With the rapid development of science technology science,digital agriculture has been put forward formally.Digital agriculture,both intensive and information,is a agricultural techology with the support of geo-spatial and information techology,integrating organicially remote sense ,computer techology,automation techniques,GIS,GPS and other highly fresh techology with geography,agriculture,ecology,pedology and other basis subjects in order that supervises crops in the process of agricultural growth.It aims to regularly acquire the condition of agricultural growth,water yield,pest and disease damage,forming dynamic and spacial information system to make full use of agricultural resources,lower production cost,improve ecology environment and ensure the quality of crops.Digital agriculture combines IT with the whole agricultural course effectively,which attaches important significance to reform traditional agriculture and transform agricultural production pattern.There are three characteristics.First,agricultural production is highly professional,large-scale and entrepreneurial.Second,there is a through and agricultural production system.In the end,digital agriculture builds a kind of trinity among agricultural education,science research,popularization.

 Recently,digital agriculture techology has made rapid progress in China,making a breakthrough in the key and digital agriculture techology,developing a series of practical production of digital agriculture techology and building networking and digital agriculture platform.We have also formed a frame of digital agriculture techology and a system of digital agriculture techology,which promotes agricultural informatization and modernization in China.   

 BUILDING DIGITAL FARMS FOR THE FUTURE

It is universally acknowledged that agriculture is vital for a country's development as well as people's standard of living. The cultivated farmland has been decreased in the past few years, while the population has been increasing day by day. How to produce more plants by using less resources would become a big problem for today's people.

Fortunately, someone came up with a good idea. The MIT's open agriculture initiative is promoting the digital farms building, which will help us produce more and more healthy and nutritional plants in a more modern way.

At first, let me illustrate some understandings about " What's digital farms?" It's a place in which plants could grow well without soil by the use of hydroponics. And the techniques could help you to produce plants in a totally controlled environment. For example, you can check everything from content to temperature, even the light exposure can be regulated. And you can always make those plants look, taste and grow exactly the way you want them to be.

What are the benefits of digital farms? In fact, there are lots of big advantages.

First, it's very good at saving time. By using these methods, you could make the plants grow three to five times faster than traditional farming, which would help you save a lot of time and improve the productivity. Also, you might do something like harvesting within twenty minutes.

Second, it's very water-saving, you just need to use 70% to 90% percent less water than traditional farming to produce the same plants. I think it would be especially meaningful for those deserted places in the northwest of China. People there could produce cabbages and some other vegetables in the local area instead of purchasing them from other places.

Third, it's much more convenient than traditional farming. It's much easier for carrying.So you can place those digital farming machines closer to cities, and you can even put them in the supermarket.

Fourth, you can save a lot of space by adapting digital farms. If the plants were harvested, you could plant the same or different plants at the same place again and again for a year around.

Fifth, the plants grown in the digital places would be higher-qualified because they were developed under a stringent control. By using the traditional way to produce plants, there would always have a problem that the plants are very different ,some bigger, some smaller, some look good and beautiful, some look bad and ugly, some taste delicious, some taste awful. But this problem would be perfectly solved in digital farms because some plants would be produced as good as others.

Last but not least, consumers would feel safe and satisfied because they could monitor the growth process of the plant they are going to buy and get some more reliable information from the suppliers. At present, many people are afraid of purchasing and eating up vegetables or fruits produced by other people. What if those suppliers use poisonous chemical materials to make more profit? They insert some chemicals  which would be bad for people's health to the products to make them much fresher or lightly. I really hate this. But with the development of digital farming, the condition would be changed.

At last, I really want to say that I'm glad with the development of the digital farms. I know there are many people who against plants produced in digital farms because they think it's not a very natural way to cultivate plants like that and it may do harm to our body. We do have to pay more attention at the road of science revolution, but we also have to show more courage to try, to challenge and to develop.

数字农业的了解&对中国发展农业的意义。

Digital farm

    The cultivate enviroment of the digital farm is in a lab, and all the plants grow without soil and are in a totally controlled environment. Besides, water sensor and light exposure is highly regulated and can be changed by people at will. 

    The digital farming has a lot of advantages. Firstly, it is 3-5 times faster than the traditional farming and 70%-90% less water than the traditional farming, what's more, it is also health benefit.

    Distance from farm to home is shorten. Plant is degrading from growing up to entering people's mouth. The digital farming system can be operated in city, the plants are grow in city so people can eat within 20 mins.

    Retailer & food companies is the foundamental backbone of this creation. Because they know that nowadays. the customers are changing, they want trust and transparency.

2. The significance to China

  Fistyly, is the people. With the biggest population in world, digital farming can greatly improve the living situation in the remote area of China. It can alleviate the severity of starvation and poverty.

