for farmers who do not have the financial means to purchase a smartphone or who live in locations with minimal or no Internet connectivity to take advantage of precision agriculture technologies.

The mobile phone-based agricultural advice services presently aiding countless farmers across the globe are the most prevalent option. These services are also referred to as “digital extensions.”

They can overcome many of the disadvantages that agricultural extension workers (AEWs) have, such as a lack of numbers, limited proven efficacy, and mistrust among farmers about the advice that AEWs provide.

Advising services are a cost-effective strategy for enhancing agricultural results, even though the impacts of advisory services alone are minor.

For instance, one research found that farmers who increased the amount of lime they applied to their crops in response to SMS-based alerts had a benefit-to-cost ratio of up to ten to one.

2. Use of satellites as agriculture technologies

Spectral data collected by satellites may be used to build spectral index maps, which provide a visual representation of the state of the farm while advising the farmer on which areas of the farm need their attention. ARVI, NBR, and NDVI are examples of spectral indices used often.

• The normalized difference vegetation index, or NDVI, evaluates how green the vegetation is and may serve as a stand-in for assessing crop health throughout the field.
• The NBR is used for both assessing the burn extent as well as monitoring ongoing fires.
• ARVI monitors the concentration of particulate matter and enables users to pinpoint regions affected by pollution or even activities such as slash-and-burn agriculture.

Through mobile apps, farmers can get farm maps illustrating intra-farm variation in crop health and farm-specific advising information.

Integration of satellite data with several other data sources, such as weather, on-site sensors, and agricultural records (fertilizer usage, planting dates, etc.), followed by processing using machine learning algorithms, may provide information that is even more accurate for local farmers.

Several new businesses give precision farming technologies. These include solutions for the use of fertilizer as well as yield prediction based on satellite images.

Satellites can also provide geopositioning information. Satellite-based navaids such as GPS assist in collecting georeferenced details and identifying accurate field locations.

It is necessary for the precise arrangement of seeds and herbicides and pesticides, as well as the management of the sustainable use of water and the assistance in overarching agriculture practices.

The use of satellites and navigation systems together helps to characterize the variability of the farms’ soil and crops, which enables the use of cultivation methods that are both more intense and more efficient.

3. Use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in precision agriculture

Combined with several other forms of technology(multiple sensors and variable rate technology), drones are utilized in successive parts of the crop growth cycle. It ranges from the soil evaluation to the planting of seeds or the spraying of crops to determining the optimal harvesting time.

They have two main applications: detecting and reducing the amount of work that must be done. Drones fitted with cameras and other sensors make it possible to conduct real-time aerial surveillance and provide an unparalleled perspective of the farm.

Payloads that may be attached to drones, similar to spraying systems, might reduce the manual labor required for specific agricultural tasks, like scouting and applying herbicides, fertilizers, and insecticides.

4. Use of sensors and internet-of-things (IoT) 

Growers can base their choices on the data collected by on-site sensors, which monitor the features of their fields and crops with enhanced precision.

Precision agriculture technologies like sensors are utilized in applications: precision planting and spraying, monitoring of pests and soil, smart irrigation, monitoring of yields, monitoring of the weather, and monitoring of the environment.

inter-device communication has to be governed by a set of rules for on-site sensors to be able to talk with one another and convey data. The term “network protocol” refers to this predetermined set of guidelines.

Because the various wireless networks typically have varying ranges and capacities for data transmission, they are best suited for multiple applications.

The technology known as Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) is gaining popularity for use in agricultural Internet of Things applications.

LPWAN is optimal for situations where intelligent devices communicate across a considerable distance but need to transfer just a limited quantity of data. LPWAN network technologies include LoRaWAN and NB-IoT, for example.

In addition to having a large coverage area (up to 20 kilometers), these sensors also have high energy efficiency. As a result, the batteries used to power the sensors may survive for as long as 15 years.

Since it does not depend on 4G or GPS, LoRaWAN has become more popular for usage in precision farming technologies or applications, providing reliable data transfer in addition to geolocation. It indicates that it is better suited for use in more remote places with less 4G coverage.

Additional precision agriculture technologies

Precision agriculture is being helped along by technological developments such as variable rate technology (VRT), farm robots, and automation.

However, smallholder farmers seem unable to implement these practices because of the high costs involved, the lack of acceptable business models, and the requirement for certain levels of technical expertise.

1. Robotics and agricultural automation

Farmers all over the world are turning to robotics in a multitude of types, such as weeding robots, autonomous tractors, crop monitoring bots, and harvesting robots, to cut down on the number of trips needed for farm monitoring, minimize crop damage and loss, increase farm yield, and lower their consumption of fuel.

The rising cost of precision farming technologies such as robots is the most significant barrier to widespread use in underdeveloped nations.

E.g. in 2017, it was anticipated that robotic agricultural scouting would have an initial cost of over $9,000 and an annualized operating cost of $18 per hectare. The price of other mobile robots designed for light-duty tasks like weeding and pruning may quickly go from $15,000 to $30,000.

To make robots a more financially viable choice, however, various business models are being investigated.

For example, a company’s business model can include ARaaS, which refers to “Agricultural Robots-as-a-service.” By compensating farmers for using agricultural robots, this concept provides smallholder farmers with a convenient and secure monetary choice.

2. Variable Rate Technology (VRT)

There is seldom any uniformity in the factors that determine crop output throughout a field. Additionally, the application of inputs in a consistent manner does not provide for the maximum possible production or profitability.

To help maximize input efficiency and, as a result, the yield and profit growth of individual fields, variable rate technology (VRT) encompass customizing and vastly differing the rates of inputs, such as fertilizers, chemicals, and seed pods, in appropriate locations throughout the field. It is done to maximize the potential of the area as a whole.

For delivery, vehicles like drones, tractors, and other farming robots are outfitted with equipment that can operate at variable rates (e.g., sprayers and spreaders).

Smallholder farms often cannot justify the purchase of such equipment because of its prohibitively high cost (estimated to range between $150,000 and $250,000), as well as its complexity for farmers to understand and execute.

GeoPard is one of the autonomous precision farming technology companies that can handle any data from a georeferenced farm. We assist firms involved in crop farming in precision farming solutions while also helping them make their operations more efficient.

Also, growers and crop consultants may get precision agriculture technologies from our company. API, white label solutions, and widgets are some of the other services we provide to large agribusinesses. They can introduce their solutions in just a few short weeks as a result of this.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Which of the following is the most likely reason why most smallholders avoid precision agricultural technology?

The most likely reason why most smallholders avoid precision agricultural technology is the high initial cost associated with adopting and implementing these technologies. Smallholders often have limited financial resources and may perceive precision agriculture as too expensive and inaccessible.

Additionally, limited access to technical knowledge, lack of infrastructure, and inadequate training and support services can also deter smallholders from adopting precision agricultural technology.

2. How does the use of GPS technology in this manner benefit the farmer?

The use of GPS technology in precision agriculture benefits farmers by providing accurate field mapping, enabling targeted input application, streamlining farm operations, and facilitating data-driven decision-making.

Accurate field mapping helps farmers understand variations within their fields, optimizing resource allocation. Targeted input application reduces waste and lowers input costs. GPS-guided machinery improves operational efficiency, saving time and labor. Data collection and analysis enable informed decision-making for improved productivity and profitability.

Crop monitoring is a crucial tool that allows crop growers to detect problem areas and mitigate the risk of yield losses.

Easily monitor your crop development by relying on the latest satellite imagery. Add your field boundary to the system and access the complete satellite imagery archive on one screen:

• Assessment of crop development conditions.
• Detection of vegetation anomalies in near-real time.
• Scout spots with different levels of crop development.
• View through the clouds.

Translate the satellite imagery crop monitoring insights into fieldwork actions and benefit from making the data-driven decisions:

• Detect the difference in crop vegetation between the latest images and scout the focused areas for tissue sampling.
• Create Variable Rate Application maps for crop protection and in-season fertilization based on near-real-time field assessment and collect the execution report.
• Mark the damaged field areas after a weather disaster or a disease or a pest attack and send reports to the insurance.

Learn more

In such context, yield monitoring and mapping are considered by many as the most valuable invention that has happened in farming recently. In this article, we’re going to understand yield-mapping and yield-monitoring and their potential in making our farms more efficient and productive.

Modern agriculture and farming systems are a result of thousands of years of traditional knowledge largely supported by the rapid advancements in science and technology in recent centuries.

The demand for food from the ever-increasing human population keeps on rising every year while critical issues like global warming and climate change threaten the entire sustainability of the current agricultural system. Consequently, the role of technology has never been so bigger in optimizing agricultural production.

