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Precision farming

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Is the fourth Agricultural Revolution upon us?

Agriculture is always changing with the introduction of new technologies. From the first farmers learning to rotate crops and mastering irrigation to today’s use of sensors, cameras and AI, agritechnology has been essential to improving the quality and productivity of food production.

The first agricultural revolution started around 12,000 years ago, when humans first began cultivating the land for food. Following millennia of farming, the second agricultural revolution saw the reorganisation of farmland in the 17th Century while the third came in the 1950s and 60s with the introduction of farming machinery, fertilisers and pesticides. As we increasingly rely on remote sensing, data gathering and autonomous robots to maintain and improve agriculture, many are seeing the rise of agritech as the fourth agricultural revolution.

A new agriculture?

Robotic milking machines have drastically changed the workload of the dairy farmer; it doesn’t take much imagination to picture the impact on the arable, horticulture and other sectors if robots are able to plant, selectively weed, spray by drone and harvest crops, further reducing reliance on manpower.

The appetite from big business, media, and governments worldwide seems to suggest that digital is progress in the right direction, if the agriculture industry is to boost sustainable food production and protect the environment simultaneously. Adding to this is the significant amounts of both public and private investment the agriculture sector is currently attracting, and the sudden overlap of agriculture and other, previously discrete sectors, such as space, sensor development, computer software, hardware developers, robotics, engineering and manufacturing.

A fair playing field

Despite the obvious benefits of increased productivity and profitability for many farmers, the onset of agritech solutions raises questions and challenges, too. 

Ensuring that agricultural technology is available to all is key. Preventing large farming businesses swallowing up the market and pushing out smaller, family-owned farms, who simply can’t afford to invest in large-scale agritech, serves to benefit very few individuals.

Further, if agritech is widely available and used ubiquitously, what then happens to the data? Many food producers are questioning who would own any data gathered for agritech purposes, and whether it is secure. There’s no point collecting vast amounts of data if they cannot be used for decision-making, so digital platform developers must avoid the creation of data silos that could ultimately stifle innovation and collaboration.

Connecting the world

There is also a wider issue of digital connectivity. While urban vertical farms with high-speed fibre internet are able to hit the ground running with many agritech solutions, rural farmers can struggle to access 4G services, let alone broadband. Farmers without the means – or the inclination – to digitally connect could find themselves at an unfair disadvantage.

Even when increasingly connected, the introduction of automation and AI looks set to transform the face of agriculture and put an end to traditional farming methods. If robots in the fields become a viable alternative to human employees, farming life after the fourth agricultural revolution could be a lonely place.

Smarter agritech solutions

The Agri-EPI Centre network brings together researchers, academics, start-ups and larger companies from across the supply chain to explore the future of agriculture and technology, develop the ideas that will drive innovation and take those ideas from paper to prototype.

Our satellite farm network is essential to engaging with end-users, giving us on-the-ground feedback from commercial farm businesses and allowing us to trial new and disruptive technology and assess the impact of agritech. This delicate, informed and reflective approach must be the foundation for all agritech solutions, from animal health to aquaculture.

Shimpling Park Farm

John Pawsey is the owner of Shimpling Park Farms, one of our satellite farms in Suffolk. A keen farmer and agritech enthusiast, John welcomes the opportunity to trial many of the cutting-edge technologies being developed within Agri-EPI Centre’s network. 

“From a purely personal perspective, I can see the benefits coming through and I am hugely excited by the potential developments I hear being discussed,” says John. “But [I am] acutely aware that without bringing the whole industry along with us, the divide between haves and have nots could potentially be damaging.”

So far, John has tested a number of new agritech, including the System Chameleon, CropScan, UAV technology and precision farming platform KORE, deployed by Agri-EPI Centre in partnership with Gothia Redskap, Precision Decisions and SoilEssentials Ltd.

You can find out more about our ongoing research and development work at Shimpling Park Farm, and John’s experience of the technology, in the video below.

Further information about Agri EPI Centre, our solutions and capabilities, the member network we can connect you with and the work we undertake, please feel free to contact Duncan Ross, Crops Business Development Manager at duncan.ross@agri-epicentre.com.

