Adapt and adopt to these technology trends
At the 2019 AgTech Expo, technology experts from agriculture and other industries showcased the latest tools and trends. Here are a few ways you can expect technology advancements and new information to change your farm business.
1. Data is the new currency. “It all starts with the farmer and the electronic field record,” says Steve Laughlin, a global leader with IBM. “Changes are being driven by the consumer, and if you are the producer who can deliver on what the consumer wants, you’ll be the desirable producer.”
2. The future of farm decisions will be digital. The team at Ohio-based Luckey Farmers Co-op invested in systems and a complete overhaul of its business with five key software partners to digitize its business and displace all paper records.
“As a trusted adviser, we have become more transparent in sharing information back and forth with our farmers,” says Andy Swerlein, Luckey Farmers CEO.
3. It pays to break conventional practices and embrace new tools. One example is early-planted soybeans, points out Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. In studying 2018 data from 625 fields in Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio, there was a 10-bu. advantage to soybeans planted before April 26 versus May 7 to 11.
Think again about the order you plant your crops and embrace how advances in corn open new timing options for soybeans.
“I believe we now have one month to plant corn,” Ferrie says. “There have been huge advances in the genetics that have created a longer planting window.”
Startups Ready to Transform Row Crop Agriculture
Meet the six winners of the 2019 AgLaunch Row Crop Challenge, who were announced at the Farm Journal AgTech Expo:
Agrynex deploys antimicrobial systems for crop protection with fewer chemicals.
Continuum Ag measures soil health by integrating data in an online platform.
Lepidext controls corn earworms with an organic suppression method.
Nexyst 360 is a mobile solution that provides crops with full traceability to field of origin and date.
Nori makes it easy for farmers to get paid for storing carbon in their soils.
Sigma0 enables crop management companies to access agronomic insights from radar technology.
Learn more about these six startups at AgWeb.com/row-crop-challenge
Read original article: https://cattlemensharrison.com/3-ways-innovation-will-change-your-farm/
By: Drovers