What is yield mapping?

Initially introduced in the early 1990s, it is a precision-agriculture tool that involves the process of collecting georeferenced data about the different levels of yield as well as the characteristics like moisture-content, in different parts of the same field.

During harvesting, the harvester measures these parameters using several sensors, and the measurement along with the location where the measurement was taken is recorded using geo-spatial tools. This information is used to generate a map which makes it easier for visualization by the farmers.

Furthermore, the single measurements of yield characteristics are then classified on specific zones or ranges using different colors to produce a range map or a zone classified map. The number of such classifications can be set according to the needs of the farm.

For example, for generating a yield map of a field of corn that has an average production of 250 bushels per acre, classifying the map into areas each having yield of 25 bushels per acre might be appropriate.

However, this depends on the level of precision required and the technology available. Standard yield maps have 5-7 color zones, which increase with increasing requirements in precision.

What are the basic components of a yield mapping or yield monitoring system?

The application of yield mapping in farmlands lets farmers optimize their production by directing inputs to specific areas within the farms that need them the most.

However, the working mechanism behind yield-monitoring requires several essential components integrated into a combined system to generate real-time and highly accurate data and maps.

While the components may vary depending upon the scale of the farm and the type of the crops being monitored, the basic components of the more common grain yield-mapping system include:

• Grain flow-sensor: A grain flow-sensor fitted on the harvester is used to determine the actual quantity of grain being harvested as the harvester moves across the field in real-time.
• Grain moisture-sensor: Grain moisture-sensors are also included in the grain combines that measure the capacitance of the grain. This is done to offset the variations in grains caused by environmental factors like rain, temperature, etc.
• Ground speed-sensor: It is important to measure the speed of the combined harvester for accurate results. This can be done by using either GPS-based information or an actual ground speed sensor that measures speed from wheel rotation.
• GPS-receiver: For geo-coding the measurement made by other sensors, a GPS-receiver is fitted on the grain combine which constantly gives locations to each measurement taken.
• Yield-monitor display: It is the component that is fitted inside the cab of the harvesters where the operator/farmer is located. This provides him/her with real-time processed data on a display screen that is being continuously generated by several sensors.

What is the role of yield monitoring in precision agriculture?

Precision agriculture is the use of technology and data in farming operations so as to determine the type of farm inputs, the level/amount of those inputs, and the precise location within the farm where those inputs should be applied in order to reduce costs, increase productivity and maximize efficiency.

Although yield monitors are being used in agriculture for almost three decades, it is only rapidly starting to form an important part of precision-agricultural applications today.

Yield monitoring is used in precision agriculture because it helps to identify measure and describe the intra-field variability within a cropping system which is exactly what forms the basis of the concept of precision agriculture.

It provides variable data within a single field. This data is generated as a result of a complex interaction between several factors occurring within a farm like a farm management methods, environmental factors, and climatic factors.

As a result, this data becomes a crucial asset when attempting to understand the farm for the application of other precision agricultural tools.

However, there are some hindrances when using this data in the overall precision agriculture systems. One such major hindrance is the maximum temporal variability among the yield data that occurs within the same crop cycle as well on crops from different years.

This variability can be attributed to the complex interaction among several factors mentioned earlier. Moreover, the time when the measurements were taken can also alter the yield data and give an incomplete, if the not inaccurate representation of the farmland productivity.

Besides these, wrongful calibration or system errors are other issues associated with using this data for precision agriculture. So, there are a few things that must be ensured while using yield monitoring data for precision agricultural systems:

• For instance, its data for a single year cannot be used for making precision-farming interventions for another year. Thus, yield data of multiple years must be made available in order to make an accurate and reliable temporal analysis that can be implemented in the field.
• Furthermore, its operations or harvesting operations should be pre-planned and scheduled so as to minimize temporal variability, and the hardware, as well as the software components, should be optimized, well-calibrated and improved.
• Finally, several studies have shown the immense potential of using within-field variability in yield data in making better agronomic decisions by combining it with precision agriculture tools.

What are the benefits of yield mapping?

There are several benefits associated with the application of yield monitoring to generate a yield map of a farm.

However, all of the benefits boil down to the fact that it provides farmers and farmland managers with valuable information in the form of maps that help them understand the high and low production areas of their farms.

This allows them to attribute the level of production to numerous causes so that low production areas can be improved and high production areas can be sustained. In other words, this information can be beneficial to make decisions about:

Soil tillage: Both lack of tillage and excessive tillage can reduce the production of a farm and this can occur on small patches on large farms, especially if a systematic tillage operation was not carried out. Identifying these areas is critical in ensuring a better tillage operation in the next cycle.

Fertilizer Recommendations: VRF (Variable Rate Fertilization) is usually carried out by taking soil samples and soil data analytics. Yield maps can also be referred to for recommending fertilizations because it accounts for the within-field variability. However, the best results with be achieved if they both are used in combination.

Irrigation Requirements: One of the major components of yield monitoring is moisture content. As a result, yield maps are a valuable asset to making irrigation plans. For instance, low production areas in a yield map might be because of high or low irrigation in the present crop cycle. This information is necessary to identify the optimum irrigation level.

Crop Rotation: Yield mapping can give an idea of the appropriate crop rotation as a whole. By referring to yield data generated over the past at different times of the harvesting period, the exact harvest time that yields the most crops can be pinpointed.

Besides collecting yield data, some other benefits of yield-mapping are as follows:

• Financial Benefits: Crop yield maps and yield data are increasingly being used as documentation for securing finances in the form of bank loans, renting, etc. They are used to determine the overall value of the crop.
• Testing new products: In order to test a new product or a crop, the previous yield maps first allow farmers to make educated decisions while introducing it in the field and the yield map obtained afterward gives an accurate indication of the results and the crop’s potentials.
• Farm-based scientific research: In many scientific types of research carried out today on agricultural farms, yield maps are a major part of the scientific process. The data generated in the yield map is analyzed statistically to carry out experimentation or to test out the hypothesis that leads to scientific progress in the field of agriculture.

To sum up, yield mapping of a farm provides insights of great significance to the farmer about his farm which can be used to make educated and calculated decisions to increase the overall productivity, sustainability, and profitability of the farm in many ways.

However, as mentioned earlier, a single-year yield map can give a wrong impression of the actual nature of the field, and thus a systematic application of the yield mapping and monitoring process is important that helps to generate a reliable and accurate multi-year yield map.

The yield map thus produced can either be for a single crop cycle or multi-crop cycles with several crop rotations.

Who can help with yield mapping?

Evidently, yield monitoring can help farmers be better at farming. These powerful tools or processes are obtained by combining software and hardware from varied technological fields like geo-informatics, sensors, digital cartography, Internet of things (IoT), processing, and analytics.

While it might be overwhelming to understand the details of all the components to farmers, the end-user experience of the results can be easily visualized and understood by all.

However, because of the level of precision that is required, it is important to rely on a highly capable service provider like GeoPard.

GeoPard offers a dedicated agri-solution named Yield Data that lets farmers construct field management zones on maps. It analyzes your yield data and converts it into variable-rate application maps like VRF maps for you.

As mentioned earlier, it has an integrated soil sampling planning feature that makes the results more precise. Backed by a powerful processing capability, GeoPard lets you perform multi-layer analysis and visualize several attributes of the yield data like moisture, mass, volume, fuel consumption, speed, and so on.

A cloud-based platform ensures that your data will never be compromised or lost which is vital to performing multiyear yield mapping of your farm.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. How has the development of yield monitoring become beneficial?

The development of yield monitoring has become beneficial as it enables farmers to make informed decisions about resource allocation for optimal yields. It helps evaluate the performance of different crop varieties and management practices, facilitating better decision-making.

It also helps identify areas of low productivity, allowing farmers to address issues and improve overall farm performance. Additionally, it provides valuable record-keeping and documentation for compliance, financial planning, and historical analysis.

 

The use of hyperspectral satellite imagery in agriculture has transformed the way how farmlands are managed to meet the increasing demands of the expanding population in the face of the changing climate.

The advancement and commercialization of this tool in recent times have translated into affordable understanding and monitoring of not only large farms but also small farms everywhere.

It is important to understand the concept of hyperspectral satellite imaging and its beneficial implications for farmers and farmlands as well as the way to use them.

How satellite imagery is useful for agriculture?

For the most time in human history, agriculture has been a strictly land-based science and practice. However, the scope of agriculture today has expanded to great heights, reaching satellites that orbit the earth. But how actually do satellites affect the way we grow crops and produce food?

The answer lies in the factors that agriculture depends upon, namely soil, weather, temperature, rainfall pattern, crop development, topography, and so on.

