Precision farming: Leaders in the field

The day-to-day needs of a growing global population may vary, but everyone needs to eat and feeding the world is going to put a huge strain on the world’s agricultural resources.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts that the current world population of 7.6 billion will grow to 8.6 billion by 2030 and 9.8 billion by 2050.

According to Clive Blacker, director of Precision Decisions, a York-based supplier of precision farming services, there are estimates suggesting that crop yields will have to increase by 65-70 per cent in the 32 years to 2050. This could be problematic. “In the last 10 years we’ve hardly seen a five per cent increase in productivity,” he said.

One of the reasons for this is the size of agricultural machinery, which has steadily grown bigger. A significant proportion of farming is weather-dependent, which gives farmers in Britain unpredictable weather windows. Bigger machines get jobs done more quickly, and they also help compensate for the reduced numbers of available rural staff.