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Know How / Technology

From nutrient sensors to auto-steer systems, budget guidance kits to electric tractors and clever combine attachments to crop monitoring drones, we’ve got everything covered.

We’ll explain how to get set up with tractor GPS, how to do it on the cheap and what the best options are on the market. Our technology area houses all the information in handy guides and product reviews for you to get stuck in to.

Key areas of focus:

  • Guidance systems
  • Livestock technology including robotic milkers
  • Alternative fuels such as methane
  • Drones and mapping technology
  • Future farm technology developments

Must reads

Case studies

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ARABLE

Olly Harrison sows OSR and cover crop with quadcopter drone

Merseyside arable farmer and agricultural YouTuber Olly Harrison planted a 1ha segment of oilseed rape via aerial application with a quadcopter drone. The P40 XAG drone also broadcast a cover…

TECHNOLOGY

Dairy farmer to sell home-built GPS and nutrient mapping tool

Uninspired by the array of off-the-shelf tractor guidance systems, County Tyrone dairy farmer Andrew Wright set about building one to suit his own requirements. A key reason for him going…

MACHINERY

NI farm transforms slurry and food waste into bio-LNG fuel

A multi-million pound diversification project has allowed an enterprising dairy farm to convert slurry and food waste into biofuel, as it looks to tap into the growing market for renewable…

TECHNOLOGY

Ontario farmer gets robot fleet to complete arable fieldwork

Chuck Baresich has been on a recruitment drive – but not in the conventional sense. Over the past three years he has amassed a barnful of agricultural robots of all…

TECHNOLOGY

Farmer network trials precision farming technology

A 26-strong farmer network set up by Agri-EPI is a key testing bed for emerging start-up precision farming companies and researchers to evaluate and demonstrate their new technologies in a…

POTATOES

Video: Camera tech improves marketability for potato growers

Kitted out with a camera, GPS system and a portable tablet, Harvest Eye technology is helping potato growers improve marketability by sizing and counting crops. A unique camera system which…

Practical advice

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SOILS

How new tech aims to improve soil carbon measurement

Measuring soil organic carbon accurately has always been difficult. But with the rise in interest in carbon trading in agriculture, as well as the other benefits from managing carbon stocks…

POULTRY

4 ways poultry technology can help tackle rising costs

Poultry producers are enduring crippling costs and are desperate to see some of the risk move up the supply chain as they attempt to engage with retailers. So what can…

POULTRY

11 handy tech solutions for poultry farmers

Technology can take farm management to the next level, and a well thought-out investment can help cut costs overall. Whether you want to transform flock performance, reduce labour costs or…

TECHNOLOGY

Central tyre inflation systems – the options and prices

Pump ’em up for the road, let ’em down for the field. That is the essence of using a central tyre inflation system (CTIS) to actively manage inflation pressures and…

DAIRY

How to make the most of technical data from robots

As well as easing labour pressures and increasing milk yields, robotic milking systems have the potential to generate a huge amount of data that can be used to inform key…

CROP MANAGEMENT

New climate module predicts cereal growth and disease risk

Cereal growers can now benefit from a climate prediction module that uses weather data to forecast key growth stage timings of crops to improve input efficacy and plan workloads. The…

Insights

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TECHNOLOGY

Driverless tractors: Which manufacturer is leading the race?

Creating an autonomous vehicle for farm fieldwork is a relatively straightforward task from a mechanical engineering perspective. Choose a powertrain suited to the vehicle’s intended applications, decide between tracks and…

POTATOES

Gene-edited weather-resilient potatoes may be ready by 2025

A gene-editing potato project aims to boost the rate of photosynthesis in potato crops to promote yield, water use efficiency and drought tolerance. The initiative, known as PhotoBoost, sets it…

MACHINERY

How alternative fuels are helping to reduce farm emissions

Diesel-powered transport and machinery have been under scrutiny globally for some time now due to their large environmental impact in the form of hefty CO2 emissions. Recent years have seen…

TECHNOLOGY

Analysis: How farming will gain from new agri-tech solutions

UK agriculture faces a period of uncertainty, with the removal of direct support payments, volatile markets and tight margins leaving many farmers out of pocket. At the same time, food…

CROP MANAGEMENT

What are the prospects for spraying with drones in the UK?

Imagine waking up in the morning, looking at your phone and finding a report saying blight risk in your potato fields had risen to a level requiring treatment, so your…

DAIRY

Wearable device for cattle aims to improve dairy health

A new device, which is claimed to be the first integrated health microchip and activity monitor for livestock, could enable early detection of pre-clinical conditions and disease prediction in real…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

How farm data integration could improve N use efficiency

Collating and analysing data from multiple different farm machinery and other sources in a single place has long been a bugbear for many farmers. Accurate in-field analysis is only practical…

Technology reviews and tests

ENVIRONMENT

How do three main farm carbon calculators compare?

Want to know how much your farm is contributing to industry net-zero targets and how to improve? Or are you looking to access carbon trading markets or other financial incentives…

TECHNOLOGY

On test: New hard-as-nails Cat S42 smartphone

Many smartphones have come a cropper in merciless farmyard environments, but Cat reckons its latest drop-proof S42 can survive where the bigger names fail. The new rugged handset is built…

COMBINES

Retrofit yield monitor offers crop data on old combines

Canadian outfit Farm TRX has developed a relatively cheap retrofit yield monitor that is able to generate downloadable crop performance maps via apps that run on a standard smartphone or…

ATVS AND UTVS

How the ATVtrac tracker finds stolen bikes in under two hours

Millions of pounds’ worth of ATVs and farm buggies have been recovered thanks to retrofit tracking systems. The covert kits are fitted discreetly in the machine’s shell and ping regular…

DAIRY

Buyer's guide: Teat disinfection technology

As herd sizes increase and labour sourcing continues to create challenges, more farmers are turning to automated teat disinfection technologies to ease pressure in the parlour and promote efficiencies. Although…

TECHNOLOGY

Collar-mounted GPS tracker for lost dogs on test

Whether it’s a working sheepdog or an ancient scruffy terrier that spends most of its time by the Aga, losing a dog is pretty upsetting. Luckily, there are now serveral…

DAIRY

9 new products to be showcased at Dairy-Tech 2019

After the successful inaugural show last year, Dairy-Tech is back for 2019 and will feature lots of the latest inventions and equipment on the market. New products at the event…

TECHNOLOGY

Video: Land Rover's butch Explore smartphone on test

Land Rover fans who want a smartphone to match their rugged workhorse are in for a treat with the Explore – a tough handset built to take the punishment of…

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