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Machine learning and connectivity the next challenges for agtech
Carla Wong
The Australian Farmer recently spoke with Peter Schmidt, Microsoft Australia Agriculture Industry Specialist, about Microsoft’s role as a key driver of agtech, the current landscape for emerging technology and current agtech trends that will change the future of farming.
TAF : What is Microsoft currently doing in terms of ag and ag tech?
PS: “Microsoft has been investing heavily in agriculture over the past four or five years, in a few areas.
“The first, is how connectivity is provided. We have an initiative in the US called Microsoft Airband , which uses unused TV frequencies and parts of the radio spectrum to provide internet connectivity to rural areas. That is something we are looking to get into Australia as well.
“The other thing is a huge proliferation of sensors and IoT devices that are collecting data out in the field. The challenge will always be that we never have enough connectivity to process that data. Microsoft has invented ‘edge’ computing which allows you to process or run a machine-learning model on a low-power device and therefore provide that information without having to connect back to the cloud.
“The other two areas are around machine learning and artificial intelligence. Microsoft has a huge team of data scientists working on the algorithms for image analysis, video analysis and all sorts of data processing. Cloud computing gives you the ability to crunch very large volumes of data in a meaningful way, and process things like images and video in real time. That is helping us to glean new insights into how animals behave, how crops grow and so on.
“Another big challenge we have is collecting data in a standard way, so we are working with industry bodies on what we are calling our ‘common data’ model. This is our way of bringing data into a standard structure and format. We then aggregate that data across multiple farms and multiple locations. Part of it is about protecting the privacy and security of that data, and developing technology that allows machine learning to run on encrypted data.”
TAF: How do you think these specific advances have changed, or will change, the way that farmers work?
PS: “Where we’re seeing rapid innovation and evidence of success of these technologies is in the horticultural sector, where higher value crops mean you can invest more in technology. For example, if you’re growing something like lettuce – which has a two-week life cycle – you can innovate and fine-tune your machine models to a high degree. Likewise, if you’re growing in a shipping container or under controlled lighting, or you can control all aspects of the environment, you’d get a much faster return on that investment.”
TAF: What other agtech innovations do you think are on the horizon?
PS: “There’s a lot of interest in automation and robotics and where they can be used to deal with some of the more mundane activities. Even processes such as weeding crops, you can potentially do that without the use of chemicals now, using robots. We do quite a lot with satellite and aerial image analysis, and Airbus is launching high-altitude drones that provide real time or near-real time images as well. It allows you to monitor things more closely, and get more meaningful insights.
“There’s a project that Bill Gates has invested in with AirBus called EarthNow. They aim to provide coverage for the whole planet with satellites or other technologies to provide real time high definition streaming video, and machine learning to interpret data, so you could even spot a bushfire starting or a tornado starting to form.”
TAF: Is there a fear of overloading on tech? Do you think farmers need more tech? Or do you think we have enough?
PS: “I’ve been involved with agtech for thirty years now. I think the business need is still the same, but we just have better ways of solving the problems. It is three things that bother farmers. One is: ‘how can it solve my problem?’, second is: ‘can I see a return on that investment?’ and the third one is: ‘can I use this technology?’. It is important to look at technologies that farmers can use in a very practical way. Again, a lot of them will buy hi-tech machinery with hi-tech sensors and capabilities, but turn them off or never use them. I don’t think we’re lacking in technology, it’s more the interpretation of data presented to farmers in ways that can aid decision-making.”
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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