Managing a Farm during COVID-19 - Practical approaches to production

With the coronavirus pandemic, we’re facing a crisis the likes of which none of us has experienced before. Times like these remind us all of the importance of ensuring our nation’s food security. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought the need for business health, safety and continuity planning to the forefront. Now is the time to communicate with employees and family members regarding plans to keep them safe, healthy, and working especially during the busy planting season.

While much of the negative impact on Agriculture by COVID19 is out of our control, there are things AIBCS can do now to reduce or prevent the impact of COVID19 on the health and productivity of your farm.

Even before COVID-19 surfaced, the move toward digital agriculture was certain. It’s hard to see how you’re going to be a successful farmer in the future without greater technology adoption on the farm. Digital tools, such as artificial intelligence, that alert farmers to be preemptive about pest treatments can curb crop damage and save money. COVID-19 likely will accelerate this trend, particularly because of social distancing.

Precision tools such as satellite imagery, yield potential maps, and plot data have made farmers who use it comfortable with the digital experience. Custom designed tools and systems won’t eliminate in-field agronomists, but they will enhance what they find. Adding such advances will move the mind-set from yield only to optimization of yield. This does not mean using “the least-cost inputs, but rather prioritizing where to invest based on return on investment potential.

Our Developing Digital Agriculture Tools and Services

AI Blockchain Service develops intuitive, intelligent, self-evolving system that delivers future-ready farming solutions to the entire agricultural sector. We deliver decision-making tools that bring consistency, dependability and sustainability to agri-businesses. With capabilities of live reporting, analysis, interpretation and insight that span across geographies, we’re digitizing every farm, while data-managing the entire ecosystem. Our smart agri solutions are powered in real-time; for you to archive patterns, predict trends, to make a blueprint for your business in the times to come.

Autonomous and Robotic Labour

Replacing human labor with automation is a growing trend across multiple industries. Most aspects of farming are exceptionally labor-intensive, with much of that labor comprised of repetitive and standardized tasks—an ideal niche for robotics and automation.

Driverless Tractors

The tractor is the heart of a farm, used for many different tasks depending on the type of farm and the configuration of equipment. As autonomous driving technologies advance, tractors are expected to become some of the earliest machines to be converted.

Seeding and Planting

Sowing seeds was once a laborious manual process. Effective modern seeding requires control over two variables: planting seeds at the correct depth, and spacing plants at the appropriate distance apart to allow for optimal growth.

Automatic Watering and Irrigation

Subsurface Drip Irrigation is already a prevalent irrigation method that allows farmers to control when and how much water their crops receive. By pairing these SDI systems with sophisticated IoT-enabled sensors to monitor moisture levels and plant health.

Weeding and Crop Maintenance

Weeding and pest control are both critical aspects of plant maintenance and tasks that are perfect for autonomous robots. With advanced machine learning & artificial intelligence being integrated in the future, machines could entirely replace the need for humans.

Harvesting from Field, Tree and Vine

Harvesting depends on knowing when the crops are ready, working around the weather and completing the harvest in the limited window of time available. Systems currently in use for crop harvesting, many of which would be suitable for automation in the future.

Reducing Labor, Increasing Yield and Efficiency

The concept of incorporating autonomous robotics into agriculture remains the goal of reducing reliance on manual labour, while increasing efficiency, product yield and quality. A “smart” farm relies on machines and sensors being able to communicate with each other and with the farmer.

Drones for Imaging, Planting and More

What farmer wouldn’t want a bird’s eye view of their fields? Where once this required hiring a helicopter or small aircraft pilot to fly over a property taking aerial photographs, drones equipped with cameras can now produce the same images at a fraction of the cost.