Internet of Things Adaption in Australian Agriculture for Future Sustainability

The Internet of Things is coming to agriculture, and it spells good news for farmers from rural and remote Australia.
According to Market Wired, many businesses, including start-ups, are jumping in on the Internet of Things bandwagon. It boasts a promise of raising yield of crops, lessening cost of farming and making the overall farming process more efficient.
Based on reports, agriculture is a great area to implement IoT as it is ripe with data sources and can use operational improvements such as sensors, connectivity, and analytics.
Lux Research has evaluated the Internet of Things propositions in the industry and found out that:

• Start-ups are rising. Phytech, AquaSpy, OnFarm Systems, and SemiosBIO are leading start-ups, with compelling technologies and solid business execution. In start-up funding activity this year, CropX has raised $10 million while SemiosBIO received $9 million.
• More accurate irrigation management can help raise yields. AquaSpy’s probes to monitor soil water status in irrigated fields have a clear value proposition. In a case study conducted over the course of a full corn growing season in South Carolina, AquaSpy-managed fields generated 22% higher yields.
• Question marks loom over costlier services. Phytech’s system consisting of soil, plant and weather sensors, and irrigation flow meters showed 10% water savings over a two-week period in one case. At a relatively high irrigation cost of $500 per acre, the system would deliver a return on investment of 10%, but at lower water cost, returns are questionable thanks to high per-acre service costs.

However, the application of Internet of Things in the Australian agriculture industry has its share of hurdles, such as the availability of Internet connection. Fortunately, the nbn^® roll-out is in swing via the new and improved satellite service Sky Muster, which will provide broadband connection to thousands of areas.
With this, the Aussie agriculture industry can finally reach its full potential and be at par with countries with developed farming methods.
The NBN’s Sky Muster satellite brings better satellite internet connectivity to regional Australia. To get onboard Sky Muster, call Activ8me today 13 22 88 or visit: https://activ8me.net.au/internet/skymuster
image courtesy of www.fraudtechwire.com