Climate change accelerates arrival of digital farm

The digital farm contributes to climate-smart food production. Preventing soil compaction by using big data technology is likely to have the most effect. At least compared to other technological applications in the fight against climate change. 

"Using our talents in the small space." With this sentence, the last agricultural minister of the Netherlands, Gerda Verburg, aptly defined the task facing the Dutch agricultural sector. Producing as much food as possible with as few raw materials and as little environmental impact as possible. 

Verburg then left for the World Food Organization (FAO) in 2011. The credo of this globally influential organization is so-called 'climate smart farming'. This English term is defined as the approach that will ensure the transformation and reorientation of agricultural development under the new realities of climate change. Food security and income development are also of paramount importance. 

Is it the key to success?
Precision, sensor and big data farming is the key to success. At least, that's the general opinion shared worldwide. Other modern technological applications in the fight against climate change are:

• Genetic modification, social resistance continues to increase;
• Development of electrically powered tractors and implements;
• Robotisation, for example weed control.

However, none of these applications have really taken off since Verburg's statements in 2011. The technology is still too expensive and fertilizer and fossil fuels are still relatively cheap.

Take the Yara sensor, from the Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer of the same name. This sensor enables efficient additional fertilization during the growing season in potato cultivation, but is still relatively little used. That was the conclusion during a theme day on arable fertilization, which Wageningen University held in collaboration with the business community. When large amounts of precipitation or prolonged periods of drought occur, no sensor or any kind of satellite or drone monitoring will help.

The combination of big data technology and the growing reliability of long-term weather forecasts offers the greatest opportunity to make a difference in the short term. 

Digital Farm
The best example of this is the digital farm of Jacob van de Borne from Reusel (North Brabant). He uses 3 different weather stations on his farm. In addition to the standard data, these also measure soil moisture and solar radiation.

Precipitation is also measured at 10 other places with soil moisture sensors. These data are combined to make an irrigation advice. It is not without reason that ICT supplier AppsforAgri and tractor manufacturer John Deere are also making great strides with these weather data technologies. 

If it is possible to anticipate periods of drought and flooding sooner, this will increase the efficiency of production. In addition, the environment is less burdened. Perhaps the biggest positive effect is the prevention of soil compaction. That is what Wageningen scientist Jan van de Akker says. The good news: the reliability of the weather forecast, several weeks ahead, is increasing rapidly. This is partly due to the latest supercomputers, which are being used worldwide in meteorology. 

Better predictable again
The supercomputers above could allow meteorology to see earlier and earlier when a crucial weather change is at hand. The high pressure area, Azores, which causes variable summer weather in our country, has been dominant on the weather maps for weeks. So the grain harvest is currently underway at record speed. 

It is clear that the risk of shooting into the crop and quality reduction is otherwise too great. As soon as the harvest of the harvested crops starts, a similar strategy is plausible. This allows for much better planning and reduces soil compaction by heavy harvesters.

Scope of the manager facilitated
Moreover, that big data technology facilitates the manager's reach on the large-scale arable farm. With common sense, the decision to postpone or accelerate processing could also be made, were it not for the fact that the surfaces are too large to 'walk' on. 

Thanks to apps that collect data from sensors in the field, analyze it and send alerts, the manager can oversee it. Even with the rapidly increasing scale. At the same time, this data technology ensures that the large differences in microclimate are taken into account.

Challenges remain
There are still plenty of challenges, such as predicting rainfall. That remains a difficult task, as the past few weeks have shown again. In any case, it is certain that the risk of flooding in changeable summer weather is greater than in the past. 

The eastern Netherlands escaped water quantities at the beginning of this week, such as in East Germany. Over a large area along the former border between East and West Germany, more than 100 millimeters of rain fell in 36 hours. The Berlin region took the cake with 300 to 400 millimeters of rain in a few weeks. 

One can guess what the consequences of this will be, in city and country. It is not for nothing that water storage and dyke improvement receive extra attention in the Netherlands. A water irrigation plan and monitoring of the organic matter balance should not be missing on the digital climate-smart farm of the future.

This article is part of the summer series on climate change. All articles can be found here.

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