Improving the efficiencies of agricultural operations through technology can help save farmers money in the long-term and improve their environmental credentials.
Chris Wray, a combinable crops farmer from Spalding, Lincolnshire, converted a barn into a smart home back in 2010 but has since adapted the commercial domestic technology to suit his farming needs.
"A mixture of inherent inquisitive geekiness led me to explore putting in a system which I could control from my phone and add in other elements, such as operating roller doors remotely," he said.
"Weather monitoring automatically adjusts temperatures in the home and farm buildings to optimise performance.
"Grain temperature probes monitor the temperature of the grain every half an hour, saving us a job, although we still have to go and visually check the grain heap each week.
"Farmers hate being disconnected from their farm and as it is all controlled through a phone, the technology will alert me to any live issues, which then enables me to address them quicker regardless of my location.
Optimum
"It just makes life in the yard easier as operations are running at their most optimum, saving cost and energy."
He added the technology enabled him to monitor and change practices but said the biggest issue was what to do with all the data collected.
"The environment did not play an active part in my decision to invest in the technology," he said.
"But in reality it does help lower my farm's carbon footprint as it ensures the farm is not burning energy wastefully and operations are as productive as they can be."
