Computer Technology
Automated Water and Feeding Systems
Technology is very important on modern poultry and pig farms. There are feed and water lines that allow the animals to have access to food and water whenever they want. The feed and water lines in poultry barns are lifted as the birds grow bigger so the lines are easy to access. Farmers can also monitor water consumption, feed consumption, and feed efficiency in their barns.
These automatic watering and feeding lines are used in poultry barns.
These chicks are drinking from a water line in a poultry barn.
Piglets are drinking from an automatic watering system in a pig barn.
These feeders adjust in height as the chickens grow.
Autosteer
Autosteer uses GPS to guide the equipment in the field. The farmer lines up the autosteer and the equipment drives itself in a straight line. Autosteer can make sure the overlap of the equipment’s path is under 2.5 cm (1 inch) to not waste resources like fuel, seed, water, fertilizer, or pesticides.
Autosteer uses GPS to ensure the equipment is used in the most efficient way possible with very little waste or overlap.
This tractor does not need a driver because of the autosteer. However, a farmer should be in the tractor’s cab in case a problem occurs.
Calving Cameras
Calving cameras are used to help cattle farmers during calving season. Instead of going outside every couple of hours to check if the cow is giving birth, farmers can look at the cameras to see how the cow is doing. If the cow needs help giving birth, the farmer can go and help. Once the calf is born, the farmer can move the calf inside, out of the cold, if it was born outside.
Calving cameras can help a farmer to know when a cow needs help giving birth.
Computers
Farmers use computers for many things on farms. Farmers can monitor the information coming in from their drones on a computer. They can also use GPS in their machinery or cameras in their barns and monitor it on their computers. Farmers may have accounting programs on their computers to keep track of money they have made and spent each year on the farm.
All farmers need computers in order to run their farms.
Farmers use computers to stay informed about new things they need to know as the farming industry changes. Farmers can also check the weather forecasts, read the news, and buy and sell items online. Computers and other technology are very important on farms!
Farmers can use computer applications to track and store information about their livestock such as age, milk production, and other health records. This is often called herd recording.
Drone
Drones are transforming agriculture by offering farmers major cost savings through increased efficiency. Farmers can check large stretches of farmland with drones. Drones can also be used to map their farmland, report on crop health, improve spraying accuracy, monitor livestock, and check on irrigation systems without having to drive through the fields. Drones can be used to help farmers make decisions that lead to more profits for their farms.
Drones have many benefits for farmers and they help to save on costs.
The use of drones is taking off in agriculture!
Drones help farmers to check in regularly on their livestock, while still being efficient in time and costs.
A drone can hover extremely close to the crop and get within a square inch of the plant without damaging the crop.
GPS
GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It uses satellites in space that provide the locations of the device you are using. Tractors use GPS to collect soil samples, mark obstacles in the field, and use resources such as fertilizer and seed correctly.
This farmer is using GPS to track where the tractor is in the field and how much seed and fertilizer are being used.