World Soil Day: High Tech In Farming

• Published date: 29 November 2022
• Law Firm: J A Kemp LLP
• Author: Mr Richard Morris

One of the oldest areas in which technology has made its impact on human civilisation is farming. The development of agricultural techniques in the Neolithic period allowed humans to transition from nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyles to living in permanent settlements. The agricultural revolution in Britain through the 17^th to 19^th centuries led to a huge increase in productivity that freed up labour for the Industrial Revolution. New developments in agriculture will continue to be crucial in future as farming adapts to new challenges such as climate change. DEFRA (the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) recently announced '11 million in funding to support pilot projects under their Farming Innovation Programme. On World Soil Day, we consider some of these projects and how developments in technology may continue to affect farming practices in the future.

Fertilisers

The use of artificial fertilisers has greatly increased crop yields over the last hundred years. Nitrogen in particular can be fixed from the atmosphere to produce fertiliser products such as ammonia and ammonium nitrate, and this is commonly achieved using the Haber process. This is a...