What’s New in Agriculture Technology?
« Feds Hype Participation in Global Research Alliance at Copenhagen | Home | New Holland Introduces World’s Largest Combine »
The secret to really making technology-driven agriculture your friend is to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and industry news. Precision agriculture, in particular, is a constantly advancing field with many major innovations being made regularly. So what do you need to know about precision agriculture right now?
For one thing, you should know who to keep tabs on. Right now, AgLeader, AutoFarm, Trimble, and Topcon are some of the industry leaders in precision agriculture. Mergers and consolidations in the precision agriculture field have meant that the industry is dominated by only a few major players. AgLeader and AutoFarm recently partnered up and will be one to watch in the coming year. Trimble has bought up many smaller precision companies and now boasts a wide variety of popular precision agriculture products, like their well-know Farm Works software, as well as NTech GreenSeeker, and Tru Count. Trimble, AutoFarm and Topcon are all offering CORS-compatible equipment, which is probably one of the biggest recent developments in precision agriculture technology. CORS stands for Continuous Operating Reference Station and allows real-time reference station data for GPS systems.
Knowing what’s hot is key, too. CORS technology, which works like Real-Time Kinematic systems (RTK), will probably be very big in 2010. Only a few years ago, Real-Time Kinematic systems would have run farmers about $50,000. These days, a complete CORS system can be acquired – including auto-steer – for less than $20,000.
Coming up, expect to see continued growth in the field of CORS networks. Auto-steer is rapidly being adopted by the agricultural industry, and its popularity will likely continue to grow due to the benefits it brings producers in terms of efficiency and increased productivity. Nutrient management systems will likely be a growing area of interest, as well, particularly as the fertilizer industry climbs back up from the gutter it landed in this year. Products like Trimble’s GreenSeeker, AgLeader’s OptRx, and Topcon’s Crop Spec all convey real-time nutrient data and have the potential to make a big impact on the agricultural industry. Seeders and planters like DirectCommand AutoSwath have very promising potential to save producers large sums of money. Using auto-steer systems and planter unit control, newer precision seeding equipment is more cost-effective than ever.
