Farm News
The 21st
century farm
» » WILLIAM BARNES IS A
director at leading insurance
broker, Lycetts. Here he
examines how agricultural
practices need to progress in
the 21st century.
Agricultural practices will
need to continue to develop
and become more efficient, if
the findings of recent research
pieces are anything to go by.
For instance, PwC has reported
on expert views that agricultural
consumption will need to
increase by close to 70 per
cent by 2050 to account for
the world’s growing population
— projected to hit nine billion
people in the same year. While
not as high, the World Bank
has predicted that those across
the globe will need to produce
50 per cent more food by
2050 should global population
continue to rise at its current
pace.
Fortunately, technology is
constantly advancing, with
various developments being
made to aid the agricultural
industry. Two main areas of
interest are that of drones and
autonomous vehicles — this
guide sets out how each could
assist farmers in the future.
FARMING DRONES
Drones have become a
very lucrative market, with
global market revenue from
the sales of such gadgets
expected to increase by 34
per cent to reach over £4.8
million in 2017. US technology
research experts Gartner has
also predicted that drone
production figures will jump by
39 per cent this year compared
to the numbers recorded in
2016.
They offer numerous
benefits for those in
agriculture, such as:
Drones can take the stress
out of planting and looking
after produce, thanks to
systems which have been
created by start-up companies
that can achieve an uptake
rate of 75 per cent and reduce
the costs of planting by as
much as 85 per cent. The idea
is that the technology sees
drones shooting pods with
seeds as well as plant nutrients
into the soil, enabling plants to
receive the nutrients they need
to sustain life.
To avoid wasting water,
drones can be fitted with
remote sensing equipment
28 Autumn 2017 www.farmers-mart.co.uk
— think multispectral,
hyperspectral or thermal
sensing systems. The idea
is that the technology will
quickly and easily identify the
driest sections of a field and
then allow farmers to allocate
their water resources more
economically.
Crop spraying and crop
monitoring are two common
farm practices which drones
can improve on.
On crop spraying, drones
can effectively scan the ground
of a farm and then spray the
correct amount of liquid once
the distance from the ground
has been modulated — even
coverage will be achieved
while the amount of chemicals
penetrated into groundwater
will be reduced.
When it comes to crop
monitoring, time-series
animations through the drones
will be able to display the exact
development of a crop and
detail any inefficiencies that
occur with production. These
kinds of insights would have
previously only been gained
by satellite imagery — while
very advanced, this technique
could only be used once a day.
Monitoring through drones can
be used whenever a farmer
wishes.
AUTONOMOUS
FARM VEHICLES
Just like drones, the market
for autonomous vehicles is
looking very bright. In fact,
a comprehensive report by
Business Insider Intelligence
has forecasted that there will
be close to 10 million cars
available which will have
either semi-autonomous or
fully autonomous capabilities.
Steps have already been
made to showcase how
autonomous vehicles can
assist those in agriculture.
For instance, a team of
agricultural engineers from
the Harper Adams University
in Shropshire have set about
creating an autonomous
tractor which can perform
tasks like the drilling, seeding
and spraying of land while
being steered by a farmer
who is positioned not behind
the vehicle’s wheel but in a
control room. The same team
is also looking into how an
automated combine harvester
can be used to then harvest
the same field.
In Burgundy, inventor
Christophe Millot has
created a vine-pruning robot.
Developed as a counter to a
shortage in farm labour, the
latest-generation model of
the four-wheeled gadget is
made up of six cameras, two
arms and a tablet computer
found inside the robot. These
features combine in a way
that the machine can learn as
it goes about its task so to trim
grass around each vine with a
cut every five seconds.
INSURING FARM EQUIPMENT
No matter if you choose to
invest in farming drones and
autonomous farm vehicles, or
continue with tried-and-tested
techniques in agriculture, it is
important to ensure that the
equipment is insured to avoid
unexpected surprises. Farm
insurance from a leading
insurance broker such as
Lycetts will give land owners
and farmers peace of mind, with
options available to provide
cover for everything.