It’s time to transform your rural business
Farming smarter, not harder is seen as the way of the future for Australian agriculture. So how can farmers join the productivity revolution?
Globally, food demand is rising. By 2050, it’s projected that demand for water will increase by 20 – 30 percent. Global crop production may need to more than double by then to ensure there is enough food to feed a population of almost ten billion.
Data farming: Precision agriculture
A data-driven approach to farming, precision agriculture uses technologies such as sensors and GPS to help farmers make more informed decisions concerning operations and the management of crops and livestock.
An example is ‘soil mapping’ that maps out different levels of soil quality across a paddock, allowing farmers to reduce water and fertiliser use by more accurately determining the optimal levels required.
Robotics also offer significant benefits, such as robotic weeding vehicles that are estimated to have saved the Australian wheat industry $620 million a year in herbicide and diesel costs. Drones can fly over fields and assess the health of crops while mapping out weed coverage and water distribution, with the farmer monitoring the results in real-time.
In the US, technologies such as GPS systems fitted to driverless tractors are generating lots of interest for their potential to avoid missing patches of ground (or going over them twice).
Ear-tag tracking technology is another use of technology to help farmers. By wirelessly tracking cattle, farmers can monitor an animal’s behaviour, eating patterns and general wellbeing to determine the best grazing methods.
In horticulture, on-ground robots with sensory technology are expected to gain the ability to identify and pick ripe tree crops such as mangoes.
Smart farming: The fintech revolution
Along with ‘agtech’, farmers can also benefit from the ‘fintech’ (finance technology) revolution that is opening up new avenues of finance.
Peer-to-peer lenders have emerged, offering millions of dollars to fund farmers’ acquisition of cattle and other equipment. Unlike other sectors, default rates have reportedly been low, despite the impact of droughts and storms.
Blockchain technology is also changing agriculture. Cloud-based platforms can process the settlement of physical commodities such as grain using blockchain, allowing numerous parties to share data and trade with each other via automatically synchronising ledgers.Such technology can help farmers manage cash flows better, while also lowering transaction costs and risks involved in dealing with multiple parties.
Angel investors, incubators and crowdfunding have also emerged as potential financiers for the agricultural sector, providing increasing competition for traditional bank lending.
The National Farmers’ Federation sees Australian agriculture achieving $100 billion in farm gate output by 2030.
Smarter farms need smarter insurance
The realisation of agtech and fintech will bring about a real transformation, however, these visionary technologies will also bring about the need for a whole other type of investment: insurance. A number of Australian insurers are catering to the specific needs of farming communities and the insurance demands of agtech.
Niche coverage such as drones, farm vehicles, and cyber security are just a few of the types of insurance that could give you the security you need and allow you to get the most productivity out of your investments. Have you considered these options?
To join the rural revolution, speak to us and we can help you identify the types of insurance coverage that will help you reap the benefits along with many other Australian farmers.
