Data from a variety of sources around the farm, in an array of formats, are stored and collated in the cloud.

This information can be amalgamated using specialised programs and analytical software and presented to the farmer in a practical way to allow a precise response to each plant or animal.

The data can be integrated with other data sets like Met Office weather to allow real time decisions. Farms share their data with other farms and industry generating alternative revenue streams.

Data is also used as a form of digital evidence to meeting Defra or EU regulations. This information could be transferred directly to regulatory and funding agencies leading to a reduction in the number of visits, and laborious form filling, for animal welfare checks or evidence for grants. This could potentially save the farmer on average £5500 a year.

Through the cloud all the elements of the farm become instantly connected. It becomes the glue that binds the farm of the future together.

While the cloud is a resource many of us already draw upon on a daily basis, farming is still to infiltrate this domain. But the cloud will enable agriculture to enter the era of big data.