Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

Autonomous agriculture featured at Alberta conference

Autonomous agriculture featured at Alberta conference

A team from the United Kingdom planted and harvested a hectare of barley without physically operating equipment

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

A robotic engineer from Harper Adams University in England showed Alberta farmers that it’s possible to produce a crop without ever climbing into a tractor or combine.

Jonathan Gill was the keynote speaker during the Farming Smarter Leadership Conference. He explained how his “Hands Free Hectare Project” team produced a hectare of spring barley while operating the machinery remotely.

“We were the world’s first to grow an entire crop without actually going into the field,” he told Global News yesterday. “We worked an entire area of land, a hectare, completely without having anybody in the driving seats or any agronomist on the ground.”

Canadian producers likened his research to a classic action movie franchise.

“It’s kind of scary, you get thinking of the terminator,” Craig Walsh, a farmer from Foremost, Alta, told Global News. “Not necessarily that, but now all of a sudden (the equipment) is running itself.”

The team transferred autopilot capabilities from a drone to an Iseki TLE3400 tractor and created a communication channel between the autopilot and the steering wheel to control the tractor.



 

A SimTech drill attached to the tractor performed the seeding and an automated Sampo Rosenlew 130 combine harvested the crop, which yielded about 4.5 tonnes of barley from the one-hectare plot.

If farmers don’t have to worry about operating their equipment, they’ll be free to perform other tasks, said Gill, adding the researchers hope to perform tests on a 100-hectare field.

“The idea in the future is to set the vehicles off from your main farm building and watch them go in their field,” he told Global News. “They could work together in larger fleets and swarms … It’s about allowing you to get to those other jobs that you just didn’t have time to do.”


Trending Video

Complete Guide to WELL WATER Testing!

Video: Complete Guide to WELL WATER Testing!

Are you clueless about where to get your water tested, how to perform the tests, or interpret the results? Don't sweat it! I'm here to simplify water filtration for you.

In this step-by-step guide, I will take you through the entire process of testing well water quality. From choosing the right test kit, identifying common mistakes during the sampling process, to analyzing the results, I've got you covered.

I'll be demonstrating the process using a test kit from https://mytapscore.com/. They offer a range of comprehensive tests and easy-to-follow instructions, making water testing a breeze!

You'll see me sample water right from my home, as I share tips and insights on how to get the most accurate results. Plus, I'll answer FAQs about water testing and talk about what a complete well water filtration system should consist of.

By the end of this video, you'll not only have a better understanding of water quality and the threats that could be lurking in your tap, but you'll also know how to tackle them.

Once you have your results, send them to us at info@waterestore.com with your water concerns, and we'll provide personalized recommendations for fixing your water.