Thirst for innovation driving Kiwi farms

Milking sheds are just one aspect of farming operations to benefit from the latest in technology.

For farmers today, the state of the internet highway can be more important than the state of rural roads.

When Waikato Federated Farmers president Chris Lewis signed up to Vodafone's wireless rural broadband package to deliver fast broadband to the house and cowshed he initially didn't realise how much life could change.

Faster cellphone and internet speeds has meant massive increases in sustainability and productivity, particularly in the highly automated cowshed.

"When we do have issues with the cowshed systems, the strength of the broadband allows technicians anywhere in the world - we've even had a guy in Israel - to remotely go in through our computer and see if they can suss out what the issue is and help me fix it," Chris said.

The automated cowshed drafts the cows, weighs them at every milking, uses sensors to feed them, and runs the wash system for the plant - as well as the milk silos.

"It cuts out all the human error. The computer just does what it's told and puts through the correct cold wash, hot wash, right amount of alkaline and acids for the plant and the vat, so when we start up again we know it's been accurately done," Chris said.

The system has saved around 10 hours a week of staff time, and guarantees a result that meets the dairy company's, and ultimately consumers', standards.

2017 has already been pinpointed by Vodafone as the year of data explosion, as more businesses embrace the Internet of Things, and fast developing technologies.

Sharina Nisha, Vodafone's head of platforms design and delivery, said the company's committed investment in the network is paying dividends.

"We know people's consumption of data this year will surpass last year, as we've previously seen a 100 per cent growth in data year-on-year. We really are living in the on-demand era," she said.

"Mobile experiences are becoming richer and more immersive, and this, in turn, requires more bandwidth and ever-faster speeds," Sharina added.

Chris Lewis agrees: "The common comment I hear now is we've got the faster broadband, we actually want more. When we first started up we might've got 60 gigabytes. We've blown through that, it's up to 120, so the government needs to roll out more so it's more accessible."

Apps enable workers on the Lewis farm to send PXTs of what needs fixing, even in parts with little phone reception, and helps overcome any language uncertainties for migrant workers.

It's what technology will bring in 2017 that Chris Lewis is pinning his hopes on though, with big data a possible lifeline for proving a point when it comes to hot button topics in the community.

"Farmers are looking for better ways to record their compliance, whether it's employment or the environment [effluent, water] and be able to easily report their results back and show that farmers are doing a fantastic job.

"We all know that's happening, we just need better technology," Chris said.

"If we could show an analysis of regional and national data at the push of a button that would be great to tell the New Zealand story."

When Chris advertises jobs on his farm, the technology he's been able to utilise through Vodafone's rural broadband is a selling point, enabling him to appeal to the younger generation of worker.

He's looking forward to what the next few years could bring, given how fast things have moved in the past decade.

"In 10 years' time, I guess the current technology will get thinner, faster. Now they're talking driverless cars, and driverless tractors. It's kind of mind-blowing," Chris said.

An impressive journey, seemingly limited only by the imaginations of those designing the technology now dominating the cyberspace superhighway.