UK agri-tech expertise boosts essential grain production in Kenya

A collaborative project involving UK agri-tech businesses is transforming finger millet production in Western Kenya, providing agronomic support and precision farming technology to 2,000 farmers. The 18-month project, funded by Innovate UK’s Agri-tech Catalyst Programme, is designed to improve the productivity and profitability of finger millet farming in the Busia and Siaya regions, boosting supply of finger millet grain to meet overwhelming demand.

Holistic farming platforms to support agri-businesses

Three years ago, Glas Data founders Rob Sanders and Colin Philipson saw a need to help farmers produce larger quantities of better produce in a sustainable and cost saving manner. They tailored an existing platform to the agricultural industry and launched software system GlasCore. This system was specifically designed to help farming businesses control and monitor all aspects of their farm and process, ensuring they capture and isolate any potential problems before they became major issues.

Agri-EPI met with member Glas Data to find out more about their technology supporting farming businesses, the collaboration with hardware providers and their plans for the future:

 

Q&A with agri-tech innovator Glas Data

This high tech system, can be explained in three stages:

  1. Hardware – form of installing sensors that captures real-time data (example: Temp of milk)
  2. Gateway – Wirelessly and securely collects the data.
  3. Software – GlasCore displays this data in a readable and easy to understand manner.

With this whole system being wireless and automated, all our client need do is log on to their dashboard from the comfort of their home or on the go on their phone to see all the real-time readings and track their farming data.

The great thing about GlasCore is that yes it aggregates data from sensors, but it can also  aggregate data from other sources, such as the NMR (National Milk Records). This allows for the data to be imported really easily and displayed, for example, by cow. We have current users who can now access and review the protein, fat, milk levels etc in individual cows. Then, with one of our most recent exciting updates, they can visualise these cows in one graph all separately and be able to easily track the highest performing, and different levels in comparison to one another.

Depending on the business targets and aims our system can help in a myriad of ways. We sit down and talk with each potential client and customer and ask them for their targets and goals, this way we are able to customise their dashboard to achieve this. From monitoring key metrics to alerting someone of a potential issue, GlasCore, is customised to the clients needs.

What is key to note is that GlasCore draws together all of your business data, from freezer and fridge temperatures, to water and energy usage, to monitoring whether a door is open or closed, GlasCore brings this into a easily accessible versatile dashboard.

This year has proven the importance of the UK farming industry and how we need to ensure the best care of our animals, produce, and entire process from the feed we provide our animals to the best quality in processing products. UK farmers work tirelessly long days and harder than ever to ensure this and we want to help them. Our software is designed to provide business and personal reassurance and peace of mind which I think is important now more than ever. Farmers care so much for their animals and farms, we need to help care for them but giving a little help where we can.

The various features within the system, and can be really tailored to the clients needs and use. Some tools and aspects may not be as essential depending on the usage.

  • Mapping: Through the RPA, map out your land parcels, hedges, field boundaries and names into one easy to use map. Visualise your buildings, landmarks and then pin your sensors to their specific locations. (Expand)
  • Real-Time Alerts: Setting up specific alerts from your live data incase a temp goes too low, or a large amount of water is used to prevent failures, leakages and ensure your business is looked after 24/7. You chose the parameters and create the alerts to what you need. Receive a text or email when something spikes.  (Expand)
  • Visualisations: Real-time data is great, but here you can visualise this in a helpful way that allows you to notice spikes, compare data, and track its progress. (Expand)

The UK farming industry is becoming more and more important with everything going on in the world. Something we have been working thoroughly on is water monitoring and early leak detection. Through monitoring key metrics and providing a substantial overview of usage, we can detect leakages early and also find ways to conserve water and form a more sustainable way of farming. There is much more detail to this, but our system presents all of your data in a way that you can use it to take action.

The farming industry has taken incredible steps over the last decade and is reaching for a low carbon and sustainable way of working, providing more produce of better quality. Through this many people have IoT devices (Internet of Things) and smart sensors all collecting data, but no platform to review, track and notice trends for this. This is where GlasCore comes in! Working with companies that allow us to provide over 70 different LoRaWAN sensors and gateways to collect the data, we have the whole package.

