Farmers turning to tech
Farmers today increasingly turn to technology to enhance crop yields and monitor the health of their livestock, marking a significant shift in agricultural practices. The integration of advanced tools and techniques, called precision agriculture, allows farmers to optimize their resources and improve productivity while minimizing environmental impacts.
Precision agriculture encompasses a variety of technologies, including GPS-guided equipment, drones and real-time data analytics to help farmers make informed decisions based on specific field and livestock conditions.
Livestock farmers use technology to monitor the health and well-being of their animals and streamline operations. Dairy farmers use automated milking systems to efficiently manage milking schedules and monitor milk quality for better animal care and increased productivity. These and other technological innovations help the agricultural sector meet the growing demands of a global population.
Cabot dairy farmer William Thiele is a fan of using drones to monitor his 300 acres and 80 head of cattle. He got his first drone in 2016 as a Christmas gift and said he liked it so much that he upgraded to a more sophisticated model to expand its uses.
“We’re always trying to be forward-thinking and trying to be on the cutting edge of new technology in agriculture, not because it’s shiny and new, but because it’s practical,” he said.
One of the biggest advantages of monitoring his crops with a drone is finding issues he can’t see with his naked eye.
“This time of year, the corn is taller than I am,” Thiele said. “I can run my drone over the field and see things I can’t see standing beside it.”
He looks for inconsistent stands, any field areas not draining properly after wind or rainstorms, plus any other storm damage.
Flying over his field saves him drive or walk time, allowing him to find problems more quickly. It also prevents him from getting smacked in the face by cornstalks as he tries to navigate through them on foot.
“It’s practical, and I don’t have to physically walk through all of that,” he said. “Finding certain problems — be it a pest problem or wind damage — I can spot that in ways that I can’t see when I’m just standing by it.
Another benefit of using a drone to monitor his corn crop is finding problems in time to remedy them before harvesting. Without his drone, some of those issues wouldn’t surface until he started combining the corn in the fall.
“By then, it’s too late to do anything about it,” Thiele said.
Sometimes, he uses his drone to search for missing cows. This spring, Thiele said he had a young calf that escaped the pasture.
“We were able to find it within minutes using the drone,” he said.
More sophisticated drones than the one he owns can do other things like collect data on crops, map out fields, and even spray fields to protect against pests.
“It’s all cool, but some of it isn’t worth the expense for some farmers,” he said.
The only downside to using drones is he had to obtain a commercial drone license from the Federal Aviation Administration. Thiele also warned there’s a learning curve with some of this technology, and farmers must invest money into maintaining any technology they use.
Melissa Cantor, assistant professor of dairy science at Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, said drones are among the most popular types of technology used by Pennsylvania farmers. Wearable monitors for livestock and robotic milkers also are becoming more widely used.
Wearable technology is helpful in two ways, Cantor said.
First, farmers can use them to determine when heifers are at a peak time in their cycle for breeding.
“Cows increase their activity when they’re ready to breed,” she said. “The tags they wear around their necks or legs, or in their ears, detect this increase in activity and allow farmers to better time artificial insemination. Most farmers I know who do this enjoy a return on the investment.”
Second, it monitors the health condition of livestock, especially dairy cows. Cantor said 30% of cows develop some sort of disease after giving birth, including mastitis and udder infections that can change their behavior.
“Humans don’t always catch it in the milking parlor right away until the cow is very sick and needs antibiotics,” she said. “The sensors in these devices are nice because they can catch it early.”
Another common health issue is a twisted stomach. Cows will stop eating when they develop this condition, which can turn deadly without an expensive surgical procedure to fix it.
“These systems can detect that way before a human could, allowing time for farmers to give a big dose of probiotics, hay, and water to prevent that expensive surgery,” she said.
One of the biggest barriers to technology adoption is the cost, said Cantor. State and federal programs exist to help with these costs. The Center for Dairy Excellence, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Penn State’s CARAT grant for sustainable initiatives are three resources she recommends.
Another common issue is a lack of reliable internet access in some rural areas. Cantor said Penn State is working on finding ways to help rural farmers get the infrastructure they need to support this technology.
“If you’re thinking about buying technology for your farm, please make sure that it’s been validated somehow scientifically,” Cantor said. “There are a lot of startup companies out there that will sell you the world, but it’s not scientifically validated.”
Farmers ready to explore their options should dip their toes in slowly, Thiele suggested. “Don’t jump in headfirst,” he said. “Start slowly, then once you get the hang of it, try a little more until you have as much technology as you can reasonably manage.”
This article first appeared in the September edition of Butler County Business Matters.
