A Tech Stack for Digital Agriculture Innovation

Agricultural technology has long helped humans cultivate the earth more efficiently, sustainably, and productively. The history of AgTech is rich with milestones, each signifying a leap forward in how we approach farming. Today, as we navigate the complexities of feeding a growing global population more sustainably in an increasingly competitive global food market, precision agriculture has been shown to improve yields, increase efficiency, and reduce water and fertilizer use. Even though much of modern agriculture technology has been scientifically validated, a McKinsey study reported that less than 40% of small and medium sized farms are using remote sensing and precision agriculture hardware. Less than 10% of those farms have adopted automation, robotics, and electronic equipment.

Why a low adoption rate?

Historically, the relationship between growers and innovators in adopting technology has been cautious and complex. For farmers, the stakes of integrating new technology are high. The seasonal nature of farming means that any technological failure could jeopardize an entire season's yield and plunge a farmer into economic distress. On the flip side, technology startups face challenges in gaining access to real-world testing environments. The high-risk, high-reward nature of agricultural innovation often results in limited trial opportunities, leading to small sample sizes and slow iteration cycles. Additionally, the physical distance from farms complicates direct engagement, requiring innovators to immerse themselves in rural settings for extended periods as their technology matures.

Connectivity

In today's digital world, collecting high quality agricultural data poses little issue - yet there are immense challenges managing data streams and accessibility in converting raw data into actionable insights.  Effective deployment now necessitates not just technological innovation but also robust remote connectivity solutions, especially given that most farms are in remote areas. John Deere, a name synonymous with agricultural innovation, noted that there is no reliable connectivity in 30% of US and 70% of Brazilian farm acreage, and has signed an agreement with Space X for custom Starlink deployments to supplement the reach of its JDLink™ Connectivity and Operations Center™.

While integrated satellite connectivity is a great step forward for the industry, not all growers have chosen John Deere equipment. Many existing technologies – even those that already integrate with John Deere’s platform - will require separate internet and cloud connectivity to transform collected data into real world solutions. The 2024 AgTech Summit at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the initiatives by the Center for Digital Agriculture (CDA) both shine a light on the importance of innovative and open Tech Stacks to advance the state of agriculture, by connecting growers and their dealer networks to innovators and inventors.

Whether it’s as a complement to John Deere's leading market moves or as an enabler of other technologies in synergistic industry verticals, Kognitive Networks firmly believes that the key to bridging the gap between growers and technology startups lies in ensuring robust connectivity and secure remote access.

Kognitive Networks supports Starlink natively, with seamless integration and simplified workflows that bring connectivity to locations that have never been accessible before. Through the Kognitive Edge platform, farmers can reliably and securely connect their data collection and automated machinery to the wider internet for analysis and processing with novel algorithms, next-generation optimizations, and new AI tools. With the Konnect™ remote connection protocol, instant sharing of data and device access with partners facilitates troubleshooting, reduces risk, and keep machines running. By empowering growers and inventors with these critical connectivity tools, we can significantly shorten the innovation feedback loop and diminish the risks traditionally borne by growers.

Tracing the Path of Agricultural Innovation

The 19th Century: Seeds of Mechanical Advancement

The 19th century's agricultural revolution was marked with paradigm shifting inventions, like Cyrus McCormick's 1831 mechanical reaper that transformed crop harvesting and John Deere's 1837 steel plow, which revolutionized soil preparation. These innovations marked the dawn of mechanized farming and set the stage for future technological advancements in agriculture. The era's innovation peaked with John Froelich's introduction of the gasoline-powered tractor in 1892, significantly enhancing farmer productivity and opening a new chapter in agricultural efficiency.

The Digital Dawn

As mechanical innovations quickly helped to transform the landscape with improved speed in the 19^th century, tractors set the stage for an advanced level of productivity in the 20th century. Digital Agriculture innovations like GPS and VRT hit the industry in the late 20th century and true precision swept through agriculture, improving individual acreage yields and farm efficiency on an unprecedented scale.

Now, as we push into the 21st century, the pressure for higher yields and sustainability is met with the strain of labor shortages. New technologies like remote sensing and automation have the potential to fill the labor gap through the promise of greatly improved efficiency and automation. With precise measurement, predictive analytics and true automation, the 21st century farm could theoretically be operated 24-hours a day.

This next stage of advancement needs to address two key elements:

1. How can these technologies can be linked together, to actualize the promise of invention and innovation and turn data into solutions?

2. During the adoption cycle, what can be done to safeguard the grower - the one who takes the lions-share of risk and benefits from the marginal improvement of the technology each season?

Cloud Connectivity and Remote Access can bridge the gaps between collected data, processing, automation, and control - synergizing the potential of the digital model and actualization in the mechanical world. What is still missing is a way for all inventors and producers to quickly share data and control of systems so that productivity isn't lost during the innovation process.

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The Tech Stack: A platform for productivity

Today, realizing the collective promise of these innovations requires a farmer to develop or adopt an comprehensive tech stack that incorporates their entire production system - from soil to seed and harvest to market. Several companies have made great strides in connecting growers, innovators, and manufacturers already. These well known manufacturers have been developing Tech Stacks focused on agricultural technology, with varying levels of wireless connectivity options and remote access functionality:

Whether a closed platform or one built on open access, the current agricultural tech stacks all need the flexibility to integrate 3^rd party data, devices, and connectivity.  

The Role of Dealers in Disseminating Innovation

Agriculture dealers play a crucial role in bringing technological advancements to farmers. These entities are not just sales channels, but vital partners in implementing and supporting AgTech solutions. Many of the leading Agriculture Dealers have been steadily increasing the tech footprint that they offer their customers.

For dealers to support the machines and automated devices they sell, they need well-integrated connectivity solutions that allow them to operate support and troubleshooting channels remotely. While each dealer can choose to adopt one or even a few Tech Stacks to implement specific integrations and productivity enhancements, their customers have legacy equipment with connectivity needs and the potential to forge partnerships that require dealers to be more technology agnostic. Thus, an open platform for connectivity and innovation that supports interoperability of equipment across manufacturers is the best fit to move the industry forward.

Embracing the Future with Open Innovation in Connectivity

The genesis of productivity and innovation has come to rely on robust connectivity. While growers, dealers, innovators, and equipment manufacturers are all engaged and moving forward toward a more productive future, a unifying tech stack would benefit the industry while improving communication between all parties.

Kognitive Networks is committed to a vision of efficiency, advocating for technologies that promote an interconnected and innovative agricultural ecosystem. The future of agriculture depends on our ability to collaborate, innovate, and share openly, ensuring a sustainable and productive global food system for generations to come. To see how Kognitive Networks can drive innovation through better connectivity in agriculture and beyond, contact us and schedule a demo today.