If you’re looking to get your hands on a new car, the latest phone, or gadget, chances are you’ve had to wait due to the worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips.

But the tech crisis isn’t just disrupting electronic manufacturers. It also affects farmers who are trying to modernize their operations.

Agritech entrepreneur Tom Mills developed a remote monitoring system but needed to redesign the product.

“For custom-made components, what we do now is basically look forward to what chips are available, buy those chips in advance, and then either design the equipment or design around it. to improve,” he said.

Chip shortages come at a difficult time as many farmers are coping with labor shortages and needing labor-saving technologies to improve productivity.

“This is why a lot of the automation technology we see on dairy farms is being sourced from European countries, because for some time we have had to pay our staff in European countries more. ”

What caused the shortage of chips?

Semiconductor chips are the backbone of a vast array of electronic devices, but supplies have been limited since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The lockdown sparked a consumer electronics boom as workers and students rushed to buy devices to help them work from home.

While demand surged, supply was hit by a severe drought in Taiwan, crippling production of water-hungry chips by the world’s largest manufacturer, TSMC.

The shortage could ease as the COVID chaos subsides and the US rolls out more than $50 billion in stimulus to boost production.

Meanwhile, early adopters such as Tasmanian farmer Charlie McKinnon are already benefiting from agricultural technology.

Before the remote monitoring system was installed, the Longford man spent hours each day driving around the property, checking all irrigation equipment and water pumps.

“If something goes wrong, we turn it off, go back to the pivot and fix the problem, go back to the pump and start it,” he said.

“And also go to bed with the irrigator running at night and wake up in the morning to see if anything is wrong.”

Tech Crunch is not limited to chips

Due to labor constraints in the berry and viticulture sector, Fiona Turner founded Bitwise, an automated crop analysis company.

Software-centric startups were unaffected by chip shortages, but cloud computing was a problem.

“The global power shortage and rising costs will have a significant impact on the cost of using cloud providers,” said Turner.

“So we’re watching it very carefully.”

James Walsh, director of remote farming technology company Farm Pulse, said his company avoided the worst effects of the shortage by not relying on a single technology or manufacturer.

But they still had to “manage expectations”.

“But most of our clients have been very understanding, because they realize that everything is lacking at this point.”

Despite the challenges, Walsh said the chip shortage hasn’t affected demand.

“Agriculture is so booming right now that people want efficiency for when things get a little tougher, so they are willing to spend money on technology.”

Creative solutions to chipper challenges

According to Andrew Willoughby, Tech Solutions Hub Manager at the University of Tasmania, those who didn’t have access to technology were creative.

“Chips are really hard to come by, and some students are now making their own chips, making their own chips for use in robotics and other electrical components,” he said. rice field.

“As part of their course, they’ve gone further than expected.”