Our development team work continuously to develop and provide more and more exciting features. One of my tasks is to ask our customers and clients what they want from their dashboard and if we cannot already provide that service, work with the development team to create a solution and place this in to our development pipeline. We have actually just had a large update over the weekend, that I will be creating tutorial videos for to showcase the new functions.

Our aim as a team and company is to help farmers take control of their data, massively increase the data they manage so that the decisions they make are as informed as possible, and in the long run analyse all the data and generate insights that are completely tailored to them.

 

More information

If you would like to understand more about the on-farm software solutions on offer, please contact Glas Data by using the following contact details:

Email: hello@glas-data.com
Phone: 07485 017650

45 Lemon Street
Truro, Cornwall
TR1 2NS
United Kingdom

Farm software solutions to enable farmers’ decision making

With national and international expertise and reach, our partners are drawn from throughout the UK and beyond, with hands-on farming, agri-tech and academic specialisms. We would like to introduce to you: Landmark Systems.

Landmark Systems is the market leading provider of farm business management software, designed to provide farmers with easy-to-use tools that help them stay compliant and make the right business decisions. They have provided award winning software and Mobile Apps to farms across the UK for over 30 years. Covering all elements of farm business management, Landmark helps growers and producers to streamline administrative work, while collecting crucial farm financial performance data – to form the basis of future business decisions.

Software product range

The software range covers financial, cropping and livestock records and can be used in the cloud or installed on a PC.

Accounts and budgeting

The KEYPrime range has products suitable for all levels of business complexity. From simple cashbook accounts, to large multi-enterprise operations with diverse reporting and user needs. The entire range comes with comprehensive management reports facilitating decision making and forecasting.

“You need to trust a program and that means trusting what it can do for you. That applies to KEYPrime Intro…. Now that we have [my son] Joe fully involved I have more time to embrace and enjoy what technology can do for us.” ~ Jim Dufosee, Wiltshire farmer

Crop records

Geofolia, with its Mobile App, is used by more than 23,000 farmers worldwide. Developed by our parent company ISAGRI, it provides growers with an easy to use tool to produce detailed information for example stock management and crop satellite analysis. Records are updated live from the field with a smartphone. Field, variety, crop and farm performance can be monitored with reports, or more visual on-screen graphs and dashboards.

“Compared to the platform that we were using previously, we have found Geofolia very user friendly. It also saves a great deal of time as staff can have jobs sent via their mobile with the highlighted fields, the machinery to use as well as any further instructions.” ~ Jeremy Padfield, West Sussex farmer.

Livestock records

Cattledata makes updating births, deaths, sales, movements and the medicine book quick and simple to do and makes light work of updating national databases. The newly introduced Cattledata Mobile App has already proved itself on farm and was a 2020 Royal Highland Show product award winner.

“Having Cattledata on my phone means I can see exactly what has happened to any cow. It’s a real bonus not having to rack my brains or go back to the PC. I am able to record things on the go, so I don’t forget them.” ~ Stephen, Inverness farmer

On-farm live accuracy software

Administration and record keeping are an essential element of running a farm business. In some cases, keeping these records digitally is required by law – the business VAT return for example. However, farmers using software across their businesses will equip themselves and their successors for the control needed in today’s uncertain economic climate. We aim to give rural businesses the products to make fast decisions based on ‘live’ accurate information.

The software is designed with three things in mind:

  • Ease of use | Technology should be accessible for everyone.
  • Saving time | Understanding that most farmers prefer to spend their time in the field, rather than the office.
  • Better decisions | Allowing the time spent on keeping records to help farmers make informed decisions about the future of their business.

Landmark Systems has dedicated local consultants, trainers and a telephone support team to ensure clients get the most from their software.

