Robots and the ability to analyze enormous amounts of data will change the way farms operate in the future, according to a futurist who spoke at a farm meeting in Portage last week.
"Farmers have always been on the cutting edge of technology, but the changes in technology are accelerating and the rate of acceleration is increasing. It will be even more dramatic over the next ten years than it's been over the last twenty," said Richard Worzel, speaking to around 300 farmers at a BASF grower event.
He said the variable rate technology that's already used on some farms will be expanded.
"For example, you're going to have robot tractors that can change the mix of seed by location on a farm. They can seed one half of a field, or even a smaller section, with one kind of seed that's more drought resistant, and another part of a field that's wetter might get a different type of seed," said Worzel. "You're going to be able to have targeted use of herbicides and other chemicals to deal with specific pests."
Advancements in "big data" will also help farmers make better management decisions, he said.
"It's the analysis, using non-traditional techniques, of massive amounts of information. It's going to allow farmers to ask very complex questions," he explained. "It's the ability to look at a lot of different variables in non-traditional ways and come up with answers to questions we might not have even asked before."
In addition to advancements in technology, Worzel said he expects growing demand for more expensive food from the middle class in developing countries and increased production risk due to climate change to be major drivers of change in agriculture.
"My bottom line is there will be bigger challenges - like climate change and competition from other countries in farming, smarter tools - in IT, agricultural chemicals and in genetic research, but the bottom line is there will be a lot more demand. Even though there will be problems and areas where we need to invest, the upside is huge in farming, much more than it has been for the past 50 years or more."
Source: PortageOnline