Future Farming

            New technological developments are changing the way farmers grow and harvest crops.

            Unmanned tractors trawl a field of grain, directed via wireless signal from a server miles away. Aerial drones snap photos of rows of soybeans, and software updates the projected crop yield in real time. Meanwhile, a farmer directs it all from a tablet on his coffee table.

            This seems like a scene out of Nolan’s Interstellar. The future of agriculture, however, is right around the corner. Farming is moving the way of industry, with increasing automation giving way to higher yield. This technology is typically only a matter of application, extant but unutilized. 

            Driverless tractors, for example, are entering the market already. An offshoot of the driverless car, the first functional driverless tractor prototype was presented in 2011 by Fendt, an agricultural equipment manufacturing company. The first prototypes worked using ‘follow-me’ technology that allowed any number of automated tractors to follow one driven by a human. Today, tractors are being developed that are entirely autonomous by companies like John Deere. These work off software systems that are calibrated with GPS, motion sensors, and vehicle-to-vehicle synchronization.

            These driverless tractors do have some safety concerns, however. Some find the idea of a potentially dangerous vehicle operating without human control disconcerting. This has led to the idea of a safety operator to control the tractor, somewhat defeating the point of automating the vehicle.

            Unmanned aerial vehicles are also set to appear on farms soon. Currently restricted by government regulation concerning airspace, there is no economic model for operating drones on farms. However, the FAA recently published a potential exemption for drones; section 333, a provision allowing case-by-case approval for business operation. With this exemption, set to go into effect in November, companies that previously demonstrated proof-of-concept drone technology have access to a viable business model.

            The use of UAV’s on farms is currently focused on high-quality agricultural monitoring. Vineyards typically take advantage of this technology on a small scale to monitor grape crops, which allows for strict quality assurance for an expensive product. However, this technology is projected to be able to satisfy food crop needs as well.

In the future, unmanned aerial vehicle technology can be applied to large-scale agriculture as well. Average farm size in the US increases every year, and monitoring the state of crops in person is becoming a more difficult task. By using aerial vehicles instead, farmers can achieve a higher resolution view of their farm in less time. This will allow for more efficient farming practices, and potentially, the use of unmanned tractors in large areas. Undoubtedly, this will lead to greater efficiency and financial return from the same land. In fact, using Japan as a model, a country that has already legalized UAV use on farms, a study [http://www.auvsi.org/auvsiresources/economicreport] by the AUVSI has projected an economic impact of nearly $80 billion between now and 2025. This translates into a lot of food production.