Agriculture and the Internet

The Internet has revolutionized and transformed agriculture in the 21st century because of the rapid expansion of information access and its utilization. Farmers and ranchers around the world rely on Internet connections and its applications to manage various aspects of their agricultural production business, including input levels (seed and feed), commodity prices and markets, equipment performance (irrigation systems), optimal planting and harvesting times (remote sensing), and hourly weather updates (agricultural weather stations). Such activities allow them to minimize costs, maximize profits, and compete locally and globally for buyers and consumers, who increasingly want to know where and how their food is being produced. Agricultural buyers and consumers also use Internet sites and applications for education and for purchasing decisions. Industrial agriculture relies on data-centric technologies ...