Farmers today are spending less time in the field and more time in front of screens. Thanks to emerging IoT technologies, modern agriculture is undergoing a major transformation. Sensors are collecting more real-time data and insights than ever before on soil moisture levels, equipment, and crops while drones perform real-time field analysis from above. These digital tools are unleashing new ways to “grow more using less”, enabling farmers to make better and more efficient decisions – an essential goal as the pressure to feed a growing population sustainably increases.
So what is driving this booming industry forward? It’s the massive amounts of data being gathered from the ground up. In this highly unpredictable environment, governed by weather and nature, data is informing farmers’ decision-making at every level. But the impact goes beyond food production – it’s reshaping the entire agricultural industry.
For context, the global market for agriculture analytics is expected to grow from $800 million in 2020 to $1.4 billion by 2025, an increase of 75%, according to forecasters at Markets and Markets. This shows the abundance of value in agricultural data, both for farmers and farm-focused original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) looking to capitalise on these insights and answer many of the industry’s biggest challenges.
Growth of opportunities for OEMs
Farming is in the middle of what’s being called the “big data revolution.” Autonomous vehicle fleets, advanced IoT sensors and data-driven analytics are becoming common tools on modern farms. For agricultural machinery manufacturers, the key is harnessing this data into smart solutions that take farm productivity and profitability to the next level.
To successfully navigate the disruptions to end-to-end farm management systems, they must be ahead of the shift from hardware to software. Leveraging Cubic3’s connected software technology enables OEMs to revitalise and create new revenue models through the application of IoT data — gaining more predictability in one of the world’s most unpredictable industries.
Turning big data into smart data
An average farm generates about 500,000 data points every day – a number that’s expected to grow to 4 million data points by 2036, according to IBM. Nearly 12 million agricultural sensors are expected to be installed in farms globally by 2023, leading to even more insights. This wealth of data opens the door to precision farming, where farmers can use real-time information to make more informed decisions about planting and harvesting.
With access to rich agronomic data, trends can be aggregated, risks can be assessed and yields can be increased – collectively this data gives OEMs and their customers unprecedented visibility into their operations. Cubic3 plays a key role in this transformation, particularly in work with CNH Industrial. By enabling remote data management for machinery, Cubic3 helps farmers gain visibility into operations like never before.
Field-to-fork solutions
A staggering third of all food produced for human consumption is never eaten, according to the UN. This wastage is having a major impact on climate change and highlights the intense pressure the agriculture industry is under to produce 60% more food to feed almost 10 billion humans by 2050. Developing new technologies that enable intelligent precision agriculture is vital.
With granular data on soil health, air temperature, real-time weather patterns, pesticides and fertiliser requirements, along with any-time intervention technologies, food can be produced intelligently. By combining big data with cloud computing, an ecosystem emerges that gives farmers access to powerful insights that allow them to scale their operations efficiently and sustainably.
