Agriculture – Digital in the field and in the stable

Years ago it seemed as if the farmer was actually becoming an “energy farmer” through the increased cultivation of plants as a source of raw materials for renewable energies. It is now becoming apparent that the farming profession is becoming more of a “digital farmer” than ever before: modern digital technologies are being used everywhere, in the stable and in the field, such as so-called “precision farming” with the targeted use of plant protection products field. The new technical possibilities in agriculture, which also have their digital downsides, are currently being presented at the “Green Week” in Berlin, the world’s largest agricultural and food trade fair.

The “Critical Agricultural Report” (KAB) presented this week by 26 independent organizations from agriculture, environmental, nature and animal protection as well as consumer and development policy also took up the technological trends and evaluated them from different perspectives. It has been noted that the digitalization of production processes in agriculture is now significantly influencing the operation of tractors and other agricultural machinery, for example for spreading fertilizer and pesticides. In combine harvesters, the cutting mechanism can be used so precisely that only a few centimeters of overlap with the area that has already been harvested is required. “This takes a lot of pressure off the driver and increases the impact,” says the KAB.

Biodiversity losses through rationalization

However, digitalization in conjunction with a further increase in device performance – for example in combine harvesters that now have a cutting width of twelve meters – also leads to a “significant increase in purchase prices and to a no less significant reduction in the ability to carry out repairs yourself.” The dependence on machine manufacturers is growing. One reaction to this is to increase the “inter-company use of machines,” as it is called in agricultural jargon. According to the agricultural report, in 2024 only 17 percent of agricultural businesses had their own combine harvester and 83 percent of businesses did threshing with the help of contractors or as part of machine rings. “This is a development that can significantly reduce costs, but also greatly increases the dependence of companies on the contractor’s planning,” emphasize the agricultural critics. Rationalization means that areas are further consolidated and managed uniformly. “This contributes significantly to the further reduction of biodiversity.”

In the area of ​​animal husbandry, digitalization has, among other things, “improved control of the automatic feeding of pigs and chickens as well as the control of the indoor climate in stables,” states the critical agricultural report. In dairy farming, 19 percent of farms now use milking robots. Overall, these would be “wonderful possibilities,” the report notes ironically – “if the technology works!” But that is not always the case, and then the consequences can be fatal. If, for example, the ventilation fails in chicken and pig farming, this can lead to the death of a large number of animals – “which unfortunately happens all too often in reality,” according to the report. For this reason, the purchase of new technology is often linked to maintenance contracts that promise a binding repair within a set time frame. This procedure is now standard for milking robots. Another consequence: “Because of the companies’ strong dependence on the electricity supply, many companies have now purchased their own emergency generator.”

Artificial intelligence is not yet widespread

However, the digitalization of agriculture in Germany is not characterized by an exuberant pace. Particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), there is currently a “breather,” the digital industry association Bitkom found last year in a representative survey of 500 agricultural businesses in Germany. The use of digital technologies in GPS satellite control of agricultural machinery has increased from 58 percent of companies in 2022 to 69 percent in 2024. This puts tractor control in first place ahead of the digital “field management index”, i.e. the management of arable farming activities and digital livestock planning, which are now used by 68 percent of companies.

In the same set of questions, however, only nine percent of farmers said they were already using AI on their farm today, the same number as two years earlier. At least 38 percent are planning to use AI in the future. The largest faction, at 53 percent, is still those farmers who keep their distance and state: “The use of AI is not an issue.” The greatest reservation is at 71 percent among small farms (20 to 49 hectares), while eleven percent of larger farms with more than 100 hectares are already using AI and 41 percent are planning to use it.

Among the “AI supporters”, the use of AI for climate and weather forecasts ranks at the top with 54 percent. This is followed by improving plant protection and AI applications in office work. Only at the end of the scale are the topics that pop up first in public discussion: AI-controlled agricultural machinery (with 13 percent use) and development of new plant varieties in research (seven percent). According to Bitkom, only 23 percent of German farms use drones today and only five percent have field robots already in the field.

But the boom can still come, because in general a large majority of farmers see digitalization as an opportunity for their business, namely 79 percent of those surveyed. Only 15 percent fear risks. For a minority of six percent, digitalization has no impact on operations, including many smaller organic farms. The biggest perceived advantages of digitalization are time savings (69 percent), greater efficiency in production (61 percent) and physical relief (57 percent).

Organic farming can benefit from robotics

However, the responsible trade association does not assess the digital situation of organic farms as bleak. “In our opinion, the use of digital technology depends less on the farming method than on the size or investment potential of the business,” explains Jennifer Brandt from the Berlin-Brandenburg Organic Farming Association (FÖL) when asked by “nd.Die Woche”. The aim is to “enable farmers to invest in expensive technology” through investment support. GPS navigation technology has long been “everyday life on farms, and some organic vegetable farms in the region are already experimenting with robotics.” Modern techniques would by no means be rejected. In principle, it is even the case that good AI-controlled hoeing technology for mechanical weed control using robots “can serve organic farming even more than conventional farming,” adds the FÖL spokeswoman.

Nevertheless, digitalization also increases systemic risks, which were examined by the Office for Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag (TAB) in a study focusing on the food industry. According to the study “Cybersecurity in the Food Supply” commissioned by the Bundestag, at least 182 digital attacks have been carried out on companies in the agricultural, food and hospitality industries in Germany in the last ten years.

“Digitalization is currently shaping all levels of food supply, from agricultural food production to retail,” states the study on technological development. Farmers are now also widely using mobile devices on their farms in their everyday work to access relevant information. In animal husbandry, software-based herd management systems, sensor technologies for individual animal observation and robot technologies for automating the milking process, feeding and cleaning are used.

Major cybersecurity knowledge gaps

The study gives the following assessment of the threat situation: “Even if the official reports give the impression that the food sector is little affected by cyber attacks compared to other sectors, the present analysis shows an alarming picture.” More than two thirds of the companies in the agriculture and food sector and Related sectors reported that they had already been the victim of one or more attacks in recent years. “The analysis suggests that the food industry has become increasingly targeted by cybercriminals, especially in recent years,” it says. As an example of the vulnerability of the food sector, reference is made to the 2021 attack on the operational technology of the Brazilian meat processor JBS SA, which crippled all of its North American and Australian meat production.

To avert danger, the TAB study recommends that smaller companies in particular “be encouraged to adopt more cybersecurity.” The official knowledge gaps regarding the state of cybersecurity are also large. It is therefore important to “collect data on the spread of technologies, to record incidents and protection levels more systematically and to systematically assess the opportunities and risks of new technologies,” say the technology researchers.

»Digitalization is currently shaping all levels of food supply.«

Office for Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag