Big Agricultural Market Trends to Watch for in 2019 and Beyond

Big Agricultural Market Trends to Watch for in 2019 and Beyond

Agriculture is a key player in the economy. There is a growing need to adapt farming techniques that are effective. Also, the growing population puts more pressure on farmers to meet the demand for food.

The world population is estimated to rise to 10 billion by the year 2050 as reported by the UN FAO. Technological advancements and the mechanization of agriculture help in making the entire farming process easier. It also leads to higher yields.

2019 should be a big year for big agriculture, equipment manufacturers in particular. We identified some key trends to look out for in the year ahead. 

Agriculture Current Events

To make agricultural improvements, you need to know where you are and define where you want to be. Agriculture is a sector with constant developments and innovations, which help in adding efforts to meet the demand for food and race to feed the world.

The current agriculture events include the mechanization of agricultural processes and animal treatment concerns. There is also the introduction of seed varieties that are high-yielding, resistant to diseases and drought and have a shorter growth period.

Currently, there is a need to produce enough crop, and reduce post-harvest losses. Due to climate change, efforts are being put to reduce reliance on rain-fed farming.

Big Agriculture Market Trends to Watch for in 2019 and Beyond

If you are a key player in the big agriculture (AG) industry, it is good that you stay in the know. By doing so, you can know what to grow and how best to sow, reap and store harvests. Here are some of the big AG trends that you should not miss in the year 2019 and beyond.

Data Technology Acceleration

Successful agricultural projects rely on a lot of data and informed decisions. Farming by assumption is at times unreliable and a habit of the past. In 2019 and beyond, data will supplement the knowledge that farmers have.

Precision farming equipment such as greenness sensors, aerial satellite imagery, soil maps, and weather data points provide farmers with useful data. Data ownership debates are bound to happen and we can expect these to take place in the coming years. 

A Shift in Meat Consumption

Meat consumption in the U.S. declined by 7.8% in the period between the year 2007 and 2013. China has been the world’s top consumer of meat since the year 1992.

By 2012, China’s meat consumption will have more than doubled that of the U.S. China will be able to import finished goods with ease, especially after the acquisition of Smithfield Foods by Shuanghui International.

Speed-Breeding Crops

To feed the future, there has been a need to speed up the harvest times. The effect of global warming has also led to erratic weather. This reduces the reliability and sustainability of rain-fed agriculture.

Therefore, it has been a race against time. Speed-breeding is an agricultural innovation whereby light and temperature is controlled. This then speeds up plant growth.

Speed-breeding is a reliable alternative to genetically-modified foods since the latter still has a lot of debate surrounding it.

Digital Farming

The adoption of robotics and automation in farms, large and small, is bound to happen. There are youths who are moving to the urban areas and leaving the elderly to tend to the farms. By adopting the easier methods of farming, farming will be less tedious to the farmers.

The continuous progress in agriculture technology will make cultivating and harvesting easier. Remote sensing helps the farmer to be more in touch with the farm, even though they may be away.

Tracing Foods Back to the Farm

There has been a need to trace the food back to the farm. This is due to the growing health issues that crop up due to the type and quality of crop that people consume.

Contracting farming helps in tracing the produce to the farmer. It also helps in meeting the quality and standards of food production.

Reduction of the Environmental Footprint

There is a growing awareness of the impact that some farming practice has on the environment. For this reason, more farmers will move to organic farming. The pesticides and farm sprays will also have a less negative impact on the environment.

Key Companies in the Big AG Industry

There are some companies which make notable contributions to the big AG trends. These include Deere & Company, Mahindra Group, AGCO Corporation, Weifang Euroking Machinery, Agrostroj Pelhrimov A.S., Valmont Industries Incorporated, Concern Tractor Plants, KUBOTA corporation, China National Machinery Industry Corporation, Same Deutz-Fahr Group (SDF), Escorts Limited, and Weifang Euroking Machinery.

These companies continue to innovate machinery that meets the demand of farmers. The equipment and machinery include tractors, power tillers, combine harvesters, power weeder, seed drills, rotavators, and threshers. The modern equipment makes agriculture more productive.

Investors also know that agriculture is the best sector to invest in. Most of these investors are putting funds into agricultural companies, including machine and equipment manufacturers.

The 4th Agricultural Revolution

We are in the 4th agricultural revolution and we can only expect the trends to get bigger and better. To have more hands on the farm, there is a need to urge more millennials to get into farming.

When it comes to transacting, various types of payments are being introduced. Blockchain is an acceptable currency in various industries. The agriculture sector is catching up and the first blockchain commodity transaction was done.

Louis Dreyfus (LDC) partnered with Societe Generale, ABN, ING, and Amro to complete it. This prototype was for a soybean shipment transaction. It featured no paper contracts, manual checks, or certificates.

The digital transaction was complete within a short period of time. The completion of paper transactions would have been five times the duration taken. This increases traceability, transparency, and efficiency of the supply chain.

Big Agriculture Needs Big Savings

If you are in big agriculture, you know the value added by getting high-quality products and farm machinery. Good input will mean good output and big higher yields.

You can save big by getting Barn Door AG deals and joining our customer loyalty program.