Satellites or space-based technologies allow us to easily measure and monitor these factors from the convenience of our computer screens and the information thus obtained can be used to plan appropriate farming interventions.

The use of satellites in agriculture is a rapidly growing practice. It has evolved from just gathering information to actually performing precise farming operations, for example, the use of GPS-mounted tractors for harvesting.

It is important to note that satellites are used mainly for generating precise geospatial data of objects of interest- farmlands, and crops in our case. This is achieved by using a combination of more than three satellites and a concept known as trilateration.

Moreover, to measure and monitors the factors mentioned above, satellites are fitted with various types of highly capable sensors. It is by the combination of these mechanisms, satellites have become so useful in modern agriculture.

What is hyperspectral imaging in precision agriculture?

Hyper-spectral imaging is the process of obtaining data about an object by capturing the different spectral signatures from the whole electromagnetic spectrum of the light and not just the band of light we can see that is reflected by striking the object.

The capturing of those spectral signatures is done with the help of specialized camera sensors aboard the satellites.

In agriculture, hyper-spectral imaging relies on the fact that almost all types of crops show different spectral signatures under different stages of their lifecycle and different physiological conditions. These differences can be attributed to either expected or unexpected observations.

For unexpected results, the differences can be attributed to several environmental or management factors that have altered the physiological conditions of the plants. This can be helpful in the detection of:

• Soil moisture level
• Several Diseases
• Crop composition for multi-cropping systems
• Weed infestation
• Soil Nutrient Level, etc.

By carefully studying and analyzing these findings, a farmer can easily adapt his interventions for optimal production over time and space. In a way, hyper-spectral imaging allows the farmers to understand what the crop wants.

The actual imaging process in agriculture is achieved either from the ground level or by air. For ground level, imaging is done with robots or vehicles fitted with hyper-spectral sensors. For aerial hyper-spectral imaging, drones(UAVs), as well as satellite imagery, are used.

Since the working mechanism of hyper-spectral imaging involves precise measurement of light and its spectral bands, even a small movement or irregularity in the system can largely skew the results and can cause more harm than good.

So, it is vital to use reliable and accurate systems and services for any hyper-spectral imaging farming operations. Finally, the application of hyper-spectral imaging in agriculture is best realized when it is used regularly over multiple crop cycles so that understanding and monitoring of the crops is more precise and accurate.

How does satellite spectral imagery help precision farmers?

Satellites and their associated technologies aren’t just helping farmers manage their farms effectively; they are changing the way how farming is done across the globe.

Satellites give farmers vision and insight of their entire farmlands from a viewpoint that they could have never dreamt of just a few decades ago. The different ways that satellites help farmers manage their farms effectively and sustainably are as follows:

• Mapping: The initial step in precision agriculture with the use of satellites involves a thorough mapping of the entire parcel of land. This is especially beneficial in cases of large farmlands which enable the farmers to identify and prioritize their land-based on spatial characteristics.
• Measuring and studying: Multi-spectral cameras and sensors fitted into the satellites directly or indirectly give a measurement of a vast array of important farmland characteristics like crop health, nutrition, soil water stress, plantation stage, weather patterns, diseases, and so on.
• Executing and Monitoring: Moving on, satellite data and their functionalities are useful in performing automated technological machinery and allow for varying rates of fertilizer application and varying irrigation patterns precisely. Moreover, as the images pile up one after another with time, they reflect the pattern of the farmland characteristics as well as the environment. This helps t predict future events and plan and prepare in advance to have the greatest chance of minimizing extreme loss events from factors like droughts, climate change, disease outbreaks, etc.

Its use in agriculture, including hyperspectral images comes under the broad umbrella of precision farming. So satellite images are rarely used in isolation and are rather one of the elements in the Internet of Things (IoT) used in precision agriculture.

Satellite imageries, combined with ground-based data, artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and dissemination of data up to farmers’ level using smartphones and application services.

More precisely, High-spectral imagery in agriculture is an enabler for the following:

1. Crop Health Detection:

Different types of vegetation indices calculated from the multi-spectral satellite imagery are used to understand, detect and monitor the health of the crops. As mentioned earlier, different health conditions or their vigor cause different wavelengths of light to be absorbed or reflected.

The sensors capture and calculate the indices and the best one can be used in near-real time to generate appropriate management strategies. To understand more about the different types of vegetation indices and which one to choose, read this GeoPard blog.

2. Soil Status & Properties:

Just like how the crops and their foliage show distinct spectral signatures in different health conditions, the variations in soil and its properties also translate into a different spectrum of light reflected by the airborne sensors.

For instance, Soil Brightness Index is one such index used to measure and map soil properties. Since soil properties like moisture, nutrient levels, texture, erodibility, and pH play a massive role in the overall success or failure of the entire agricultural system, it is important to map, manage and monitor soil status accurately and regularly.

Systematic soil sampling can provide a more accurate description of the soil properties but can be costly and ineffective in large areas.

As a result, the best approach combines hyper-spectral imaging with systematic grid sampling of soil to obtain an accurate and reliable map of the different soil properties.

This can be used further to apply VRA fertilization. This approach is the one used by the Soil Data Analytics solution provided by GeoPard Agriculture.

3. Crop Growth & Crop/Variety Types Detection

The application of multi spectral satellite imagery in understanding and monitoring crop growth as well as the crop composition is essential in cases of multi-cropping systems on large farms.

In large farms, different patches of land can have localized environmental factors causing a deviation from the normal growth pattern. Moreover, unwanted plants like weeds can grow in areas that degrade the growth of major crops.

To monitor all these problems and to make sure that the entire plot of land will produce optimum results, multi spectral satellite imagery produces data layers that you can compare and make informed decisions.

Besides these common applications of HS imagery, other applications include early flood detection and warning, wildfire detection, livestock monitoring, and so on.

To sum up, hyperspectral satellite imagery has massive potential and applications in agriculture and its transformation into an advanced practice to cope with the growing challenges of the 21st century.

There are numerous ways that farmers can benefit from this powerful tool and make their agronomic practices easier, effective, sustainable, and most importantly, profitable.

However, it is also clear that its application requires a high level of precision and knowledge and farmers need to make sure to use a reliable agro-service provider platform with high operational efficiency and technical expertise.

GeoPard agriculture has a wide range of agri-solutions all fully utilizing the scope of multi spectral satellite imagery like Landsat, Sentinel, and Planet.

The technologies used boast a very high accuracy with a high resolution of 3m and an image database of several years to establish vegetation trends and management zones for your farmlands.

Other opportunities of the powerful GeoPard engine include near-real-time Crop Monitoring and Yield Data using the latest imagery which you can easily visualize on the web and mobile-based cloud platforms.

Using all these information and data layers, GeoPard analyzes the overall farmland productivity characteristics and prescribes variable rates of input like fertilizer, irrigation, or crop species for your farmland with the aim of enhancing your agronomic practices from a sustainable and financial perspective.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. How to get satellite imagery for farm?

To obtain imagery for your farm, start by researching reputable providers that offer agricultural-focused services like GeoPard. Select a suitable service plan based on factors like image resolution and frequency of updates. Once subscribed, access the imagery through the provider’s platform or tools and download the images for your farm area. Use these images for monitoring crop health, identifying areas of concern, and making informed decisions to optimize farm management practices.

2. Why is satellite imagery helpful to understanding food webs?

It is helpful in understanding food webs due to several reasons. First, it provides a broad-scale view of the Earth’s surface, allowing researchers to observe and monitor large areas and ecosystems. This imagery can help identify key habitat features, such as vegetation patterns or oceanographic processes, that influence the distribution and abundance of organisms within food webs. Additionally, it aids in tracking changes in land cover and climate variables, which are important factors affecting food web dynamics.

Precision livestock farming allows farmers to increase their production, expand their farms, maximize productivity, and meet the growing demand for livestock products while being conscious and accountable for its environmental impacts.

The recent developments show three different problematic trends on a global scale. First of all, the demand for livestock products like meat, eggs, and dairy is rising almost exponentially with the ever-increasing global population and increasing affordability of these items.

Secondly, the number of livestock farmers and the area of farmlands are reducing constantly for several years because of limited land availability.

Finally, there is a rising concern over the harmful effects of livestock on serious global issues like global warming, deforestation, and overall environmental degradation.

To address all these problems which is still in its inception stage in the grand scale of livestock-farming history, has emerged as a viable and promising solution.

What is livestock?

Livestock refers to domesticated animals that are raised for food, fiber, labor, and other products. This includes animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, and goats, among others. Livestock are an essential part of agriculture and play a significant role in the food production industry.

