What does IoT on the Farm even mean?

By: Ben Craker

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Kevin Harwood and Ryan Considine, the hosts of Mutual Mobile’s Tech Table podcast. Mutual Mobile is a consulting firm specializing in mobile solutions and is one of AGCO’s key partnerships for delivering best-in-class precision farming technology solutions to AGCO’s customers and dealers. Normally the podcasts feature guests discussing topics related to Android, iOS, the web and where new technology is headed. For my recent visit the hosts branched out a little to learn how farm technologies are changing, and the impact the Internet of Things (IoT) will have on the day to day life of the average farmer. We talked about how products like Auto-Guide™ and VarioGuide have become must-haves for farm operations of nearly any size.

Data, of course, was a main topic of discussion. We talked about the coming evolution in the way farms are managed, such as how innovative products like Go-Task™ and VarioDoc allow farmers to get information to and from machines easily so they can pass it securely to the software tools and trusted advisors they choose. Enabling data to flow to the right places for quick and accurate analysis will enable growers to manage their fields on a nearly plant by plant basis. We also discussed how the stream of information coming off machines and into tools like AgCommand® will allow new levels of uptime and productivity. Should farmers elect to share this machine information with their dealers, a new level of uptime can be unlocked through remote monitoring and analysis of machine performance.

So if you are interested in technology and the future of farming from data to drones, check out the February Tech Table podcast from Mutual Mobile to see what we discussed. There is also a great archive of other podcasts covering a wide variety of technology innovation with topics like the connected car, the Internet of Things and technology in healthcare.

For more information about Fuse, AGCO’s open approach to precision agriculture, visit www.AGCOcorp.com/Fuse.

Ben Craker is a Manager of Product Management Data, Partners and Standards for AGCO’s Advanced Technology Solutions group. Connect with Ben on Twitter @crakerb.