By Lukie Pieterse, Editor and Publisher, Potato News Today
Farming in a New Era of Risk
Across the globe, potato growers are entering a new era—one where resilience is not just a desirable trait, but a survival strategy. Climate disruptions are becoming more frequent and severe. Input prices are climbing. Labor shortages are stretching operations thin. Consumers and regulators alike are demanding higher traceability, reduced waste, and lower environmental footprints. Amid these pressures, traditional farming systems—built on seasonal intuition and reactive management—are no longer enough. To navigate this complexity, the global potato industry is turning to technology—not as a futuristic add-on, but as a critical enabler of smarter, more responsive farming.
Whether it’s automating irrigation based on real-time soil data, identifying disease before it spreads using AI-driven imaging, or optimizing storage conditions to prevent shrinkage, the tools of modern agriculture are becoming the front line of resilience. For the potato sector, this shift couldn’t be more timely. The crop is especially sensitive to heat stress, irregular water availability, and post-harvest handling errors. Margins are tightening, and quality standards are only getting stricter—especially for processors and exporters. The difference between a profitable season and a lost one can now hinge on the ability to detect, decide, and act—before the damage is done.
Fortunately, innovation is rising to the occasion. From precision field monitoring and autonomous equipment to smart storage systems and predictive analytics, technologies that once seemed out of reach are now reshaping daily operations on farms large and small. And in many regions, they are not just improving efficiency—they are unlocking entirely new models of risk management, market access, and long-term sustainability.
Precision Agriculture in the Field – Monitoring, Mapping, and Managing Variability
The days of treating every part of the potato field the same are fading fast. In the era of climate stress, high input costs, and environmental scrutiny, precision agriculture (PA) offers growers the tools to manage variability, optimize input use, and reduce production risk with unprecedented accuracy. Precision ag is not one technology—it’s an integrated approach built on measurement, modeling, and management. Whether through sensors, satellites, or automated equipment, PA allows farmers to fine-tune decisions based on what’s happening within specific zones of their field, in real time.
Key PA technologies being adopted in potato production include: Multispectral and thermal drone imaging to identify crop stress, disease hotspots, and canopy density early in the season. IoT-connected soil probes that monitor moisture, temperature, electrical conductivity, and even nitrate levels in real time. Electromagnetic soil mapping and yield monitoring to assess field variability and inform zone-based management. GPS-guided planters and harvesters to ensure accurate seed spacing, depth control, and harvest data capture. Variable Rate Technology (VRT) for inputs such as fertilizers, lime, water, and crop protection products.
Practical benefits for growers include: Reduced input costs by applying only what’s needed, where it’s needed. Improved yield uniformity and tuber sizing, crucial for processors and fresh pack. Early detection of problems—from irrigation misfires to nutrient imbalances—before they affect final yield. Improved environmental compliance through reduced runoff and leaching.
In Alberta and Idaho, drone imagery combined with NDVI mapping has helped growers reduce nitrogen use by 15–25% while improving size profiles for russet varieties. In Belgium, smart irrigation scheduling based on tensiometers and real-time weather data has shown to reduce water use by 20–30% in sandy soils. In India and Bangladesh, farmer cooperatives are beginning to adopt GPS-enabled planters and VRT sprayers to improve plant stand and input efficiency in compact, multi-plot systems. In more advanced systems, precision ag also integrates machine learning algorithms to automatically adjust fertilizer applications based on expected rainfall and soil conditions, or to flag potential disease threats before they spread. Some large-scale operations are layering in historical satellite imagery, in-field yield maps, and climate forecasts to inform everything from planting dates to vine kill timing.
But precision ag isn’t just for big farms. Around the world, scalable versions of these technologies—such as mobile sensor kits, drone service providers, and co-op-owned VRT applicators—are increasingly reaching mid-sized and even smallholder producers. What’s emerging is a model of farming that’s not just more efficient—it’s proactively resilient. It gives growers the power to anticipate stress, adapt inputs, and stay ahead of risk. In a crop as sensitive as potatoes, that’s a game-changer.
Predictive Analytics and Early-Warning Systems – Turning Data into Decisions
In today’s increasingly unpredictable farming environment, knowing what’s happening in your field isn’t enough. What really matters is knowing what’s going to happen next, and how to
