Farmers have always tended to be eager adopters of technology, whether it is direct seeding equipment, or the use of GPS.
But one of the most powerful technological tools at the disposal of the farmers today is the cellphone, said Peter Gredig with AgNition Inc. who spoke in Canora last Wednesday.
However, Gredig said most farmers do not use their cellphones to their best advantage as a farm tool.
鈥淭his is really about figuring out you鈥檙e carrying around a very powerful tool,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about a mobile mindset.鈥�
Gredig said the average 13-year-old is at home in a world where cellphones are used for varied applications, often simultaneously, and in concert with others connected through their devices. He said a teenager can take a cellphone 鈥渙ut of the box and within a week they can make it tap dance.鈥�
And in the hands of a teen a cellphone is rarely a phone.
鈥淭he last thing a teenager does with a Smartphone is to use it as a phone,鈥� said Gredig. 鈥淭hey max out use. They have no fear of it. They get it.鈥�
As an example, Gredig said teens are not tied to the television set to watch their favourite show. They watch it online 鈥渨aiting for the bus, or in the can.
鈥淚t鈥檚 understanding how powerful the real time aspect is.鈥�
Farmers don鈥檛 always see such potential, he added.
The first thing a cellphone allows is a detachment from the farm office. Gredig said he used to be office bound, but added, 鈥渘ow I say get out of the office.鈥�
In terms of actual cellphones, Gredig said the platform chosen is one of personal preference.
鈥淭hey all do similar things,鈥� he said, adding in terms of applications 鈥渆verybody builds now for Android庐 and iPhones庐.鈥�
And tablets are 鈥渟tarting to become more like laptops,鈥� with Android庐 and Apple 鈥渒ings of the hill.鈥�
While there are a varied range of farm uses for a cellphone, Gredig said the first is one of safety. If a farmer has a breakdown in the field, gets caught in machinery or similar situation, a cellphone can be a lifeline to help.
鈥淏ut you have to have it on your person,鈥� he said, adding anecdotally there is a story of a farmer with his arm caught in a piece of machinery who could see his cellphone in the cab, but could not reach it to call for help.
So Gredig said while Bluetooth ear pieces may be out of favour, he stills wears one in the field.
鈥淔or a farmer I think it鈥檚 perfect,鈥� he said, because it gives a farmer access to their farm up to 100-feet away.
But use goes beyond safety.
As an example Gredig said 鈥渢he Smartphone really is going to replace your wallet.鈥� He said the day of swiping an item and owning it by the time you put in your cart in the store is close by.
鈥淣o more cashiers,鈥� he said.
The system brings up concerns over security, but Gredig is not particularly worried.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 as secure, or more securer than a debit card,鈥� he said, adding if you lose your wallet they have your cards, but lose a cellphone 鈥渁nd 30-seconds later a password kicks in,鈥� making it basically useless.
On the farm the tablet is now capable of replacing many of the monitors now used in tractors, combines, and other equipment, taking the role 鈥渙f all the boxes they鈥檝e been selling us and all that spaghetti (wiring),鈥� said Gredig. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 a good step in the right direction.鈥�
Social media access is also a boon for farmers.
鈥淵ou have access to thousands and thousands of brains,鈥� said Gredig.
For example, it is immediate access to consumer data.
鈥淏efore you buy anything type it into YouTube for reviews,鈥� said Gredig.
Gredig told the story of how being connected to farmers in Ontario via Twitter he learned of the arrival of army worms in area crops, was able to purchase insecticide and apply it in time to save thousands in terms of potential crop loss. He said that sort of benefit is not an everyday occurrence, but showed the power of being in touch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 collection of intelligence,鈥� said Gredig.
The key is keeping your Twitter list relevant to the job.
鈥淔ollow the people who have the same brain space as you do,鈥� said Gredig. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 watch Twitter day-to-day, but at times it鈥檚 very useful.鈥�
The Smartphome also has the potential to be a GPS marker.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the key things for farmers to know how to use it,鈥� said Gredig.
The ability to video chat is another aspect of Smartphone technology farmers should be using, said Gredig.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most powerful thing your phone does,鈥� he said.
Gredig told those attending to think about an employee calling from the field after hearing a noise in there machinery. With video chat, the employee can show the farmer the equipment, and he can hear the noise too.
鈥淗e can do everything but smell it,鈥� he said.
Or for a livestock producer 鈥渉e can show the veterinarian what sort of herd health issues you have.鈥�
The tech grows in power with voice activation, which allows hands-free input. While people are often disappointed in voice activation, Gredig said the systems need time to learn.
鈥淚t鈥檚 learning your speech patterns. As you use it, it gets better and better,鈥� he said. 鈥溾�� And you鈥檙e not fondling these things (phones) anymore.鈥�
And more 鈥榮mart鈥� tech is on its way.
鈥淭he next trend I see is things that you wear,鈥� he said.
That tech will range from the watch which tracks your daily steps and when you wake at night, to toothbrushes which track how good a job your do brushing, to a contact lens which tracks a diabetic鈥檚 blood sugars on a constant basis.
Gredig said it is becoming 鈥渁n Internet of things鈥� with all the various devices working in a network.
As an example a system which reduces the volume on the television when the cellphone rings because it recognizes you need quiet to talk on the phone, or the cellphone which sends a message to your thermostat when you are five miles from home to raise the temperature.
The challenge for the farmer is 鈥渢o start thinking how we will use these things,鈥� said Gredig.
Gredig said while there are now thousands of 鈥榓pps鈥� being created, with some 48,000 downloaded every minute, or every day, few are specific to agriculture, so farmers need to adapt them to their own purposes.
There are thousands of business apps, from time sheets, to expense trackers to mobile banking, which he said are adaptable to farmer needs.
And the data input through such apps can simply be uploaded to a cloud for storage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about the clouds now. Don鈥檛 fear the clouds,鈥� said Gredig.