Livestock can be raised in various ways, including free-range, intensive, or extensive farming methods. Free-range farming allows animals to graze and roam in open pastures, while intensive farming involves keeping animals confined in smaller spaces to maximize production.

Extensive farming is a method that falls between free-range and intensive farming, where animals are allowed to graze and move around in a designated area.

What is livestock farming?

Livestock farming is the practice of raising animals for various purposes such as food, clothing, and labor. Livestock animals include cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and other poultry.

In many parts of the world, it is an essential part of the economy and culture. For example, in the United States, the livestock industry generates billions of dollars in revenue each year and supports millions of jobs.

There are different types of livestock farming, depending on the animals being raised and the purpose of the farming. Some farmers raise animals for meat, milk, or eggs, while others raise them for their wool or other by-products.

One of the most common types is beef cattle farming. Beef cattle are raised for their meat, and they are typically raised on large ranches or farms. The beef industry has become increasingly industrialized over the years, with many farmers using feedlots to fatten their cattle before slaughter.

Another common type is dairy farming. Dairy farmers raise cows to produce milk, which is then sold to milk processors or used to make cheese, butter, and other dairy products. Dairy farming can be a challenging and demanding business, as cows need to be milked twice a day, every day of the year.

Poultry farming is also a popular type, with chickens being the most commonly raised poultry. Chicken farmers raise their birds for their meat and eggs, and they often use large-scale production methods to maximize efficiency.

It can have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. On the one hand, raising animals for food can help feed a growing global population and provide economic benefits to farmers and communities. On the other hand, large-scale livestock operations can contribute to pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions.

What is precision livestock farming?

Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) is an innovative approach that utilizes technology and data-driven solutions to optimize livestock production and management.

It involves the integration of sensors, automation, and monitoring systems to gather real-time information on animal health, behavior, and environmental conditions.

This data enables farmers to make informed decisions regarding feed, health interventions, reproduction, and overall animal welfare.

PLF aims to improve productivity, minimize resource waste, enhance animal welfare, and promote sustainable and efficient livestock farming practices.

Precision livestock farming technologies

Like all technologies, PLF technologies are constantly evolving with every passing day. Many are adopted and highly successful across numerous farms everywhere while some are in their early developmental stages. A few of the PLF technologies which are in application today are:

1. Automated weighing systems

Since weight is one of the most important indices of animal health and livestock productivity, an automated weighing system is a common technology that comes with every PLF application in one form or the other.

The several forms of Automated-weighing systems are ‘Step-on scales’ and cameras integrated with software that gives the weight to individuals through machine-learning analysis of images and videos with a very little margin of error.

Step-on scales are widely used in poultry to calculate accurate mean weight and walk-over sensors are used in pigs and bovines by passing them through a scale.

On the other hand, measuring weight from image and video analysis is faster, easier, and more importantly, less intrusive. The information on the weight of farm animals is vital in livestock domestication.

For instance, by obtaining information on the weight and recording feed characters, a model can be established and used to make predictions and management interventions.

2. Low-cost feed and water intake recording

Water meters and different types of feed intake sensors are used to record information on the feeding and drinking behaviors of farm animals.

This information, collected over a period of time provides a historical trend and expected levels of feed and water intake, which can then be used to trigger early warning systems in case the feeding and drinking habits of animals change, which might be due to several factors like disease or unfavorable condition.

3. Imaging solutions

As mentioned earlier, images and video analysis can provide near-accurate information on the weights of individual animals automatically. However, weight is just one of the many data we can obtain from imaging solutions.

For instance, using 3D-camera technology and thermal imaging, we can study behavioral patterns like mounting and lameness, physiological conditions like respiration and temperature, growth trends, and environmental elements like carcass quality.

Because they obtain a range of vital data and their affordability, Imaging solutions are the most common form of precision livestock farming monitoring and one of the initial steps of a step-wise PLF adoption approach on a farm.

4. Animal sensing systems

Sensors like accelerometers, pressure sensors, and temperature sensors fitted to animals or their environment and connected to a network establish an Internet of Things (IoT) which is the basic premise of integrated PLF.

These sensors, either singly or in combination can be used to detect behavior patterns, environmental conditions, and animal health. For eg, sensors placed on the ear as well as on neck collars of cattle and pigs can measure and monitor feeding behavior, rumination, calving, estrus as well as body temperature.

Sensors are also used to measure farm temperature, and aquaculture variables like pH, oxygen content, etc. One important thing to consider while using sensors in PLF is their discomfort or harm to the animals.

Overall, real-time sensors combined with previous data are instrumental in detecting diseases and health issues and warning in advance.

5. GPS-tracking for extensive systems

The use of remote sensing technology like GPS-based tracking systems is applicable in grazing systems where animals cover a large area of land.

Their movement patterns can be used to determine their grazing preferability while their real-time GPS locations can be used to track their positions. This makes cattle herding efficient and reduces cattle loss through theft or predator killings.

In fact, GPS collars fitted on predators like big cats have been used to establish an early warning system in remote areas around the world.

In conventional livestock farming, GPS-tracking systems make monitoring large herds of cattle significantly easy by establishing virtual fences and offer the farmers a great relief.

6. Proxy technologies for measuring methane emissions

Agricultural greenhouse gas emission continues to be a large contributor to the overall GHG emissions every year. Methane gas produced by bovines and pigs occupies a major chunk of the agricultural GHG emission.

Technologies to measure methane emissions in farm animals are a great way of making animal farms more climate-sensitive and environmentally responsible.

However, not many feasible technologies exist for individual farms, and some of the proxy technologies include chamber system, SF6 tracer technique, laser-methane detection, spectroscopy, etc.

7. Electronic identification (EID) solutions

Being able to measure the conditions, behaviors, and performance of each individual animal on a farm automatically is only beneficial if those individual animals can be identified easily so that their record can be kept separately and automatically.

The traditional methods of livestock identification are intrusive and injurious to the animals and are still in practice all around the world.

However, electronic alternatives like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and advanced ear tags are efficient and automatic, removing the need for lengthy data entry works and a smooth flow of operations. EID holds all other aspects of precision livestock farming in place. It is also made mandatory in different countries.

8. Application of advanced data analytics to big data

As more and more technology is adopted in livestock farms, more and more data and data points are generated every day and it continues to rise exponentially. To handle that amount of data, the data analytics part has to be equally capable.

Advanced data analytics for big data as well as machine learning capabilities are required to ensure that the data generated will be used to solve the pressing issues of animal health and animal farming.

Benefits of precision livestock farming

The benefits of PLF are wide and the types of benefits that can be obtained from a PLF system depend on the kinds of technologies used. However, some of the general benefits of PLF that any PLF system hopes to achieve are:

Better animal welfare and health: Animal health must be at the center, not just because animal health translates into human health, but because every animal has an intrinsic right to lead a healthy life in good living conditions.

These systems identify this idea and by using technologies for disease detection and early warning systems, work for the improvement of animal health and welfare.

1. Optimized input levels and maximized production

PLF makes farming operations precise. This means the appropriate use of limited resources in case of inputs. By reducing costs and increasing the overall yield of animal products, PLF increases the profitability of livestock farming.

The economic benefits of applying precision farming are significant and necessary to attract more farmers to it to meet the increasing needs for animal products.

2. Environmental benefits

Another major benefit of the PLF system is the reduction in the environmental impact of farming operations. It is a major cause of environmental issues like global warming and deforestation.

While technologies are in place to reduce methane emissions from farms, increasing the productivity of farms ensures that more results can be obtained in less land which contributes to reducing the massive deforestation.

3. Reduced farm labor

As the number of farmers decreases and the number of animals on a farm increases, it is not possible for a farmer to keep track of all the animals. PLF makes it possible by reducing farm labor and giving access to critical and reliable information conveniently to the farmers.

Moreover, automatic feeders, GPS-tracking, etc eliminate the need for many farm laborers. The reduction in farm labor means that the farm is more scalable and thus more productive and profitable.

4. Risks of precision livestock farming

Some of the challenges and risks associated with PLF are listed below:

• Affordability is still a major challenge associated with the integration of expensive technologies on farms. Although studies show that PLF technologies make a farm more profitable, the diverse nature of each farm makes it a concern worth considering thoroughly before deciding to adopt PLF.
• The major risk of PLF is that since it is often integrated and automatic, a system failure can cause devastating impacts, especially if the system is fully automatic.
• Another associated risk is when the unit of animals is not individuals but a group of individuals like poultry where flocks are measured. In such cases, special individual needs can be overlooked.
• The use of intrusive tags is a risk to animal welfare which is still used in many PLF practices and technologies.

PLF carries huge potential in solving the present-day pressing issues of livestock farming like the increasing demand for livestock products, decreasing farmer count, limited land availability, and environmental concerns.

On an individual farmer’s level, the two most important things it does are that it increases his/her production and profitability and allows him/her to allocate the limited time in hand to only the important items.

PLF has technologies that are tried and tested and are commercially available for adoption by individual farmers according to their needs.

Moreover, with rapid advancement in technology and big data analytics, precision livestock farming promises a future where food security is ensured along with animal welfare.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. How does livestock farming affect climate change?

It significantly affects climate change through various mechanisms. Firstly, it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily methane and nitrous oxide, produced from enteric fermentation, manure management, and synthetic fertilizer use.

It also drives deforestation, as land is cleared for pasture and feed crops, reducing the carbon sequestration capacity of forests. Additionally, the intensive use of water, energy, and other resources in livestock production further exacerbates climate change.

2. How did the farmer count his livestock?

The farmer counted his livestock using various methods, depending on the circumstances and the size of the herd or flock. One common approach is visually counting the animals by walking or driving through the pasture or barn.

In larger operations, farmers may use specialized tools like electronic ear tags or RFID technology that can track and count the animals automatically. Additionally, some farmers may rely on manual record-keeping systems to keep track of births, deaths, and movements to maintain an accurate count of their livestock.

Due to population growth, climate change, reduced rainfall, and increasing demand for food, farming is being negatively impacted, leading to changes in cultivation methods. Therefore, to improve yields and collect accurate data, it is crucial to adopt modern and precision agricultural practices and install various types of sensors.

Given the latest situation and the negative impact on normal farming practices, agriculture needs to be carried out more intelligently, using new and state-of-the-art technology. It is the only way to provide a solution and meet the endless and growing needs of the world’s population.

Precision agriculture sensors are very efficient in agriculture because they transmit data that helps farmers not only to monitor but also to improve their products and keep abreast of changes in the field and ecosystem.

Intelligent agricultural sensors help to easily identify animals, detect heat and monitor their health, thus facilitating the isolation and healing of sick cows by identifying, detecting, and following herds.

Using smart sensors in agriculture, farmers can now record their crops and keep an eye on their effectiveness remotely, address crop pests and take swift action to protect their crops from any risk to the environment.

What are sensors?

A sensor is a gadget that perceives and responds to certain inputs which could be illumination, locomotion, pressure, heat, or moisture, and transforms it into a representation or signals that can be read by humans for further reading and processing.

They are commonly used in various applications, from detecting motion in security systems to measuring temperature in HVAC systems. They are also used in everyday objects like smartphones, cars, and appliances.

Sensors work by detecting physical or chemical changes in the environment and converting them into electrical signals. The type of sensor used depends on the type of change being detected.

For example, a temperature sensor detects changes in temperature and converts them into electrical signals that can be interpreted by the device it is connected to.

What are the types of sensors used in agriculture?

There are various types of sensors used in agriculture that enable the need for smart agriculture incorporation.

1. Optical Sensors In Agriculture

This is the use of light to evaluate soil materials and track countless light prevalence. These sensors can be positioned on automobiles, satellites, drones, or robots thereby enabling the soil to reflect and the gathering and processing of plant color data.

Optical sensors also have the ability and capacity to condition the clay, natural matter, and humidity properties of the soil.

2. Electrochemical Sensors For Soil Nutrient Detection

The electrochemical sensors aid in the collection, processing, and mapping of the chemical data of the soil. They are usually mounted on specially designed sleds.

They supply accurate details required for agriculture. This includes the nutrient of the soil levels and pH. The soil samples are then sent out to a soil testing lab and standard procedures are carried out.

Error-free measurements especially in the area of determining pH are carried out with the use of an ion-selective electrode. These electrodes notice the pursuit of specified ions, such as hydrogen, nitrate, and potassium.

3. Mechanical Soil Sensors For Agriculture

These types of sensors are used to measure soil compression or mechanical opposition. This sensor uses an application that passes through the soil. This sensor then records the force calculated by pressure scales or load cells.

When a sensor passes through the soil, it documents the holding forces that result from the cutting, smashing, and displacing of soil. Soil mechanical resistance is recorded in a unit of pressure and points out the ratio of the force necessary to go into the soil channel to the frontal area of the tool engaged with the soil.

4. Dielectric Soil Moisture Sensors

This sensor calculates the moisture levels in the soil with the assistance of a dielectric constant. This is an electrical property that substitutes depending on the moisture content in the soil.

The moisture sensors are used in association with precipitation check locations all around the farm. This allows for the scrutiny of soil moisture positioning when vegetation level is low.

5. Location Sensors In Agriculture

They are also known as agricultural weather stations. They are positioned at different places throughout the fields. These precision agriculture sensors are used to determine the variety, distance, and height of any position within the required area. They take the help of GPS satellites for this purpose.

6. Electronic Sensors

They are installed on tractors and other field equipment to check equipment operations. Data are transmitted via cellular and satellite communication systems to computers or mailed to individuals directly. The supervisor in charge can now have access to the information either on their office computer or their personal cell phones.

7. Airflow Sensors

Its measurements can be made at particular locations while on the move. These types of sensors measure soil air penetration. The expected result is the pressure needed to push a decided amount of air into the ground at a prescribed depth. There are various soil properties, including moisture levels, soil type compaction, and structure, which produce a different identifying signature.

8. Agriculture Sensors IoT

With the increase in adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) the ability to connect various devices have being implemented in virtually every aspect of our life. It only makes great sense that automation also finds its own application in agriculture as it will have a great impact on it.

This sensor provides real-time information on what is happening on the field such information including air temperature, soil temperature at various depths, rainfall, leaf wetness, chlorophyll, wind speed, dew point temperature, wind direction, relative humidity, solar radiation, and atmospheric pressure.

This indicates that farmers are in the know-how of when their crops are due for harvest, the quantity of water being used, the soil health, and if there’s a need for any additional input. This is measured and recorded at scheduled intervals.

There is a big list of sensors used in agriculture IOT sensors which means (Solutions for Smart Farming). Making use of precision agriculture sensors will definitely transform the agricultural industry by increasing crop production, adopting a pest-free high yield variety in crops, and keeping up with the increasing demand for food.

The most popular types of precision agriculture sensors

As a result of the fast-paced rise in the world’s population, farming activities have become increasingly complex, competitive, vast, and optimized.

The use of technology has led farming operations to be more productive than before thereby increasing what farmers harvest and the quality of products.

Sensors have played critical roles in this technological advancement. Below we explore key sensors in smart agriculture technology.

1. GPS Sensors

This sensor is generally associated with the automotive and cellular communication industries. They are highly advantageous to smart agriculture. One major challenge ancient settlers have had to experience is in sheep herding, having to use wooden staffs to drive their cattle.

This is because keeping track of their flocks is of ultimate importance to farmers. With the use of modern GPS, tracking livestock is no longer a challenge as this GPS is heightened with the ability to monitor the animals with a simple push of a button.

With regards to the mechanical side of agriculture, which involves plant harvesting and related farming techniques, the use of GPS sensors have being adopted with us of highly precise vehicle guidance systems.

In many farming applications, such as tilling a field, making use of auto-guided systems can enhance field routing, reduce overlapping processes and eventually reduce the quantity of time required to complete a task.

2. Agricultural Temperature Sensors

Regarding smart agriculture, temperature sensors are crucial in two key categories. These categories are ambient condition monitoring and mechanical asset monitoring.

For instance, ice wine harvesting usually occurs within a narrow temperature window when temperatures first reach between -10°C and -12°C during a harvesting season. The ice wine industry requires a highly accurate temperature and humidity sensor to give a precise prediction of the temperature forecast.

These types of sensors do not only play an important role in monitoring the ambient conditions of physical space, but they play a crucial role in virtually all smart agriculture asset monitoring applications.

3. Asset Monitoring

This is one more application in smart agriculture that makes use of temperature sensing as an evaluative role. As well as observing the plants that are being harvested, temperature sensors take note of the equipment that gathers these plants.

Whenever an equipment system is in need of minor maintenance, is underperforming, or is critically failing, the temperature sensor dishes out an alert. They are highly effective in virtually every that relates to the predictive and reactive maintenance system. This in turn protects against overheating and detrimental failure of equipment.

4. Accelerometer Sensor

This is quite similar to the use of temperature sensors in maintenance prediction. Accelerometers are vastly made use of across the smart agriculture industry to predict and assist with required maintenance. They are mostly used on moving components and motors.

