With technology constantly evolving so too are farmers

Today’s farmers have changed and advanced in many ways. Farmers today not only have to make their living from agriculture and being out and about on the farm working, farmers today have to be an accountant, a planner, a manager, an economist and so on. The list is endless. As technology in farming is moving at an unprecedented rate, farmers have had to learn to adapt to a new way of farming which comes with many positives including making work a whole lot easier and faster and more efficient on the farm.

The smartphone has aided farmers on the farm in many ways over the past few years. The majority of farmers throughout Ireland now use smartphones to run their farms more effectively, be it to check the upcoming weather forecast, buy machinery and animals online, register their animals, scan medicines and even to keep up to date on farming forums both on the web and on social media.

It is important for farmers to move with the times and not to get stuck behind. As time goes on farming is evolving and farmers are becoming more and more up to date with the latest technologies. So what new types of technologies are these farmers using?

First and foremost smartphones. The average farmer brings his smartphone everywhere with him, not only to keep in contact with people but to have everything he wants in the palm of his hand when it comes to his farm. While working on the farm the farmer uses the phone with apps such as Herdwatch to complete work and get things done on time. Keeping up to date with what is going on in the farming world in Ireland is vital. The majority of young farmers in Ireland between the ages of 18 and 45 are on social media such as Facebook, keeping up to date and chatting with other farmers online to see what they have been using or what they have been trying out.

When it comes to finishing up the farm work in the evenings and eventually getting to sit down after a long day out and about on the farm, instead of heading for a laptop a lot of farmers now use tablets. Larger in size than they smartphone, the tablet gives farmers a much clearer view of what they want to see. The tablet is much more compact than a laptop and once charged can be brought anywhere unlike a laptop which ideally needs to be placed on a flat surface.  The farmer can put his feet up, enjoy a cup of tea and check met eireann on his tablet for the upcoming weather forecast for the week or scan through Done Deal for offers on machinery.

When it comes to the farm yard and surrounding fields nothing makes the farmer prouder than seeing what he has achieved and the work he has done. Farmers around Ireland have started to use drones which in turn provides them with a full clear aerial view of their farm. The farmer has the ability to control the drone from the ground with a remote control, flying it where ever he wishes capturing video footage of every inch of his farm. Drones however, can only be used when the farmer has line of sight, which is limited to 300m, similar to other jurisdictions.

Technology is developing but so too is the farmer. Today’s farmer is most definitely becoming tech savy and smart friendly. So farmers, if you are not using your smartphone to help you on the farm, what are you using it for?

There is a variety of tools which help everyday goings-on within the farm. Herdwatch, the leading farming app, is one such tool; it minimises the time you spend on compliance paperwork by letting farmers ditch the pen and paper for:

• Bord Bia remedies and feed purchases.
• Farm-to-farm Movement certs.
• Calf Registrations
• Weight Recording
• Breeding Cycle Management

There is a FREE Trial of Herdwatch available on https://www.herdwatch.ie/trial