Olivier Lepine, the founder of the French start-up Brad, developed a sensor that can provide farmers with real-time information on temperature, moisture, and light falling on their crops. In addition, he presented a number of technologies for farmers at the CES 2023 Las Vegas ceremony.
In addition to providing farmers with access to vast amounts of data and information, other technologies enabled them to make more accurate decisions about irrigation, pesticide use, and soil treatment—while saving time normally spent traveling from field to field. In addition to having a positive impact, farmers, especially younger ones, also want a good quality of life, Lepine said.
In the meantime, South Korean start-up AimbeLab offers a way to monitor the contents of grain silos.
Sein Kwon said farmers often bang on silos with hammers to check the sound, which is still inaccurate.
Herbicides can be saved
Simple Labs, a start-up in the US, has developed a sensor that measures the temperature, humidity, pH value, and phenolic content of wine in barrels or vats, so that aging can be controlled more precisely.
In addition, Meropy, a French company, is showing off a wheel with long spokes that can roll across a field and photograph crops from all angles, detecting weeds, pests, or diseases. Professor Amit Dhingra, a horticulture specialist at Texas A&M University,
There are two main reasons for the adoption of new technologies. Needs, such as when a disease appears, and cost-effectiveness.
A California investment firm specializing in agricultural technology, The Production Board, says farmers need genomics, digitization, and data analysis to produce “more calories per acre with fewer inputs,” including pesticides.
A green tractor is also being developed by John Deere, the giant farm-equipment maker.
Even as the vehicle rumbles along at 12 miles per hour (20 kph), the 120-foot (36 meter) booms on its newest sprayer-tractors can detect weeds and spray only where necessary.
Rather than spraying 100 percent of the field, we spray only about a third of the field and save on chemicals,” said Jorge Heraud, Deere’s head of automation.
Data overload
In addition, the group has developed an “Operations Center” that allows farmers to monitor their location and engine performance in real time by using data collected from multiple sensors on their tractors. They can also review how seed trials are progressing or find where weeds are proliferating.
A farmer can look at the map and see what part of the field needs to be managed differently, according to Lane Arthur, the product’s designer.
He’ll save money and help the environment at the same time.”
“Farmers are digitizing their work, as they have done in other industries,” said Vonnie Estes, head of innovation at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA).
Combined with automation, data analysis can help solve problems such as labor shortages, food waste, and greenhouse gas emissions by knowing where workers are on farms.
According to Estes, broadband connections aren’t always available or reliable in the countryside.
“Everyone is talking about 5G, but a lot of farmers would be satisfied with 3G,” she said.