The latest innovations in farming technology are well publicised. Tales of improved productivity, efficiency and safety in conjunction with reduced environmental impact and costs all paint a rosy picture of the future. Yet many of us in the present are confused by the jargon and bombarded by start-ups with unproven technology. If farmers are interested in exploring the advantages that the use of technology could bring to their farms, we recommend the following three principles are followed:

Know how

For the majority of people, new technology means new skills. If you’re a complete beginner, help is out there. YouTube is a great resource to learn the fundamentals of computers and smart phones and for information on technological solutions. Forums and Twitter are a good source of advice too, and a tech problem can be a good excuse to ask the younger generation for help.

For more formal training, the Worshipful Company of Farmers is launching a short course this year called ‘Profiting from Precision Agriculture’ in association with Harper Adams University. For the more ambitious, the Royal Agricultural University offers an MSc course exploring cutting-edge science being employed within the sector.

These programmes alone demonstrate the growing interest in technology in agriculture both within and outside the industry.

Infrastructure

Connectivity is essential for the maximum use of agricultural technology. Sharing data, coordinating machinery and obtaining knowledge all rely on it. If local broadband or mobile signal is poor, consider investing in existing systems to support new innovation.

Business plan

The most crucial issue is to consider the role that the technological solution will have in the business. What are the problems that you are looking to solve with technology? If recruitment is becoming more of a challenge, it may be more cost-effective to invest in an employment strategy than capital-intensive robotics.

Bank lenders report an upsurge in farms looking for finance deals on technology and are willing to invest in this area, but affordability is not the only factor – planning how the technological solution will reduce input costs, improve work flows or mitigate risks is crucial. 

There is a wide gap between ag-tech research and what is made accessible to farmers. In combination with high cost factors, this has resulted in the agricultural sector being relatively slow to embrace new technological practices.

However, 60 per cent of UK farms now employ some form of precision agriculture and one third of new dairy installations are robotic systems, and farmers globally report achieving significant gains by adopting technological solutions.

But technology is not just beneficial for the bank balance. Dairy farmers that have invested in robotic milking have noticed a significantly reduced workload even when the size of the herd was increased. It’s never too late to start looking for new opportunities to improve productivity, particularly with the predicted changes in agricultural support after Brexit.

Done well, investment in technology should be beneficial for both personal and business productivity, allowing more to be done with less.

Further information

Contact Savills Rural