Their major aim is to detect slight variations in movement and vibration inconsistencies and foretell when standard maintenance is required or a compromised component needs to be replaced.

However, this sensor is usually associated with farming and other agriculture, accelerometers play an indispensable role in the maintenance of vital smart agriculture equipment. Accelerometers can also be used in various automated systems and tracking methods.

For instance, a low-power accelerometer makes it easier and faster to monitor the status of an adjustable spray nozzle on the end of a fertilization beam. With adverse technology, the use of autonomous drones in smart agriculture depends critically on accelerometers and IMU (inertial measurement units) to track motion, speed, crash events, and even position in space.

Smart Cameras use in Agriculture

When it comes to smart camera technology, it is far from the old analog sensor. Smart cameras have been increasingly adopted for a variety of smart agriculture applications.

Various companies such as Blue River Technology, a division of John Deere, have adopted the use of smart camera technology to detect weeds and other plant locations.

As a result of this, an automatic and accurate dispensation of herbicides and fertilizer is carried out. This makes use of chemical utilization and increases overall productivity while decreasing chemical usage.

One of the most significant challenges in agriculture is the issue of pest control. With the use of smart cameras, farmers can now detect pests in real-time and effectively monitor actions against pests without necessarily harming helpful agricultural insects.

Smart cameras can also take the place of semi-legacy sensing devices such as ambient light monitoring, thereby enabling a simplified system and a reduction in the component count.

Precision farming is the application of specific inputs at various rates to optimize economic efficiency and reduce wastage. The use of precision agriculture sensors aids farmers makes a smooth move from the old ways of carrying out farming activities.

GeoPard Agriculture is a cloud-based powerhouse for precision data analysis, creation, and smart scouting. They are a dependable tool for agriculture operations, from the planning to execution and adjustment of practices based on the data provided.

GeoPard has facilitated the launch of various precision agriculture software companies and can offer you a superior solution. In conclusion, the smart agriculture industry is ever-increasing, especially with new solutions that come to the market on a daily bases.

Equipment and devices that aggregate sensor data, communicate important information to farmers, and optimize the numerous agricultural processes are critically important.

The importance of different types of sensors can not be over-emphasized as they help meet the demand for food, magnify yields and minimize resources.

These different types of precision agriculture sensors are easy to operate and cheaper in the long run. They make life easier for farmers and increase the overall quantity and quality of products delivered. It is advisable that every farm owner should consider smart farming.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Why do we need smart agriculture?

Smart agriculture is crucial for several reasons. It enhances productivity and efficiency by leveraging technology and data-driven solutions to optimize resource use, such as water and fertilizers, leading to improved crop yields and reduced waste. It enables precise monitoring of crops, soil conditions, and weather patterns, allowing farmers to make informed decisions in real-time and mitigate risks. 

2. What sensors do agricultural robots have?

Agricultural robots are equipped with a range of sensors to perform their tasks efficiently. These sensors include vision sensors for crop and object detection, GPS and navigation sensors for precise positioning, environmental sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and soil conditions, and proximity sensors for obstacle detection.

By utilizing these sensors, agricultural robots can autonomously navigate fields, monitor crops, and perform tasks such as planting, spraying, and harvesting with precision and accuracy. 

3. What are the limitations of agriculture sensors?

Agriculture sensors have certain limitations that should be considered. Firstly, sensor accuracy and reliability can vary, leading to potential measurement errors or inconsistencies. Secondly, some sensors may require frequent calibration or maintenance to ensure optimal performance.

Thirdly, sensors might not capture certain environmental factors or variations accurately, limiting their ability to provide comprehensive insights. 

Topography is an important data layer of precision farming that affects crop development conditions.

GeoPard automatically collects the topography profile from machinery and remote sensing (like LiDAR) datasets. That enables crop growers to follow governmental environmental regulations and precisely apply fertilizers and crop protection products. Thanks to complete topography profile crop growers can:

• Learn in-field microtopography conditions (like Relief Position, Slopes) for better crop rotation and accurate agricultural inputs’ distribution.
• Create Variable Rate Application maps with incorporated topography profiles and collect the execution reports.
• Create VRA maps that follow governmental environmental regulations for applying fertilizers and crop protection chemicals.

Learn more

The role that small farms play in securing the food security of the globe today is immense and it is only obvious that with the rapidly increasing population as well as the exhaustion of farmland productivity, this role is expected to rise exponentially in the near future. A 2021 report by UNDP estimates that small precision farmers account for around 90% of all the farmers in the world.

It also mentions that in areas with alarming food-security concerns like Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, a massive 80% of all the food grown comes from small farms. So, there is no denying that small farms are very important for global food security.

However, large farms are way more efficient and productive than small farms because they are based on precision-farming techniques.

Precision agriculture is the utilization of information and technological tools to take wise farming decisions that are backed by accurate data and equipment. Precision farming has the main goal of identifying the optimum type and level of farm inputs.

It also suggests the location and time for administering those inputs so as to increase the profitability as well as the environmental sustainability of the farms. The data mostly used in precision farming is the variety of factors within a field that influences farm yield within the farm like soil, topography, water content, weather, etc.

Whenever we read or hear about precision-farming, we’ll most likely see it being used in the case of large farms and the images will contain massive tractors fitted with GPS in large fields, big analytics screens, drones surveying the area, or even applying fertilizers.

On the other hand, small farms aren’t often associated with those tools. However, technological progress in the field of precision farming has blurred that boundary and made precision farming affordable and applicable for small farms as well.

Uses of Precision Agriculture Technologies in Small Farms

Small farms are characterized by their low productivity and high labor inputs. They are also non-resilient against the changing patterns of the market and the climate.

The adoption of precision-farming techniques attempts to solve all these problems for small farmers. Common technologies that are used by small precision farmers are:

Smartphones: The importance of smartphones in making precision farming accessible to small farmers cannot be stressed enough.

Smartphones have become one of the most ubiquitous pieces of technology today and this fact has been used to penetrate the foundations of precision-farming in small farmers by making access to data and experts accessible to them.

Cloud-based data analytics tools like GeoPard makes precise agronomic decisions accessible to farmers at the tip of their finger.

Satellites: A vital component of precision agriculture is the identification of factors affecting the production of farms along with their variability and we know that satellite imageries provide just that.

Small farmers can largely benefit from accessible and reliable agri-solutions like VRA Mapping, Topography analytics, and Crop Monitoring to understand their farms better and make better decisions backed by accurate data.

UAVs: UAVs stand for Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicles and offer one of the most precise data as well as application methods of inputs in precision agriculture.

Sensors fitted into the drones obtain real-time imaging of the farm while pay-loads fitted in drones can administer fertilizers precisely across the farm and reduces labor.

However, their affordability for small farms is questionable but different incentives and innovative measures are emerging to make their application in small farms economic and viable.

Internet of Things: The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of sensors, data, and objects that are connected and allow for the sharing of information to make informed decisions everywhere.

In precision farming for small farmers, the IoT has advanced with the advancement of sensors and their affordability.

For example, sensors used to study the soil properties, plant health, weather conditions, and water status all are vital for making small farms productive and sustainable.

How precision farming can help small farms

Precision farming for small farms needs a proper planning before its implementation. A complicated system of precision agriculture can be overwhelming and expensive for small farmers.

So application of precision agriculture in small farms should follow an approach that starts with the accumulation and analysis of data to create a site-specific model of precision agriculture. The several steps to an ideal precision-farming approach in small farms are as follows:

1. Understand your soil first

Soil is considered the most important factor influencing crop production. So it is only fitting that applying precision farming on small farms should first include understanding the soil of your farm better.

Generally, the physical and chemical properties of the soil are analyzed by sampling and most small farmers take only one sample of their soil by treating their farmland as homogenous. This is one of the key problems that precision farming addresses which is the intra-farm variability of soil.

By using precision-agriculture solutions like Soil data Analytics, even small farmers can conduct grid or systematic sampling by easily obtaining precise sample points. The grids themselves can be layered according to the information obtained from the site.

For instance, the size of the grids can be varied according to the value of the crop. Finally, based on the information obtained from the chemical analysis of the soil, small precision farmers can obtain easily readable visualizations of the soil attributes, and to make it even easier, they can apply different rates of fertilizers on different patches of their land.

Choosing soil sampling and analysis in the initial stages of precision-agriculture adoption by small farmers is important because it is relatively easy and affordable and doesn’t require much knowledge and experience, which is clearly a problem in small farmers of developing countries.

Moreover, the results from soil analytics are always promising and make small farmers more welcoming of more precision-agriculture interventions.

2. Choosing Small machines for small farm

As the demand for precision-farming tools and equipment is rising, manufacturers are making machines and tools that are designed for small farmers.

