The future of agriculture

‍Farmers are using data to drive efficiency

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The world’s growing population has an increasing need for food: agriculture marked the beginning of the human story, so what role will it play in our future?

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The answer is that human ingenuity and technology must be used to solve the problems of getting more from less. Scott Wine, CEO at CNH Industrial says that his company, a world leader in agriculture and construction, has a simple vision:

“We are looking to sustainably advance the noble work of our global agricultural and construction workers. We have a huge responsibility as the number two player in the global agriculture market. Unfortunately there's not much more tillable acreage in the world coming around, so we have to find ways to give our farmers the ability to get more from that.”

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Scott Harris, Global President at Case IH says that the brand’s long history puts them in a great position to answer the needs of the future:

“Farmers are the stewards of the land. We’ve been manufacturing agricultural equipment for 180 years. We have a presence in more than 160 countries around the globe. We play a really important role in agriculture today, by producing highly productive, efficient and innovative machines, to help farmers get more out of every seed they plant.”

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These innovations are built to deliver sustainability through good land management. Harris explains:

“Case IH is a pioneer in AFS or advanced farming systems. A good example of that would be soil command, where we've got specific tillage prescriptions that ensure we get soil preservation, moisture retention out of every pass a farmer makes and preparing his field for planting or putting it to bed after harvest.”

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What does this look like in the real world? Eric Wilks, a Case IH customer, says that the correct use of technology has saved him time and money while plowing fields:

“When we were going through the field, before you had overlap with drivers going at the wrong angle. Now when we turn around, we're using the Case IH GPS guidance, so  everything in the field is done correctly. They're not wasting time. It's allowed us to maybe use a little less equipment than we have in the past. Our equipment is bigger but we’re working fewer hours.”

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The farmer’s eye view is one thing, but Scott Harris says the technology can see in even greater detail:

“The land isn't typically flat, the farmer must address different topographies as he moves across the land. Our machines are sensitive enough to understand that change and the change in soil types, in order to make the adjustments required to optimize every inch of soil.”

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Rob Zemenchik, Head of AFS Product Marketing at Case IH says that the introduction of technology has shifted the balance towards a more data-driven approach to agriculture:

“In the past, growers drove field outcomes, largely through an appeal to their experience. But as they've tried to scale their businesses, this approach becomes problematic. Precision farming can use new data streams, new tools, connected fleets, farm management, software, and other such tools to allow the grower to add additional field capacity and farm size without constraint.”

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Eric Wilks is one happy customer:

“We're recording all of our yield data, so when our crop is harvested, as we're going through the field, we can see exactly how many bushels per acre we're getting at that moment.”

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Parag Garg, Chief Digital Officer at CNH Industrial says that the aim of the technology is not to negate the farmer’s experience but to give them greater visibility:

“Autonomy doesn't mean that we're getting rid of farmers. Autonomy means we're going to help our farmers be more successful in running their operations. Advanced farming systems make it really easy for you to coordinate your fleet. Connecting that with all the data platforms that our farmers use and the ability to bring in data feeds from all of your other partners in our open architecture, makes it really easy for you to look at your entire farming operation from one central location.”

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This data is forming a crucial part of the new agriculture, allowing producers to share it with other providers or agronomists to make changes that optimize their results. Ultimately this means getting more yield out of the same land by using sensors deployed in farm systems and equipment to inform changes that enhance productivity and efficiency.

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Parag Garg says that farming’s bright future lies in the cutting edge of digital technology:

“The challenges we're dealing with to help the future of farming are really real. The future's really being invented here.”

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For Scott Harris the innovation journey continues ever onward:

"We're working on innovation today that we never thought of 20 years ago. We're no longer just in the iron welding and manufacturing business. Our technology is making farmers' outputs more efficient and more productive every day.”

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