IoT in Agriculture: 5 Use Cases & 5 Best Practices Implementation in 2024

The advent of IoT has affected different sectors of the economy. From manufacturing to automotive to healthcare, the adoption of IoT ecosystems has managed to streamline functionality, allow for business continuity, and increase security and efficiency.

The agriculture sector has also been swept up in this frenzy. That is because IoT in agriculture can enhance crops quality, streamline crop maintenance, as well as help mitigate production risks, among other benefits.

In this article, we will look at what IoT in agriculture is, what its benefits are, what relevant devices are already out on the market today, and what are the challenges farmers should be familiar with before adopting an IoT ecosystem for their estates.

What is IoT agriculture?

Broadly speaking, IoT in agriculture refers to the use of smart devices and sensors to monitor the farming process, from planting to farming to harvesting and finally to distribution.

By using IoT sensors, farmers are able to collect environmental data (e.g. rainfall, humidity, pollution, etc.) to make data-driven decisions to improve the different aspects of the farming process.

One example is sensors monitoring the state of soil and enabling farmers to know the exact amount of pesticides and fertilizers that they have to inject into it in order to reach optimal growth efficiency.

What are the use cases of IoT in agriculture?

IoT has the potential to transform agriculture in many aspects. In this section, we will look at 5 uses cases of that:

1. Data collection

Smart agriculture sensors can monitor weather conditions, soil quality, crop growth progress, or cattle’s health.

The farmers can then use this data to track the status of crops, gain insight into performance gaps, equipment efficiency, and future growth projections.

Explore data collection automation in more detail.

2. Risk mitigation

As we said, data collection can help farmers to make projections about their productions. This ability to foresee the output amount will make for enhanced product distribution.

If the farmer has knowledge of a certain crop’s date of harvest, they will be able to make schedule the next shipment of seeds and grains on a day that once the readied product is out for distribution, the next batch is ready to be planted immediately.

This lowers production risks as it could help farmers not face shortages in production, and consequently, disruption in income.

3. Cost management

Sensors are there to monitor their use of inputs. This would mean the farmers have precise knowledge of their water consumption, for example.

Scientifically knowing how much water a plant needs for growth, versus the actual amount that it’s being fed, will educate farmers to cut down unnecessary irrigation and to conserve water.

4. Automation

The use of automated robots in the production cycle will make for increased efficiency and decreased operational costs. That’s because robots will take care of undertaking repetitive tasks, such as irrigation, fertilization, pest control, seed plantation, and more.

5. Enhanced product quality

Quality control is already an aspect of IoT in manufacturing, wherein thermal, and other related sensors are able to constantly monitor the quality metrics of produced goods, and compare them with the programmed codes to undertake an immediate production quality control.

The same technology could be adopted in agriculture, where embedded sensors in the crops’ environment could scan them and make sure their quality is constant across the board. This can be done by monitoring leaves’ color or root strength.

What are some IoT devices in agriculture?

Some of the IoT devices used in agriculture are:

1. Irrigation sensors

Irrigation sensors (Figure 1) are smart agriculture devices that control the sprinklers’ functionality. These sensors monitor the dryness of the soil and operate the sprinkles accordingly, making sure that the risk of under or over watering is minimal.

2. Soil sensors

There are soil sensors (Figure 2) that can be placed in the field where the crops are growing, and to provide the farmer with specific data, from temperature and precipitation to the overall crop health. This will aid the farmers to dedicate their time to more intricate tasks in the production cycle, while the smart devices are undertaking the menial and time-consuming tasks such as monitoring leaves’ health status.

3. Drones

Drones (Figure 3) are not only for grocery delivery and aerial photography. Some drones are programmed to spread seeds in defrosted areas. These unmanned aerial vehicles have the capability of covering expansive areas in a faster, more efficient manner than a group of farmers would on foot.

4. Cattle monitoring

Same as with crop monitoring, there are IoT agriculture sensors that can be attached to the animals on a farm for monitoring their health and output. The other use case of these trackers is that they help farmers locate wandering animals.

What are the best practices to adopting IoT in agriculture?

To achieve business goals of implementing IoT, farmers can follow best practices of IoT implementation in agriculture, including:

1. Choosing the right hardware

An IoT ecosystem is only as strong as its building blocks, meaning you need to choose the sensors, devices, and databases (be it on the cloud or on-premise) best catered to your solution.

2. Connectivity

Even if all previous conditions are met, all the pieces in the chain need to be connected to each other via reliable communication protocols that do not cause a disruption in continuity.

3. Leveraging analytics

The data gathered is rendered useless if not followed by insightful action. That is why purchasing data analytics tools parallel with your IoT devices is paramount if you want to make heads or tails of the gathered data, and to actually build upon the information gathered.

With analytics, farmers can predict the volume and quality of yields in advance, as well as calculate their crops’ vulnerability to unfavorable weather conditions. These data will help the farmer make an informed decision.

4. Monitoring IoT architecture

If you decide to let the technology take care of irrigation, planting, harvesting, or other menial tasks, while you are attending to more important tasks at hand, then you need to invest in proper IoT monitoring tools that constantly keeps track of the devices’ functionality, continuity, health, and progress.

5.Ensuring data security

IoT technology works with large sets of data, gathered from every corner of your business, regardless of your sector. This puts the integrity of your network at risk of being attacked and your data exploited.

For example, a drone that transmits data to farm machinery connects to the internet but has little to zero security protection. To counter these threats, consider investing in cybersecurity platforms that safeguard the integrity of your digitized business.

For more on IoT

If you are curious about learning more about IoT’s applications in different sectors, read:

• The Ultimate Guide into IoT in Retail: Benefits, Challenges, & Case Studies
• IoT Could Guide Your Next Real Estate Purchase
• 7 Ways IoT Will Improve Your Banking Experience

Finally, If you believe your business will benefit from an IoT solution, feel free to check our data-driven hub of IoT solutions and tools.

And we will help you find the right tool for your business: