M2M technology is changing what’s possible with farming, so much so that people have coined the Internet of Food to capture all advances in technology under one banner.
Farms are starting to connect their crops and livestock to networks using M2M technology. In Napa Valley, wine makers are using sensors powered by solar energy to monitor the hydration levels of their vines, while in Fukushima, Fujitsu has turned a clean room that was previously used to make semiconductor chips, into a state-of-the-art lettuce farm. Here, sensors feed temperature, humidity, and fertilizer data into cloud databases where the numbers are crunched to create the optimal atmospheric conditions for the lettuce to grow. Sensors can also be used to mitigate problems such as soil erosion and unwanted fungus that reduces crop yields.
Smart farming, though still in its infancy, is showing real promise. Cattle ranchers are beginning to monitor their herd for possible signs of lameness and disease through GPS tracking. This way if a cow is lying down, or away from the herd, a common sign that something is wrong, a message will be sent to farmers allowing them to help sooner. SAP Digital Farming is bringing together sensors, software and analytics to measure nutrients, moisture and weather. This means farmers can now monitor their crops in real-time. We’re also doing our bit, supporting a pilot that effectively targets a mite that is devastating the world’s honey bee population.
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