SATELLITE FARMING: Next level of agriculture
On Earth, 37% of the land is used for
Agriculture. This portion of Earth has to become more and more productive. This
means continuous adaptation of new technological what modern world brings. In automatic irrigation and tractors with
computers the technology is easy to see, but one piece of critical
infrastructure sits miles away from any farmland. Satellites, especially
geostationary ones, are changing the landscape of agriculture.
Farmers with thousands of acre properties often coordinate effective
management in their farm. Satellite farming helps them to stay on track to
their targeted areas. Farmer gets a machine like drones that is revolutionising
big farming, field by field. Its steering is assisted by satellite, it
downloads data about crops. Farm manager use data collection devices with GPS
for accurate positioning to map pest, insect, and weed infestations in the
field. Pest problem areas in crops can be pinpointed and mapped for future
management decisions and input recommendations. It works 24x7 effectively, Drones using
infrared thermal cameras and tell to within a square meter the size of a field
and where the most fertile or waterlogged places are. The first satellite with
the second civilian signal was launched in 2005.
Today, many farmers use GPS-derived
products to enhance operations in their farming businesses. Location
information is collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries, roads,
irrigation systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The
accuracy of GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for
field areas, road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS
allows farmers to accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year
after year, to collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions
Mechanical grape harvesters are at work around the world in places such
as the Chablis region of France. Machines are now able to look at the grapes,
check the difference between good and bad ones, identify the quality of the
crop and its maturity, De-stem the fruit and grade the fruit while it is
picking it.
Today, many farmers use GPS-derived products
to enhance operations in their farming businesses. Location information is
collected by GPS receivers for mapping field boundaries, roads, irrigation
systems, and problem areas in crops such as weeds or disease. The accuracy of
GPS allows farmers to create farm maps with precise acreage for field areas,
road locations and distances between points of interest. GPS allows farmers to
accurately navigate to specific locations in the field, year after year, to
collect soil samples or monitor crop conditions
Mechanical grape harvesters are at work around the world in places such
as the Chablis region of France. Machines are now able to look at the grapes,
check the difference between good and bad ones, identify the quality of the
crop and its maturity, De-stem the fruit and grade the fruit while it is
picking it.
Fig 2. Photographer: Philippe Desmazes/AFP /Getty Images
There are machines now for just about every crop. They can be used to
pick olives, grapes, and tulips. A combine can do far more than cut wheat or
rape. It does cereals, pulses, beans, peas, pumpkin seeds, anything.
Satellites
have applications for farmers raising animals as well. A device that
fits on a collar and measures each animal’s temperature, called “moo monitor”.
The monitor is able to detect whether a cow is ill or on heat. It’s very
accurate and should pay itself off in around three years. The main advantage of
the moon monitor is that it saves time and labour.
The
cost of getting satellite farming is still high, but it is coming down with the
rise of smaller systems using commercially-available components. This is
opening up a new market for large constellations (multi-satellite systems) and
some space companies adopting this approach are starting to see themselves as
data providers rather than hardware manufacturers and are offering services
directly to farmers.
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