Looking Over the Horizon
The advances in areas of agricultural technology are moving at a rapid pace, with potentially exciting opportunities to increase efficiency in production, as the future technology becomes readily available and applicable across Australia.
From drones to camera sprayers to driverless tractors, the future looks bright. Opportunities to incorporate further technology into farming systems look to be endless. An exciting challenge to arise will likely include utilising the technology to manage rising issues in Australian farm businesses, such as labour availability as well as skill shortfalls, rising input costs plus varying weather conditions.
Drone image capture has been a major feature since the expensive flying objects became readily available to consumers. More recently, affordability of drones (depending on sophistication) has increased, with plentiful options available on the market in addition to many skilled people who have put them to highly practical use. Drone operator contractors can utilise spray drones to spray areas of difficult access, such as creeks and gullies, enabling improved pest and weed management in these areas. Operators also have the technology to fly drones to create maps, which can further be used to create prescription spray maps where desired.
HARDI has developed a real-time prescription creator with its GeoSelect technology that works in conjunction with a ground operated rig. The GeoSelect software can build on records over time, as it geotags weed placement in paddocks at every pre-application aerial analysis, assisting with strategic use of herbicide.
Spray camera technology is developing rapidly. Green on brown technology is to be a factory install option feature on some sprayers by manufacturers in Australia as of 2022 orders. Green on green technology is also moving rapidly with multiple developers well into the commercial trial phase, meaning the opportunity to enhance weed management and economic allocation of herbicides required is becoming more available.
Autonomous tractors may appear highly desirable to many farmers in Australia, especially those who are battling with availability of skilled staff at current times. Autonomous tractors are designed to be moved to a paddock by the operator, set-up, and left to perform the desired task, all while being monitored from afar through an app. The good thing is, for many of these businesses, the availability of driverless tractors in Australia may not be too far away. In the US, John Deere recently revealed a fully autonomous 8R series tractor, which will be commercially available to US farmers later this year and in Australia in the coming years.
The paddocks across Australia are likely to look more and more dotted with pieces of technology in future. Based on claims of what some of this technology can help achieve, it is an exciting future ahead. The RMS team looks forward to how they can continue to assist growers in achieving practical and implementable outcomes, utilising the data derived from evolving technology in conjunction with past experience and current observations.