Small precision farmers can now find highly specialized tractors, seeders, and weeding machines that are scaled-down, both in size and in cost, to fit the needs of small farmers.

3. Rely on expert Agri-solution providers

One of the major barriers of precision farming to small farmers is that its cost may not justify its benefits. Large farms, on the other hand, have their own team of experts, tools, machines, and systems to properly implement precision agriculture.

To solve this problem, small farmers can get affordable integrated packages of precision ag solutions tailored for small farmers. Hiring or renting machines and technologies is also a great way to make precision farming more affordable and profitable for small farmers.

4. Prioritize Sustainability and Environmental-friendliness

Environmental friendliness and sustainability are major goals of using precision agriculture. It is even more so in the case of small farms since most small farms since can increase the market value of the crops, help reach a wider market and increase profitability.

The amount of harmful chemical inputs in the form of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides is drastically reduced by applying VRA technologies. For small farms, organic manures can be an excellent option to further amplify the effects.

5. Consider crop-value and Input-value

The value of your crop as well the value of your input should drive the type and intensity of precision-agriculture application on your farm.

Oftentimes, even if the size of your farm is small, the crop that you are producing can be of very high value or the cost of your farm inputs can be very high.

In these cases, the size of the farm should not be a barrier to applying precision agriculture since it can make your agribusiness profitable and efficient by either increasing yield or reducing costs.

For example, if you have a small farm that has a high input value in the form of irrigation, applying soil-moisture sensors on your farm or analyzing your soil through soil analytics can translate into a considerable saving in irrigation costs for your farm. This benefit, compounded over time can yield greater profitability.

High crop value in the form of specialty crops like orchard crops or vegetables will have a high-crop value and even if your orchard or your garden is small in size, the cost of precision agriculture can be easily justifiable with the increased yield in those crops.

Small farms around the world are facing the consequences of the changing economy, changing climate, and unsustainable patterns of farming over the years. The application of precision farming in small farms can be a viable solution to these problems.

The barriers to precision agriculture for small precision farmers include affordability, data availability, technological complexity, and lack of inputs.

These barriers are being torn down by the rapid technological advancements in the field of precision agriculture and also by the accessibility to integrated, holistic, and easy-to-use agri-tech solutions like GeoPard.

To conclude, the implementation of precision agriculture in small farms should follow a designated and site-specific approach like the one mentioned above and should be targeted towards small farms’ profitability as well as environmental friendliness and sustainability.

The resources of small farms are limited and precision farming ensures that their use is optimized to obtain the maximum yield.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Does precision agriculture benefit large or small scale farms?

It offers benefits to both large and small-scale farms. For large-scale farms, it helps optimize resource allocation, reduce input costs, and increase productivity by enabling targeted management practices. It allows for efficient monitoring of vast fields and facilitates data-driven decision-making.

On the other hand, it benefits small-scale farms by improving yield potential, minimizing resource waste, and enhancing sustainability. It enables small-scale farmers to make informed decisions based on specific field conditions, leading to improved profitability and environmental stewardship.

2. How does precision agriculture affect agriculture?

It has a significant impact on the agricultural sector. Firstly, it enhances productivity and efficiency by optimizing resource use, such as water, fertilizers, and pesticides, leading to improved crop yields. Secondly, it enables targeted and precise application of inputs, reducing waste and environmental impact.

Thirdly, it facilitates data-driven decision-making by providing real-time information on crop health, soil conditions, and weather patterns. Lastly, it promotes sustainability by promoting sustainable farming practices, minimizing chemical use, and preserving natural resources.

3. What was a common problem for small farmers?

A common problem faced by small farmers is limited access to resources and technology. Small farmers often struggle with inadequate access to capital, land, equipment, and modern farming techniques.

They may face challenges in acquiring high-quality seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, as well as limited access to markets for their produce. Additionally, small farmers often lack the necessary knowledge and training to implement advanced farming practices.

4. How to make a small farm profitable?

To make a small farm profitable, several strategies can be employed. Firstly, diversify the farm’s products by growing a variety of crops or raising multiple livestock species to cater to different markets and demand.

Secondly, implement efficient farming practices such as precision agriculture, proper crop rotation, and integrated pest management to optimize resource use and minimize costs.

Thirdly, explore direct marketing opportunities by selling products locally through farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA), or establishing a farm stand. Lastly, consider value-added activities such as processing farm products into value-added goods like jams, pickles, or cheese to increase profit margins.

In the world of farming today, the use of the term ‘precision agriculture’ is increasing at an exponential rate and given its power to completely transform the productivity of a farm, the increase is justified and even extremely important.

In simple terms, precision farming can be defined as the use of technology and data to determine the type of farm inputs, the level of those inputs, and also the precise location of those inputs within the land.

In traditional farming, the entire plot of land is treated as one whole entity and the inputs are thus applied uniformly over the entire field. This doesn’t align with the actual input requirements for optimal production by the different parts of the land.

On the other hand, it recognizes the input requirements of each part of the land by identifying the different intra-field variabilities like the difference in soil properties, slopes, nutrient content, production levels, sunlight reception, and so on.

Precision farming is better than other conventional or traditional farming techniques because it relies on data generated by the use of technology, which is then analyzed by reliable computer programs as well as expert agronomists to make accurate predictions and recommend precision farming solutions in a timely manner to the farmers.

In fact, it can go as far as to actually make those interventions or administer the different inputs in the farm with the help of technology-driven machinery and equipment.

Some of these methods used for data collection are field-based sensors, drones, satellite imageries, etc while an example of direct input through precision-agriculture includes the use of robotic devices fitted to GPS-guided autonomous tractors.

Overall, it not only makes the farmlands and agribusinesses more profitable but also very sustainable in the long run.

How the Internet of Things (IoT) is used in agriculture today?

Internet of things is considered as the backbone of modern agriculture which is basically the act of connecting objects and devices with sensors to measure the required data and transmit the data via a network.

In case, the various things and objects that are included in the IoT include the farmland itself, the crops, weather, machinery, etc. So the use of IoT to achieve increased yield, alleviate operational expenses, and also achieve environmental sustainability is called precision farming.

The utilization of IoT in agriculture today for precision practices is mostly done through AgTech solution providers like GeoPard Agriculture because of the complexity of the processes involved in a holistic precision agriculture practice.

For instance, given the developmental stage of a plant, its level of greenness may reveal its nutritional needs.

The data on the level of the greenness of the plants are gathered and analyzed using the Crop-Monitoring solution which uses images obtained from satellites like the Landsat and sentinel multispectral images and then creates detailed maps of your land revealing its specific input needs.

Similarly, we all know that topography has a large influence on farming decisions like species selection, irrigation needs and determines the final production by controlling aspects like light reception and water retention.

So, precision farming solutions like Topography analytics lets you create very accurate topographical models of your farm using elevation, slope, and aspect data obtained from field-based GPS attached to machinery as well as LIDAR and satellite data.

Soil is the most important part of agriculture and the type and quality of soil determine the type, quality, and quantity of farm yields.

Hence, understanding your farm’s soil precisely translates to a precise understanding of your input needs for optimum production and environmental protection.

Tools like Soil Data Analytics do just that by providing you with precise locations for soil data sampling and using those sampling data combined with other data layers to create a high-resolution visualization of all the necessary soil attributes.

Based on the variability of those attributes across the land, you can obtain and plan the different types and intensities of inputs like fertilizers and cropping patterns.

The IoT tools mentioned above are only a few of the many tools you use in an integrated model of precision farming.

All these tools and the data obtained from them work seamlessly in a network that provides you with much-needed timely information to optimize your production and alleviate operational costs.

Why should you turn to precision agriculture?

Considering the global problem of food shortage and the limited availability of arable farmland, it is highly recommended to adopt it as it allows for maximum yield while minimizing overall costs.

The only obstacles to implementing precision agriculture are limited access to technology and a lack of knowledge and skills, both of which can be overcome with precision farming solutions readily available.

So let’s look at some of the reasons why precision farming is the way towards a sustainable and profitable agribusiness.

1. Precision farming reduces the costs associated with farming

This might sound counterintuitive at first since the use of technology in your farmlands obviously sounds like an expensive venture.

However, precision-farming tools like GeoPard have become extremely accessible and affordable to farmers and these costs are nothing in comparison to the numerous long-term costs you will save by optimizing the actual level of inputs like fertilizers and herbicides you need to use in precise locations of your farms.

It also dramatically reduces the ever-increasing human labor cost from the agriculture economics equation thus reducing your costs marginally.