  Secondly, is the land. Although China occupies 9.6 million square kilometers of land, there are still many infertile wasteland. So the apply of this technique will surely save the plowland.

  Thirdly is water resource. This technique can saving water and protect the environment effectively.

  Forthly is the health. People may concern more about their own lives, and this technique ensures that it does good to people's health and there is not need for people to worry about the date.

  Fifthly is the industry. This technique may promoting the development of a new industry and contributes to the economy.

  Sixthly is the society. People see the transparency growing process of plant and may comfort people in some way and becomes a harmonious society.

Digital farms means a highly integration of information technology and the different part of agriculture. By using modern information technologies, digital farms can realize real time monitoring of the plants, checking everything from the content to temperature. Techniques such as aeroponics and hydroponics can grow plants without using any soil in a totally controlled environment and can make a plant look, taste and grow exactly the way you want them, effectively creating foods that can be saved, shared and reused. While such methods are 3 to 5 times faster and use less water than traditional farming. Plus, foods grown in these ways are beneficial to people’s health. So digital farms is a challenge as well as an opportunity to the traditional agriculture.

Traditional agriculture usually calls for a large area of lands and perfect irrigation system. So its location usually tends to be in the remote area which is far from the downtown city. However, digital farms can remove it closer to cities where foods might be harvested and eaten within 20 minutes. As food is degrading on what it has to give you when it has been harvested and when it gets into your mouth, time means a lot. So, suppose we are those customers living in the downtown, which plants we might choose? Of course we will choose those foods that can be consumed within 20 minutes. Food companies, retailers and big retailers are the backbones of digital farms because they know that customers have changed and that customers want trust and transparency. Taken in this sense, digital farms has a promising future if it can be available to more and more common people.

We are soberly aware that China remains the biggest developing country in the world with a huge population, weak economic basis, uneven development and strong pressure on resources and the environment and that people’s living standards are still not so high. And we still know that China is an agricultural country and crop seed industry is a national strategic core industry. So the development of agriculture is of great importance for modernization in China. However, digital farms might shed a light on China’s agricultural development. At present, China is marching forward towards an industrialized country, which is a double sword for agriculture. On one hand, the development of industry can provide advanced technology for the development of agriculture. On the other hand, to some degree, industrialization is realized at the expense of agriculture. We can trace back to 1950s’ China, when agriculture was subject to the development of industry. Now, more and more labors are allocated to industries. Citizens in the village all flooded to downtown to make a living, leaving the elders and the young children left behind. As a consequence, many lands are wasted with less labors working in the farmland. So maybe digital farms can provide a new way to solve the problems existed right now and also help to perfect our agricultural system.

Digital agriculture refers to the remote sensing and geographic information system, global positioning system, computer technology, communication and network technology, automation technology and geography, agronomy, ecology, plant physiology, soil science and other disciplines organically, realize in the agricultural production process real-time monitoring of crop and soil from the macro to the the micro, in order to achieve the growth and development of crops, pests, water and fertilizer condition and the corresponding environment for regular access to information, generate dynamic spatial information system, simulation of the process of agricultural production, the phenomenon, achieve the rational use of agricultural resources, reduce production costs, improve the ecological environment, crop and the quality of the products.

Digital agriculture is the modern information technology, which is used for the visual expression, digital design and information management of agricultural objects, environment and the whole process of agricultural production. Digital agriculture makes the integration of information technology and agriculture to achieve effective integration, which is of great significance to the transformation of traditional agriculture and the transformation of agricultural production.

Characteristics of digital agriculture：

1.Agricultural production highly specialized, large-scale, enterprise

2.Improvement of agricultural production system

3.The “trinity” of agricultural education, research and promotion

China is an influential, agriculture-oriented and most populous country in which rural population constitute the utmost.The problems about agriculture, countryside and peasantry are very important in China. So Digital agriculture can help China solving these problems, it is very important in China.

"the digital agriculture" has become the important content of the world new agriculture science and technology revolution.Precision Agriculture and Digital Agriculture are the direction of world agriculture.Now our country agriculture is developing in the direction of the digital agriculture, a new type of intensive and agricultural informatization, compared with traditional agriculture.Digital agriculture technology is one of important symbols of modern agricultural high-tech, including digitalization, visualization, design, control and management of the whole process of agricultural production and supervision with application of digitalization technology.