More information

If you would like to understand more about the on-farm software solutions on offer, please contact Landmark Systems by using the following contact details:

T: 01798 877100
E: info@landmarksystems.co.uk
6 Swan Court, Station Road, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1RL
Open 5 days a week Mon – Fri – 9.00 am to 5.30 pm

Agri-EPI at New Scientist Live

Together with Farmers Weekly, Agri-EPI Centre joined Agrimetrics, CIEL, CHAP and its partners GEA Group and RHIZA for the New Scientist Live festival in London today (10 October). The event, which is in its fourth year, has been recognised as Europe’s top science festival, and is expected to welcome a crowd of over 40,000 visitors in its four day run, 10 – 13 October.

Visitors to stall 611 at the Ag Pavilion, where the four Centres and partners are based, have the opportunity to witness first-hand the positive impact that technology has on the farming industry, and on the planet as a whole, as Tom Westerman, RHIZA Digital Manager, explains:

“Agriculture is a forward thinking technical industry and has got a huge role to play in the future of our planet, ensuring food security and sustainability.”

Demonstrations at New Scientist Live

During New Scientist Live, RHIZA is helping farmers tackle this face on with its Contour desktop and mobile app, which helps farmers identify their areas of better or worse crop and is on display at today’s festival, as are GEA Group, who have brought along their DairyRobot R9500.

The robot has been designed to automatically take care of premium quality milk and free up resources to make the farmer’s daily planning and routine more flexible and effective.

David Simmons, Head of Milking & Dairy Farming Sales at GEA Group, said of the event:

“We couldn’t agree more that technology is transforming the world of farming. It’s our absolute pleasure to show students and youngsters how fast-paced and high-tech the farming industry really is.”

Considering a career in agri-tech? Visit New Scientist Live!

It’s been anticipated that by 2025, the agricultural technology sector will be worth more than £136 billion globally. The UK Government is keen to contribute to this number, and in recent years, has invested in four agri-tech centres to lead in its efforts. The four Centres, Agri-EPI Centre, Agrimetrics, CHAP and CIEL, work collaboratively to harness leading UK research and expertise as well as build new infrastructure and innovation.

The Centres also work with leading partners to drive growth and offer support for innovative ideas and projects that help farmers and business owners become more profitable and sustainable. Naomi Smitten, Projects Co-ordinator for Agri-EPI explains:

“The projects are made up of experts from all industries focused on, but not limited to, Agriculture. Most of the companies that are involved in our projects are already operating organisations and/or universities. They don’t necessarily have the time or skill set to align a project.”

To date, the Centres have worked on a number of game-changing projects, such as Hands Free Farm with Harper Adams University and Precision Soil Mapping with partners Cranfield University, AgSpace, Innovate UK and The James Hutton Institute.

Event photo impression:

Stay informed

Keep up to date with the latest impact and results of our work, plus, news, innovation and approaches across the sector. Read our latest news and Agri-EPI blogs.

Precision farming experts join forces for Royal Highland Show

SoilEssentials and Agri-EPI Centre have once again joined forces to provide a source of precision farming expertise at the Royal Highland Show (20-23 June 2019).

Following the success of last year’s Show partnership, SoilEssentials will again be hosting Agri-EPI Centre on their Avenue Q stand.

Jim Wilson, Managing Director of SoilEssentials commented:

“The Royal Highland Show is the perfect place for SoilEssentials and Agri-EPI Centre to showcase their collaboration on a wide range of innovations designed to increase the profitability of farms across the UK.”

Agri-EPI Centre Chief Executive Dave Ross added:

“We’re looking forward to meeting with farmers visiting the Show who are interested in how technology can help boost their businesses. Working with a range of partners, including SoilEssentials, allows us to help farmers and business owners embrace innovative technology to become more sustainable and profitable and drive increased productivity across the UK agri-food sector.”

Precision farming platform KORE

Agri-EPI has invested in SoilEssentials’ award-winning online precision farming platform KORE. It is one of a range of technologies being used by Agri-EPI ‘satellite’ farmers across the UK. Pitched as the next big thing in a farmer’s toolbox, KORE provides a gateway to view, monitor and manage land through imagery and data sources.

Stay informed

Keep up to date with the latest impact and results of our work, plus, news, innovation and approaches across the sector. Read our latest news and Agri-EPI blogs.

Tag Archive for: Precision farming

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