Hokkaido Agricultural Research Center, NARO

In upland farming in Hokkaido, rotation cropping is carried out using field crops such as sugar beets, potato, beans, and wheat as well as vegetables such as onions and cabbage. In recent years, stable production of these crops had become difficult due to abnormal weather and labor shortage.
The Smart Farming System Group conducts research and technological development on rotational crop production using fields (soil), crops, and weather information.
Specifically,

• We will develop a method to obtain highly accurate and high-density meteorological information. By using this information, we will improve the accuracy of crop growth and yield prediction. We will improve the new field environment management technology based meteorological information for stable crop yields.
• We aim to construct and demonstrate a large-scale farming system model used ISOBUS (common communication control technology), agricultural robots, drones, sensor data, AI, and integrated cloud of production historical data. We will promote efficient smart agriculture and high-precision machine work technology, and contribute to the cost reduction of agriculture.
•  We will develop the following crop production technologies that utilize information technology. Crop management system that eliminate work competition and increase the yield or value of crops. Efficient farming method and information utilization method for large-scale farmers and production support organizations.