We should follow the world's step.Traditional agriculture is not a good choice for us now.On the background, just make developing agricultural informationization greatly as an important breakthrough in order to shorten the digital gap with the developed countries, and implementing gap development with superiority afterwards, has been an strategic problem of the current economic and social development.The new rural construction must be under the scientific development instruction, speed up the agriculture advance in technology, build the good environment, take positive innovation, transform agriculture growth way, develop the digital agriculture vigorously.The development of digital agriculture is conducive to the development of agriculture in China, and it is helpful to solve the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers.

So Developing digital agriculture is very important for China.

 The MTI Open Agriculture initiative Caleb Harper is introducing the digital farm into plant cultivation. In digital farm plants could grow in a controlled environment without soil by the use of aeroponics and hydroponics. The sensor in water will take reading every eight seconds, checking everything like temperature. Such a digital agriculture may bring benefits to human beings. First and foremost, Caleb Harper says this method is three to five times faster and uses seventy to ninety less water than traditional farming so people can enjoy their harvest within twenty minutes without plants degrading. Secondly, because of the decentralization future, the digital farming will be a brand new way of production and even a fresh lifestyle. For adapting to this new way, more food companies and retailers are collaborating with Open Agriculture in order to provide trustful and transparent plants for their new customers.

  China is a country of agriculture which is the solid foundation for its economic and social development. Therefore, the progress made in agriculture can considerably boost a whole country’s prosperity. If we apply digital farm into China, advantages can not be overlooked. Most importantly, this mean may effectively handle the shortage of grains in China. Due to a large population and a huge gap between Eastern and Western China, many have been threatened by hunger. The digital farm with its excellent production efficiency will offer adequate food to people in need. Secondly, compared with the traditional way, digital farm uses less water and takes up no soil which unquestionably could save more water for dried areas and more earth for afforestation. Thirdly, the digital farm could produce plant and grain everywhere which better accommodates to urban people’s demand. China is on its road to modernization and urbanization, the rural places used for farming and agriculture is turning into towns or cities. With the expansion of cities and declination of countryside, there will be no extra earth for farming. However, people living in cities could harvest plants and grain from the digital farm conveniently. Apart from those mentioned above, drawing upon the merits from other country’s achievement will promote Chinese scientists to study further the way of optimizing agriculture based on the digital farm.

  However, before introducing it into China, relevant scientists and researchers should check if the plants produced in this digital farm is safe or not. Recently, the safety of genetically Modified Food has aroused people’s attention. Like the MG food, digital farm could benefit agriculture, countries development, but mankind’s security should be put on the top of list. Now that we can not confirm the plants growing in a unnatural way can be in line with the food standard, efforts should be made in it in advance instead of imprudently introducing it in. If its food is far away from the food safety standard, prohibition of the digital farm should be forcefully implemented and, of course, Chinese scientists will be advised to offer assistance to Open Agriculture’s staff to face this stunning challenge so as to improve this technology. 

BUILDING DIGITAL FARMS FOR THE FUTURE

What are digital farms?

With technological aid, digital farms cultivate plants without using any soil and totally control the climate.

The advance of digital farms

Digital farms are three to five times faster and 70% to 90% less water than traditonal framing. In addition, it brings about health benefit in that it shortens the time from the crops’ being harvested to being served on the table. According to Caleb Harper, Member of MIT Media Lab Open Agriculture Initiative, crops are degrading during this time in terms of nutritional value and plants can be moved closer to cities by way of this method, ie.harvest and eat within twenty minutes.

How digital farms work?

In digital farms, sensors in the water take readings every 8 seconds checking everything from mineral content to temperature. Even the light exposure can be regulated. All these make the plants look, taste, and grow exactly the way you want them, which effectively creates a recipe that can be saved, shared, and reused.

The Implications of digital farms to Chinese agriculture

Digital farms will exert far-reaching influences on Chinese agriculture. More specifically, the influences can be exemplified in the following aspects.

Firstly, digital farms help to economize resource. Since digital farms do not require soil, a large amount of land can be saved. With the increase of population and the unchanged acre, digital farms relieve the burden of land shortage. Moreover, as digital farms effectively control the elements the plants need, resource efficiency will be improved. A typical exampley is that the usage of fertilizer can be decreased, which contains the agricultural pollution and boosts the development of green agriculture.

Secondly, digital farms appease the environmental impact on agriculture. From ancient times, environmental factors, like soil, water,climate, terrain etc, have great influence on agriculture. As digital farms are able to completely control the climate, the independence of agricultural can be strengthened. Eventually， the resistance against natural adversity will be reinforced and morden agriculture will be carried forward.

Last but not least, since digital farms accompany technological support, it is conducive to promoting progressive techonology in agriculture. Cultivators need to master technology so as to grow the plants. This motivates agricultural labor to learn the sophisticated technology. Hence, digital farms update people’s knowhow.