As is well known, the agricultural industry is facing challenges related to climate change, such as water scarcity and the impact of extreme weather events, as well as a rising demand due to population growth. To address these and similar issues, producers are employing advanced technology to improve crop efficiency and resilience and adapt to changing demand and external conditions.
Using Linknovate’s tool, we explored the latest trends in AgTech and the most innovative startups and companies active within them.
In this blog post, we will explore one of the main agricultural trends within precision agriculture: namely, the application of IoT technologies in farming.
Field IoT
The use of IoT technology has expanded to the agricultural industry, leading to increased efficiency and better control of breeding and cultivation. The IoT market in agriculture grew to $13.76 billion in 2022 and is expected to triple to $15.3 billion by 2025. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of IoT solutions in agriculture due to disruptions in the supply chain and shortage of skilled labor.
Field IoT involves the use of smart sensors strategically placed on farms to collect data on humidity, temperature, soil moisture, crop growth, and yield. This data is integrated into a single system, allowing farmers to optimize production and reduce costs. Real-time information helps farmers monitor crop health, predict problems, and make informed decisions, reducing the impact of disease, adverse weather conditions, and drought.
The market is led by the US, followed by the UK and India, the latter becoming a leader in the industry.
Innovative companies within this trend include:
CropIn is a Bangalore-based agricultural startup that has been leading the industry since its establishment in 2010. The company specializes in providing cutting-edge farming solutions to revolutionize the sector. CropIn’s system offers live reporting, analysis, interpretation, and insights that cover vast geographical areas, helping to digitize and manage the entire farming ecosystem. With their real-time data-driven approach, businesses can archive patterns, forecast trends, and plan for the future.
Deere & Co is a US company that designs, develops and sells smart farming machinery, and recently launched a fifth series of utility tractors with connectivity through the TractorPlus app. The company is a key player in the IoT smart farming market, with net sales of $44.024 million in 2021. They have also developed a crop sprayer that uses AI, cameras and machine learning to improve efficiency and reduce pesticide use. These technologies enable farmers to make better decisions, optimize production and farm management, and meet consumer preferences. Blue River Technology, acquired by Deere & Co in 2017, also has drones equipped with sensors to collect data and improve crop management and production.
Blue White Robotics is a company founded in 2017 that specializes in robotics and end-to-end solutions for agriculture. In partnership with Intel and Federated Wireless, they have developed automated farming technology that uses IoT, edge computing resources and private wireless networks to customize the solution to any farmer’s operations. Their IoT robotic kits transform existing vehicle fleets into autonomously managed, programmable robotic machines to execute specific operations and tasks. The technology uses GPS, LiDAR and high-resolution camera data and deep learning-based AI models to improve perception and filter out noise and weather disturbances.