Farmers are using GPS, sensors, and robots to run farms with data

In short: Farming is becoming more digital as more farmers use GPS, sensors, drones, and automated machines to make day-to-day work more precise.

What's going on

Farm work is increasingly guided by screens and software, not just by experience and eyesight. According to the NYTimes, many tractor cabs now look more like a cockpit, with multiple displays that show where to drive and what the field needs.

A key tool is GPS and auto-steering. GPS is the same location system your phone uses for maps, and on a farm it can guide a tractor in very straight lines. Some systems can keep equipment within about two inches of a target line, which helps farmers avoid missed strips and overlapping passes.

Sensors and data tools are also spreading. Sensors are small devices that measure things like soil moisture and temperature, which helps farmers decide when to water or fertilize. Drones and aerial images let farmers check big fields quickly, like getting a bird’s-eye view instead of walking every row.

Automation is part of the same shift. Some machines are being designed to plant, spray, or harvest with less hands-on driving, which can reduce labor needs. Many of these tools support “precision agriculture,” meaning farmers try to put the right amount of seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and water in the right spot, rather than treating the whole field the same.

What to watch

As more farms adopt these systems, a big question is who owns and can use the farm data, and how smaller farms will afford equipment that can be expensive upfront. Another thing to watch is how quickly autonomous machines move from trials to everyday use, especially for tasks that used to require several workers.

Source: NYTimes