US Farmers Are Using IoT Solutions Says a New Ag-Tech Study by Alpha-Brown

IoT is used in agriculture to control remote instruments and sensors in order to optimize farm work. IoT solutions enable farmers to use different tools, such as smart sensors (measuring light, temperature, soil moisture, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, pest infestation, soil content or nutrients, location, etc.), applications and systems that save time, money and energy.

A recent study, conducted by ag-tech market research company Alpha Brown, surveyed more than 1,600 farmers and ranchers in the U.S. and seems to indicate that IoT solutions are currently being used by 250,000 farmers in the U.S., mainly for livestock and cereal crops. The technology is also used on a smaller scale in other farming operations, such as dairy, vegetable, fruits and greenhouses.

Furthermore, the study reveals that more than half of U.S farmers have an interest in buying such solutions, which reflects a market potential of 1.1 million farmers and market size of $4 billion a year.

“We believe that in order to develop a profitable product or to make smart investments, a broad and detailed understanding of the potential customers' (farmers) demand is needed,” said Gil Rabinovich, CEO, Alpha-Brown. “IoT is still a developing market in the Ag-Tech world, and it is important for suppliers to fully understand the farmers' interests and expectations of the emerging technologies. Our research indicates that the market has much room for growth and that is certainly encouraging.”

The report is available for purchase here.

Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.

Edited by Ken Briodagh