Every day there are new advances in farming technology. Every same day that goes by there are more mouths on this planet to feed. That means every day a farmer’s job gets a little more demanding. That’s why recently technology has been making its way swiftly into the agriculture sector. Studies expect that the US population will reach around 450 million by 2050, and the world population will increase by 3 billion. That’s a lot more food that needs to be grown and if technology can make farmers jobs easier than it’s worth investing. Even though there are Klamath Falls farms utilizing some of these technologies, there might be some technologies that you hadn’t even heard of before.
Autonomous Tractors
Yes, we’ve all heard of Uber and Lyft trying to lead the way on self-driving cars. Tesla is ready to go with all it’s vehicles now being self-driving. However, many people probably didn’t know that this technology is going to be drastically helping farmers. Farmers tend to spend around 2+ hours in their vehicles, which takes precious work time.
Imagine if farms now had that 2+ hours to spend on other duties, without having to steer around heavy farm equipment manually. This self-driving can even be incorporated into their civilian vehicles for when they need to take meetings. Instead of being behind the wheel, they can catch up on emails, phone calls, or make plans. Time is precious to our farmers, and it’s worth investing in technology that saves them time. Check out more on autonomous tractors and make your own conclusion.
Seed & Fertilizer Spreading Technology
The G5 technology gives operators the ability to adjust spreading swath width. Utilizing 16 section swath width control, the G5 dynamically and simultaneously improves the spinner assembly left/right and fore/aft to give the operator a highly responsive and reliable method to apply the right amount of nutrients in the right place. This provides increased accuracy for point rows, when finishing a field with less than a full swath, and running half-width swaths.
The NL5000 G5 can also utilize a MultApplier insert, giving the ability to run two products at the same time. The MultiBin is also available for spreading up to four products in one pass.
The G5 allows applicators to achieve “pinpoint application accuracy with a spinner-spreader,” and it also includes a sustainability aspect in that it helps keep dry dispersible fertilizer granules from being placed off-target, specifically in end-rows and edge-of-field areas where only one side of the spinner needs to be running.
“The G5 brings an unprecedented level of precision placement to operators, and gives them reassurance in knowing that nutrients are being placed where they need to be,” said Rocki Shepard, HECO President, and CEO.
Drones for Farming
Drones allow farmers to have an eye on the sky when it comes to their farm. Certain drones have infrared sensors that give farms much-needed info on how their farm is doing. Farmers can even spot irrigation problems, soil variation, and pest and fungal infestations. This can save farmers loads of money in the future so that they can avoid unnecessary plant loss.
Additionally, the drone can survey the crops for the farmer periodically to their liking. Weekly, daily, or even hourly, pictures can show the changes in the plants over time, thus showing possible “trouble spots.” Having identified these trouble spots, the farmer can attempt to improve crop management and production. Dones give the farmer time to focus on the big picture of production instead of spending time surveying their crops. Additional uses include keeping track of livestock, surveying fences, and monitoring for plant pathogens. Dig in more with a list of top drones for farming.
Remote Irrigation Control
Nowadays, farmers don’t have to stress about periodically leaving their farm thanks to modern mobile technology. There are plenty of programs and applications that support Klamath Falls farmers in keeping an eye on their farm and maintaining regular workflow operations. These applications serve up status reports on pivot performance, soil moisture sensing, weather, and other field data to mobile phones and computers. With large operations, these technologies are commonplace, and providing end-users with on-the-go tools to make and implement irrigation management decisions.
Farming Technology by Robotics
The robotics industry is no longer a thing from science fiction; it’s our reality. Amazon now has factories that are almost entirely run by robots, which will save them money and increases their productivity. Robots can work regardless of most weather condition and are very precise in their actions. The downside to this would be jobs that farmers used to hire people for suddenly disappearing. However, farmers are already having a tough time paying employees as it is, which might mean the future of having a completely self-running robotic farm is not far away at all. Farms and Ranches in Klamath Falls are already using robotics technology in dairy farming, irrigation and planting and harvesting crops in the Klamath Basin.
What new technology has helped you on your farming operation? We’d love to hear about it in the comments. If you’re looking for farms for sale in Klamath falls or Oregon ranches for sale, please contact us for a list of our current inventory.
