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Know How / Technology

From nutrient sensors to auto-steer systems, budget guidance kits to electric tractors and clever combine attachments to crop monitoring drones, we’ve got everything covered.

We’ll explain how to get set up with tractor GPS, how to do it on the cheap and what the best options are on the market. Our technology area houses all the information in handy guides and product reviews for you to get stuck in to.

Key areas of focus:

  • Guidance systems
  • Livestock technology including robotic milkers
  • Alternative fuels such as methane
  • Drones and mapping technology
  • Future farm technology developments

Must reads

Case studies

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SPRAYING AND SPREADING

How a Berkshire contractor geared up for drone spraying

If you’ve had a go with a small consumer-type drone, it’s easy to understand why enthusiasts like Bracknell-based Steve Frost get hooked. They are relatively cheap, can capture great visuals…

TECHNOLOGY

UK made kit converts any tractor to RTK autosteer for £3k

Barrel-straight tramlines and perfectly matched bouts are now far more attainable thanks to the efforts of an enterprising West Country farmer. Having perfected the design of his own low-cost autosteer…

ARABLE

Olly Harrison sows OSR and cover crop with quadcopter drone

Merseyside arable farmer and agricultural YouTuber Olly Harrison planted a 1ha segment of oilseed rape via aerial application with a quadcopter drone. The P40 XAG drone also broadcast a cover…

TECHNOLOGY

Dairy farmer to sell home-built GPS and nutrient mapping tool

Uninspired by the array of off-the-shelf tractor guidance systems, County Tyrone dairy farmer Andrew Wright set about building one to suit his own requirements. A key reason for him going…

MACHINERY

NI farm transforms slurry and food waste into bio-LNG fuel

A multi-million pound diversification project has allowed an enterprising dairy farm to convert slurry and food waste into biofuel, as it looks to tap into the growing market for renewable…

Practical advice

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TECHNOLOGY

How to get cheaper or more accurate RTK guidance

There is something to be said for keeping the old skills alive, but when it comes to driving in straight lines, few people want to go back once they’ve had…

SOILS

How new tech aims to improve soil carbon measurement

Measuring soil organic carbon accurately has always been difficult. But with the rise in interest in carbon trading in agriculture, as well as the other benefits from managing carbon stocks…

POULTRY

4 ways poultry technology can help tackle rising costs

Poultry producers are enduring crippling costs and are desperate to see some of the risk move up the supply chain as they attempt to engage with retailers. So what can…

POULTRY

11 handy tech solutions for poultry farmers

Technology can take farm management to the next level, and a well thought-out investment can help cut costs overall. Whether you want to transform flock performance, reduce labour costs or…

TECHNOLOGY

Central tyre inflation systems – the options and prices

Pump ’em up for the road, let ’em down for the field. That is the essence of using a central tyre inflation system (CTIS) to actively manage inflation pressures and…

DAIRY

How to make the most of technical data from robots

As well as easing labour pressures and increasing milk yields, robotic milking systems have the potential to generate a huge amount of data that can be used to inform key…

Insights

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HARVEST

How new technology enables yield mapping for root crops

In-field yield mapping of root crops, such as sugar beet and potatoes, is tricky compared with grain crops, not least because of the added complication of soil attached to the…

SPRAYERS

SoilEssentials' Skai spot-sprayer cuts chemical use

Aware of the dearth of options for tackling pernicious grassland weeds without clobbering clover, Charlie Murray went in search of a solution. The core of his Clyde Agriculture business, which…

DAIRY

5 new products at Dairy-Tech 2025 to improve efficiency

In a precarious time for the industry, technology to enhance productivity has never been more important. Here, we take a look at just a few of the new products that…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

What the latest in-field pest and disease tech can offer

The development of “smart” spore-trapping systems that combine on-site analysis and real-time reporting to track the spread of diseases mean that the same-day detection of more than one pathogen will…

SPRAYERS

Aussies offer spot-spraying system for autonomous tractors

A new AutoFill docking system for SwarmFarm Robotics’ autonomous pivot-steer tractor units means they can top up their spray tanks without human intervention. Once the liquid level falls below a…

CROP MANAGEMENT

3 adoption steps for AI to transform arable farming

Technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) are primed to progressively change the way we farm, ultimately leading to a fundamental shift in the way farmers grow crops. That’s the prediction of…

TRACTORS

£50k Sabanto Steward kit gets Fendt 700 working autonomously

Long, lonely hours spent cultivating, drilling and mowing could be a thing of the past with the advent of a plug-in kit that can get any autosteer-ready tractor operating autonomously.…

CROP MANAGEMENT

Why agri-tech and nature have a place on the farm of the future

Innovative approaches and technical solutions sat alongside nature-friendly practices as the industry looked for potential ways to tackle the industry’s multiple challenges at Rase’s Farm of the Future event. Delivered…

PULSES

Genetic ‘off switch’ and zinc find could promote N fixation

A genetic “off switch” that shuts down nitrogen fixation when soil nitrate levels are high has been identified by a global group of scientists. The regulator gene was successfully removed,…

ARABLE

AI aims to predict key farm data from yields to pest threat

UK researchers are using artificial intelligence to digitally simulate farms and accurately predict parameters such as output, nutrient losses and pest attacks. Rothamsted Research is making significant advances with its…

OFC

OFC 2025: How gene editing in pigs can help eliminate disease

The Oxford Farming Conference returns next January with Farmers Weekly as the media partner. Farmers Weekly talks to one of the speakers, Dr Craig Lewis. The son of a pig…

Technology reviews and tests

ENVIRONMENT

How do three main farm carbon calculators compare?

Want to know how much your farm is contributing to industry net-zero targets and how to improve? Or are you looking to access carbon trading markets or other financial incentives…

TECHNOLOGY

On test: New hard-as-nails Cat S42 smartphone

Many smartphones have come a cropper in merciless farmyard environments, but Cat reckons its latest drop-proof S42 can survive where the bigger names fail. The new rugged handset is built…

COMBINES

Retrofit yield monitor offers crop data on old combines

Canadian outfit Farm TRX has developed a relatively cheap retrofit yield monitor that is able to generate downloadable crop performance maps via apps that run on a standard smartphone or…

ATVS AND UTVS

How the ATVtrac tracker finds stolen bikes in under two hours

Millions of pounds’ worth of ATVs and farm buggies have been recovered thanks to retrofit tracking systems. The covert kits are fitted discreetly in the machine’s shell and ping regular…

DAIRY

Buyer's guide: Teat disinfection technology

As herd sizes increase and labour sourcing continues to create challenges, more farmers are turning to automated teat disinfection technologies to ease pressure in the parlour and promote efficiencies. Although…

TECHNOLOGY

Collar-mounted GPS tracker for lost dogs on test

Whether it’s a working sheepdog or an ancient scruffy terrier that spends most of its time by the Aga, losing a dog is pretty upsetting. Luckily, there are now serveral…

DAIRY

9 new products to be showcased at Dairy-Tech 2019

After the successful inaugural show last year, Dairy-Tech is back for 2019 and will feature lots of the latest inventions and equipment on the market. New products at the event…

TECHNOLOGY

Video: Land Rover's butch Explore smartphone on test

Land Rover fans who want a smartphone to match their rugged workhorse are in for a treat with the Explore – a tough handset built to take the punishment of…

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