A futuristic farming world was described, where sensors, big data, unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, and robots will connect with the internet of things to provide a sustainable agricultural future.

The conference brought together some of Ireland’s leading experts in new sensor technologies with leading research players from Teagasc, TSSG, and Tyndall as well as key industry speakers such as Gerard Keenan from agricultural machinery and solutions company Keenan, Billy Humphrey from Dairygold and Toby Mottram from eCow.

Professor Gerry Boyle set the context for the day’s proceedings, talking of the challenge for Ireland to grow food production while reducing its carbon footprint by using digital technologies. Kieran Drain from Tyndall and Willie Donnelly, Chair of TSSG, explained some of the technologies available to meet that challenge. The farm of the future will have sensors monitoring the soil, grass and crop growth, animal behaviour and animal health, tractor movement and fertiliser use.

Research and development

The purpose of the technology day was to help researchers focus their research and development and match it with potential funding based on the Department of Agriculture’s SHARP Agenda - the Sustainable Healthy Agri-Food Research Plan and Food Wise 2025. There will be lots of exiting technological developments, but also a number of challenges. Sensors are available to gather all sorts of data, remotely from the soil, or from within the cow’s gut. The internet of things will link the cow to the consumer, as we will be able to track milk production from field to fridge, following the product from the soil, to the grass, to the cow, to the milk tank, to the processing plant, to the delivery lorry, to the supermarket and to the consumer and beyond.

The speakers all agreed that technology will improve sustainability and profitability but there are challenges ahead. Alan O’Riordan, research fellow for micro and nano systems, explained the new smart sensors Tyndall is working on. The nano sensor technology is so advanced that its width is measured in terms of how much a fingernail might grow in a day, and the sensors are smart enough to process the data themselves.

Prof Boyle pointed out that data is no use until it is turned into knowledge and actionable decision-making, or as Gerard Keenan summarised it well, the farmer needs “the right information, at the right time, to make the right decision, at the right time”.