Agriculture continues to serve as the backbone for Australia’s economy. It contributes about 3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Farm exports raised over $44 billion from 2016 to 2017. The industry creates almost 2 million jobs. For every farmer in Australia, at least 600 people can eat. By exporting 77% of their produce, they help give 450 people more food.
Agriculture, though, faces many challenges from operations costs to climate change. To help increase their efficiency while reducing expenses, many of them rely on technologies. These are some of the popular types of tech farmers use:
Drones
The global demand for drones is massive. Data from Research and Markets reveal a compound annual growth rate of more than 10% by 2023.
A significant reason is its wide variety of applications. They are no longer limited to military intelligence or covert surveillance. They have gone past cinematic videography for weddings and advertising.
Agriculture is one of the growing markets for drones. Farmers depend on them to increase crop yield and health, as well as the monitor the conditions of the land.
With the unmanned aerial vehicle, they can receive a real-time bird’s-eye view of many areas of the farm. They can detect typical farm problems, such as pest infestation, soil drying, and the presence of feral animals. Some might even be capable in sowing seeds or mapping the terrain and soil.
Regulation is a barrier to drone adaptation. Farmers might not be able to fly it in specific areas. In 2017, though, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) relaxed some of its laws. For example, farmers can now man a drone up to 25 kilograms on their land without applying for a flying certificate.
Fabric Shelters
Using a fabric structure in Australia is not new, but over the last few years, this shelter finds its way in different industries such as agriculture.
This setup provides farmers with two primary advantages. One, they are easy to install and disassemble. Second, they become a cost-effective solution for crop storage or equipment protection.
Some of the high-quality fabric domes meet Australia’s and international standards. It implies that the structure is sound, reliable, and safe to use.
Greenhouse with Smart Technology
The popularity of urban farming is not surprising. Over 80% of the country’s population live in the densely populated urban areas.
The need to access better-quality produce and cheaper crops, as well as the demand for sustainability, encourages many to turn some of their idle yards to mini-farms.
This partly increases the popularity of greenhouses, only this time they come with smart sensors. These types of tech allow the modern-day farmers to control temperature and other factors that can affect plant growth.
With the Internet of Things (IoT), they may even adjust the controls with a mobile app or generate data that can be helpful for decision making.
Some people might view farmers as conservative, and thus, they can be less receptive to new technology and other trends. It can be true, but then again, a growing number of them see the benefits. It might not be long before tech becomes mainstream in the industry.