2. Precision farming increases the yield and thus the overall profitability

As mentioned earlier, precision-agriculture increases profit by cutting costs.

But even more than that, the major goal of precision farming is to maximize the crop yields from your farmland by accurately measuring the farmland attributes, analyzing those data, and suggesting or implementing solutions that will yield the most productive in the long run.

Long-term productivity is key here because it combines spatial data with temporal data to give you precision farming solutions that are suited for your long-term production goals.

3. Precision farming ensures environmental sustainability

In contrast to conventional farming methods that often neglect environmental concerns such as pollution, nutrient leaching, and waterbody contamination, it prioritizes environmental sustainability.

This approach considers the necessary environmental standards that must be met to enhance the environmental value of products and tap into new markets, leading to potential economic benefits.

4. Precision agriculture combines technical expertise with farmers’ experience

It is an often overlooked benefit of turning into precision agriculture but adopting any level of precision farming technology in your farm means that your agribusiness will be driven by better agronomical expertise while you will retain the ability to use your experience in light of the better understanding of your own field at a higher resolution.

Especially in the case of small farms, it only provides you with accurate and detailed information and suggestions, but it is up to you, the farmer to use that information and manage your agricultural farm according to your needs which brings us to the next and final point.

5. Precision farming is suitable for all farm sizes

Large farms and farming organizations use advanced and sophisticated machines and networks as large-scale precision farming. However, the majority of the food we eat in today’s world still comes from small farms. Although the type of precision agriculture tools varies according to farm size, they are applicable in all sizes of farms.

For small farms, tools like handheld GPS, small drones, and services like mobile apps with offline capabilities, cloud-based analytics, etc. can make a huge impact on the overall operation and productivity of the farm. With increased spatial resolution and low prices offered, the small size of the farm should not be a reason to not turn into precision farm today.

How to get started with precision agriculture?

Precision agriculture, Internet of Things (IoT), advanced machinery, data analytics, and other associated terminologies might be distressing at first glance if you are not quite familiar with these terms and this is the main reason why many farmers tend to stay away from precision-farming.

However, it is simply the act of obtaining more detailed and precise information about your own farm so that you can make the best decisions. While getting started with it, you need to understand the following things for the best results.

Precision agriculture must always start with a clear understanding of your specific needs since it serves more than one purpose increasing yields, reducing costs, improving operational efficiency, and enhancing sustainability.

So first, a specific set of needs and expectations derived from a proper evaluation of your farm is the perfect way to start your precision journey.

Now you need to choose the tools that will best fit your needs. For this, you need to consult with experts, go to conferences, or simply contact the solution providers to gain information on specific tools and technologies.

While starting out on precision practices, it is always best to choose user-friendly tools that you or your staff can properly navigate and operate if needed. Also, even though you need not go on the details of the tools, it is always a good idea to have a basic understanding of how the tools and overall network works.

Finally, the actual implementation of the tools and the proper utilization of technology as well as the information obtained is the key to a successful precision farming operation.

It is also critical to understand that precision farming is a long terms approach that works best when multiple data layers are combined and tools are integrated into a common network rather than working independently.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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1. How can GPS be used in precision farming?

GPS (Global Positioning System) plays a vital role in precision farming. Firstly, GPS technology enables accurate and precise mapping of fields, allowing farmers to create digital boundaries and track field boundaries, aiding in precise farm management.

Secondly, GPS enables guidance systems for automated machinery, ensuring precise and consistent operations such as seeding, spraying, and harvesting.

Thirdly, GPS data can be integrated with other data sources like soil sampling and yield maps, providing valuable insights for site-specific management decisions. Lastly, GPS helps in creating accurate records and documenting activities for compliance and traceability purposes.

2. How much does precision agriculture cost?

The cost of precision agriculture can vary depending on several factors. It involves investments in technology, equipment, software, and data management systems. The specific needs of the farm, the scale of operations, and the level of precision desired all impact the overall cost. Additionally, ongoing expenses may include maintenance, upgrades, and training.

3. Why is precision agriculture also called site-specific agriculture?

It is also referred to as site-specific agriculture due to its focus on tailoring farming practices to specific locations within a field or farm. By utilizing technologies such as GPS, remote sensing, and data analytics, it enables farmers to identify and manage variations in soil composition, moisture levels, nutrient requirements, and crop health across their fields.

4. What is the difference between power farming and traditional farming?

The key difference between power farming and traditional farming lies in the level of mechanization and technology used. Power farming, also known as mechanized or modern farming, heavily relies on advanced machinery and technology to carry out farming operations. It involves the use of tractors, harvesters, irrigation systems, and other mechanized tools.

Traditional farming, on the other hand, often involves manual labor, basic tools, and traditional farming practices passed down through generations. Power farming enables increased efficiency, larger-scale production, and higher productivity compared to the labor-intensive and smaller-scale methods of traditional farming.

Variable-rate application (VRA) in agriculture is a section in tech that majors in the automated use of products in a certain landscape. The manner in which the products are used relies on the data that is gathered through sensors, GPS, and maps. Products are not limited to chemicals, seeds, or fertilizers, and all of them are simply to aid increase crop yields.

What is Variable-rate application?

Variable-rate application (VRA) is a precision farming technique that involves adjusting the application rate of inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds to different areas of a field based on their specific needs.

VRA uses data from various sources, including satellite imagery, soil maps, and yield data, to create a customized prescription map that guides the application of inputs to different sections of the field.

By tailoring the input application to the specific needs of each area, VRA can optimize crop yields, reduce input waste, and lower costs, making it an effective and efficient tool for precision farming.

There are several kinds of tech that are applied in this area of agriculture. They cover nearly all things such as:

• Hyperspectral Imaging
• Drones
• Artificial intelligence
• Satellites

Nonetheless, the kind of VRT is applied, it is crucial to get to know the general method and how it is used.

Variable-rate application technology in Precision Agriculture

Using fertilizer is a normal agricultural trend or activity that is capable of being automated through the use of VRT. Below is a detailed step-by-step instruction on how to use VRT to spray fertilizer:

Zoning/Management Areas – Management areas are divided into sections of a field where conflicting products need to be applied.

When you choose to use VRT, it is crucial to mark which sections the machines need to apply certain products to, since failure to then, you are most likely to face negative results.

Owing to its value, the initial step when using a fertilizer with VRT tech is simple to set the right management sections. It is also necessary to validate that this information is perfectly fed into the VRA system.

Map-Driven vs. Sensor-Driven VRA – VRT in farming can either be sensor-driven or map-driven. The following step is simply to find out the form that is more of a solution to the current challenge that you are experiencing.

Besides that, it can also depend on the disadvantages of the VRT tech that is already applied. Map-based VRT is simply when a map is produced of the landscape and fed to the system prior to working out the activities.

On the other hand, sensor-driven is simply where VRT tech mergers sensors that are capable of automatically detecting the information that later aids in making decisions on the perfect fertilizer to be applied. For instance, it can sense the crop’s well-being and through that make the right decision.

What Data/Imagery Needs to Be Used – Immediately after choosing either sensor-driven or map-driven, the next thing is to find out about the kind of data that the sensors need to be gathering, or what kind of imagery needs to be used in the locating.

Several VRA technologies use drones or other forms of imaging systems to find data regarding the landscape.

Data and Information that is accurate and perfect for spreading fertilizer is not limited to things such as the soil quality and products, the kind of crop, the pace at which the machine is moving when spreading fertilizer, and lastly the data about the climate.

Other Applications and Benefits

Variable-rate application technology in farming majors on other several areas and not only on the spreading of fertilizers. Some other common applications of VRA tech involve:

• Use of herbicides and even other kinds of chemicals
• Seeding
• Detecting pests and diseases
• Detecting weeds

Generally, VRA tech is majorly used to find out information regarding a certain landscape and also to make a system come up with decisions depending on the information provided. These decisions that are made determine the kind of products to be used in the field.

Apart from that, the benefit of using a VRA system is that it can aid automates this entire section of the agricultural process.

The more automation and precision that a firm specializes in its operations, the more money it can save by higher production and efficiency. Several sources show lots of economic benefits of using VRA as shown below:

Higher chances of yield increase since there is more efficient spying and fertilization according to actual crop needs and variability of lands. Environmental protection from excess spraying of pests and also fertilization.

Geopard is one of the best ways that you can use to try out the Variable-rate application service since it offers several services such as:

• Zones creator and managed automation
• Set rates
• Customize
• Compatibility and Export
• Single-layer analytics
• Multi-layer analytics
• Field Potential Multi-year maps
• Field Stability maps
• Cross-layer maps
• Statistics for zones
• Data compatibility
• Draw zones manually
• And many others