Technologies for Agricultural Cooperatives in New Jersey

Agricultural cooperatives are not innovative and have been influencing agricultural systems worldwide for generations. Cooperatives are groups of farmers who work together to explore different farmland management practices and offer various means of marketing their products. Agricultural cooperatives provide customers with a wide range of products and organize efficient movement and distribution chains of products. Besides, farming cooperatives bring together farmers who share common principles and values, offering their members to meet their needs at a minimal cost. 

New Jersey state ag facts

The state of New Jersey is rightly called the state of gardens, as it is one of the top ten states for the production of vegetables and fruits. The state has about 10 thousand farms that cover 750,000 acres. Farmers grow a variety of foods, including eggplants, peaches, spinach, cucumbers, asparagus, blueberries, tomatoes, and sweet corn. The season starts with asparagus growing in April and lasts until early November. Farm co-op NJ offers clients lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and strategic advance for the retailers. 

Different soils are found in the state, and microclimates are also other, so you can see the most suitable conditions for growing certain crops. For this reason, different crops are grown in different regions. The average temperature in January is 1C° (33°F), and the average temperature in July is 23C° (74°F). 

The average annual rainfall in the state is 114.3 centimeters (45 inches). Summers are hot and humid, but thunderstorms are common in the afternoons. New Jersey pioneered Jersey Fresh, which is a state-funded food branding program. Downer Soil is the state’s main soil. Such soil has average fertility and needs fertilizers. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture also operates school feeding programs. The program involves the prohibition of sweets, soda, and other harmful products in schools.

What challenges do agri-coops face? 

Agricultural cooperatives have become accustomed to relying on collecting information about crops by manual methods through scouting. However, this method is costly and labor-intensive. In addition, it is not always possible to obtain complete information that would become the basis for making effective decisions. Analysis of various factors, including crop rotation, weather conditions, and historical analysis of field productivity, will help solve several serious problems associated with diseases, pests, and yields. Accurate data enables you to make the right rational decisions that help increase crop yields.

Farming cooperatives may also have difficulty distributing fertilizer accurately. Excessive amounts of fertilizer lead to the suppression of microbial diversity and soil degradation, and the lack of fertilizer is the cause of reduced yields. This problem can be solved with the help of innovative precision farming platforms, but for cooperatives, all participants must use the same software. Otherwise, it will be challenging to make consistent decisions. The introduction of a single platform within the cooperative enables all participants to receive information about the state of crops based on data.

Crop Monitoring technologies for farm co-op

EOS Crop Monitoring is an all-in-one precision farming platform developed by EOS Data Analytics. The software provides reliable remote field monitoring through advanced satellite imagery analytics. EOS Crop Monitoring is a versatile solution that combines several types of farm information in one place, including local weather and soil moisture data.

The cooperation between agricultural cooperative members should be constant and carried out without problems. EOS Crop Monitoring offers a team management feature that allows cooperative participants to share information, ensuring access to reliable and accurate data. The software also helps with rational distribution of fertilizers and other inputs through zoning feature. Different areas of the field require a different approach to the application of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, water and other resources. Zoning allows users to calculate the necessary amount of input based on historical field productivity through years and each plot’s yielding abilities. 

The Data Manager feature allows farmers to upload datasets from farm equipment to the platform to evaluate the effectiveness of performed field activities, including fertilization, seed planting, spraying, and more. Users can visualize the data and get maps that display planting density, yield, soil moisture, and other parameters that the equipment recorded while working in the fields. 

Using this platform, farmers can analyze the state of the crop based on five vegetation indices and plan fieldwork, making decisions based on the state of plants and soil. Thus, users can identify potential crop health hazards and prevent them before damage occurs. EOS Crop Monitoring provides agronomists with precise and reliable weather data. Farmers have access to current, historical, and 14-day weather forecasts, which allow them to identify climatic patterns and respond on time to any weather-related problems. 

Cooperative farming advantages

Cooperatives have many meaningful benefits for farmers. These benefits are associated with both social and economic factors:

• In developing countries, farmers get the opportunity to be present in the global supply chain.

• Financial cooperatives and farmers’ credit unions better understand the agricultural community and allow loans to farmers who banks have turned down.

• Profits from agriculture remain local and reinvested, and the younger generation can gain skills within the farmer’s cooperative.

• Cooperatives promote economic independence and form strong global networks to share experience and knowledge.

• Agricultural cooperatives create jobs and strive to provide decent working conditions while ensuring gender equality.

• Agricultural cooperatives make a significant contribution to the food security of a growing population.