Is Your Farmer Tech-Savvy? How Technology is Making Small Farms Safer, Smarter, and More Profitable
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Reynolds Garden Shop strives to make your home and garden a more beautiful, greener place to live. But do you ever think about how the small farms that bring wholesome food, vibrant flowers, and gorgeous plants to your home get it there? You may picture an old-school way of life when you imagine small farms, but modern agriculture is more tech-savvy than you think. Here are some ways that small farms are leveraging tech to improve agriculture as we know it.
Growing More with Less: How Technology Boosts Farm Efficiency
Whether it's maximizing their land, water, or labor, farmers are always looking for ways to grow more with less. By keeping small farms efficient, farmers are able to keep their products affordable for people like you. But how do they do it? These are the technologies making small farms more efficient today.
Now that everyone has a computer in their pocket, farmers are taking advantage of apps to track crops, keep records, take payments, and even sell products directly to consumers through online stores.
Technology is also taking the work out of watering, with smart irrigation systems that monitor soil moisture and water accordingly.
Even farmers on a budget can access affordable gadgets like a CoolBot for DIY cold storage or a mechanized greens harvester.
Meanwhile, tech startups are bringing farming to unexpected places with vertical farming, which lets producers grow food in urban environments without soil or large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers.
Safety Technology on the Small Farm
Farming is a dangerous job. Farmers work with heavy equipment, large animals, and in remote locations where the nearest hospital may be many miles away. That makes safety innovations like these a top priority for family farmers.
Remote sensing technology and on-board data systems are among the technologies keeping farmers safe from grain bin and tractor accidents.
Smartphones are surprisingly important too: with GPS in their pockets at all times, it's easier to find farmers who get hurt in the field.
Farm MAPPER is another tool for improving emergency response on farms.
Farm chemicals also pose a threat to farmers' well-being. That's one reason farmers are turning to crop-spraying drones to apply fertilizers and pesticides.
As more equipment enters the small farm, communicating safety information becomes increasingly important. Industrial nameplates keep workers safe and help farmers track assets.
Reducing Food Waste and Maximizing Profit with Tech
Food waste on farms is a big problem, with more than one third of all produce going unharvested in farmers' fields. Rather than let less-marketable food rot, farmers are looking for ways to turn their excess into profit with tech tools like these.
Full Harvest is a B2B company that connects farms with retailers and producers through an online marketplace for imperfect fruits and vegetables.
Similarly, companies like Imperfect Produce, Misfits Market, and Hungry Harvest are reducing food loss by marketing ugly produce directly to consumers.
One farm is even turning food waste into electricity with a biodigester that uses cow manure and food scraps to power a 450-kilowatt generator!
As you can see, there's no limit to a small farm's ingenuity! Whether it's optimizing growing practices, finding new uses for food waste, or making the farm a safer place to live and work, farmers aren’t afraid to harness technology to get the job done.
Turn to Reynolds Garden Shop for supplies, services and information that will help your garden or small farm blossom!