With advanced technology, farmers can gain valuable insight into soil conditions, allowing them to make informed decisions that support both short-term productivity and long-term land stewardship.
Soil is the foundation of sustaining all life on Earth. Whether it’s feeding global communities or helping a farm continue for generations, healthy soil improves the sustainability of the environment and the food system for years to come. However, as our world population continues to grow, arable land continues to decline.
According to National Geographic, every five seconds, a soccer field of soil is eroded, and it is estimated that by 2050, around 90 percent of Earth’s soils could be degraded. Consider this: topsoil is used to grow 95 percent of our food, and it is disappearing 10 times faster than it is being replaced, threatening livelihoods and food supply.
Losing soil threatens the ability of farmers to continue to provide food, fuel, and fiber. By prioritizing soil management, farmers are enhancing the resilience of their land, improving crop yields, and supporting their families. In response to today’s challenges, many are turning to advanced technology to strengthen their soil’s health and longevity, ensuring that farmland remains productive for generations to come.
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Advanced Technology and Protecting Soil
Advanced technology can be leveraged to help protect soil. Whether it’s for reduced erosion and compaction or improved water infiltration, technology provides critical insights that arm farmers with the information they need to make more informed decisions, supporting sustainable farming practices.
Minimizing erosion and compaction helps ensure that soil remains fertile, crops can thrive, and environmental issues such as pollution and flooding are avoided. Contour farming can be used to assist this approach. By performing tillage and planting across the slope of a field and following the natural contours of the land, contour farming allows rainwater to soak into the land better, reducing soil erosion while improving water management.
To achieve this, farmers can use GPS for controlled traffic systems. GPS enables precise navigation and guidance. When leveraged in farm equipment, it can inform tractors and other machinery to follow designated traffic lanes consistently. This improves soil health by limiting wheel traffic compaction and optimizing resource use. GPS works twofold, optimizing workflows so farmers can work more efficiently, and most importantly, ensuring sustainability by minimizing soil erosion and improving water management.
Sensors are also vital to managing soil. For example, in water-limited areas of the world, farmers can use soil moisture sensors to measure water content or soil tension. This helps them spot any concerns within their soil, staying ahead of any challenges and maximizing crop production. Irrigation systems also use sensors to automatically adjust watering schedules based on forecasts, further protecting the soil and responding to what it needs at each moment.
With the help of advanced technologies through precision agriculture, GPS for controlled traffic systems, and sensors, farmers can protect their soil and focus on maintaining good conditions that sustain their land over time so they can pass it down to future generations.
Better Decision-Making with Data
US farmers have historically referenced data to inform decision making. Since 1792, the Old Farmer’s Almanac has provided U.S. farmers with information about weather forecasts, planting charts, and astronomical data. There are many sources of data that relate to farming.
When it comes to collecting data, farmers often choose to share it with trusted advisors, such as their local dealer or agronomist. From the data and collaboration, they gain a comprehensive view of their operation and insights that help them make decisions both in the moment and over time. This deep understanding of their data lets farmers optimize productivity and improve overall efficiency.
Data collection also helps with prediction. The more farmers gather data, the better they understand, and the more they can predict how different scenarios may impact soil conditions for the next season. With this knowledge, they become aligned with the needs of their land today and how to care for it for years to come.
Farms rely on accurate data to enable informed decision-making. Identifying emerging trends and learning from data empowers farmers to protect the soil, continue to provide for our growing world, and pass their expertise down to future generations.
See also: Sustainability and Reliability: The Future of Agriculture Technology Lies in Microgrids
Sustainability Starts with Soil
Sustainability is more important than ever as farmers work to feed global communities while preserving the health of their soil. With advanced technology, they can gain valuable insight into soil conditions, allowing them to make informed decisions that support both short-term productivity and long-term land stewardship. By leveraging these innovations, farmers can continue to do their important work knowing that the soil will be cared for and productive for generations to come.
