4 Tips for Choosing the Right AgTech Solution

Article by Emily Folk

AgTech is a segment dedicated to applying technology to farming. Some options include sensors, apps and software interfaces that provide crucial data to help farmers track their growing seasons. If you’re thinking about using AgTech, keep these things in mind to guide your decision.

1. Consider What You Want to Accomplish

A good starting point is to figure out what challenges your agriculture enterprise faces that AgTech could help you overcome. If you’re still feeling doubtful about whether now is the right time to start using AgTech, statistics indicate you can look forward to success. A study of people who had adopted AgTech found that 89% felt highly satisfied with it.

You may be having difficulty with the health of your crops and decide you need sensor technology to monitor soil humidity. Sensors can also be useful in monitoring disease, fungi or pests on plants and potentially prevent a whole crop from being wiped out that season.

2. Investigate the User-Friendliness Aspect

In ideal cases, people find that AgTech solutions are easy to use and that it doesn’t take a long time to learn them. As you put some products or brands on your shortlist, dig deeper and find reviews from fellow farmers and ranchers who have applied the technology to their situations.

You can also get details from product websites, specifically if they include things like screenshots, videos and guides. Many AgTech solutions have trial periods during which you can try the product. Researching whether something is easy to use should help you feel more comfortable about the idea of incorporating it into your daily workflow.

3. Have a Long-Term Mindset

The goal of many well-made AgTech products is to reduce the labor requirements needed for operations. So, it’s understandable that people wonder whether the AgTech industry might hurt people who have farming jobs. The consensus from economists is that increased automation will create short-term employment challenges, but provide long-term benefits.

Stay focused on how AgTech could help you achieve future goals that may remain out of reach without the help of technology. For example, you may decide to earn a sustainability certification to show customers they can trust you to uphold environmentally friendly practices.

Perhaps you’ve started thinking about how your agriculture operation fits the needs of the planet and its inhabitants. Research indicates the world’s population will reach 9 billion, resulting in a 70% increase in food requirements. It doesn’t help matters that climate change and pollution are causing water scarcity. Farmers have to figure out how to feed more people with fewer resources.

4. Select With Patience and Purpose

Choosing AgTech is not something to do hastily. Take the time you need to see what’s available and which options are most appropriate for your needs. Doing these things increases the chances you’ll end up a happy purchaser.

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Photos: Getty Images via Canva