Ag Tech Sunday - What's foam, what's fluff and what is functional....today

By: "Farm Tender" News
Ag Company News
Aug 11, 2018
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By Matthew Fealy

Let me first frame the context of this article. I am a farmer, a commercial producer of Mangoes and Avocados in Far North Queensland, Australia. I have just completed my Nuffield Australia Scholarship, including traveling to 13 countries, over almost two years, to investigate the state of available AgTech, in use, on farm, today.

Sure, drones are going to do all our spraying, one day, and Augmented Reality (AR) will provide overlayed data displayed on the inside of our foldable OLED sunglasses, one day. The Blockchain will eliminate expensive supply chain inefficiencies, one day and autonomous robots are going to pick all my fruit, while I sleep..... one day. I look forward to this time, and don't get me wrong, I actually believe all of the above will happen, but right now, we (farmers) are facing unprecedented challenges, today, that require solutions that are not nearly as 'sexy' as a Hexacopter drone with a multi-articulated robotic arm attached to pick fruit, I mean, who doesn't want one of these:

The real pinch points on farm today is the increasing cost, yet dwindling supply of labour (20% reduction in Working Holiday Visa applications since 2015), seemingly endless pressure and increasing complexities of Industrial Relation compliance (proposed changes to the 'normal working day' in the horticultural award), overwhelming food saftey regulatory burdens (introduction of the Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme, HARPS) all within the context of a business that is at the whim of mother nature (who does not work 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri) and a supply/demand market that is not a 'cost - plus' revenue model with no ability to offset increasing production costs.

So what robust, proven technology is available today to address these challenges?

Very little

Why?

After meeting and interviewing almost 100 people across the globe over the past 2 years, here are some of the common barriers to mass adoption of 'real' AgTech.

1) All the money goes the the sexiest projects. If you can incorporate the following terms into your project proposal, you can almost guarantee funding: Robotics, Machine Vision, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Automation, Autonomous Vehicle, Drones..... oh and don't forget to include in your first paragraph of your grant application that your solution will 'feed 9 billion people by 2050'

2) Until recently, there has been effectively no consultation with actual, bona-fide, boots in the dirt farmers. I heard it everyday "There are so many people out there creating amazing technologically advanced solutions..... now all they need is a problem"

3) "Perfection is the enemy of completion". Due to the fact a disproportionate amount of AgTech research funding has traditionally found its way into University projects, a culture of "perfectionism before commercialism" has ensured virtually no commercialisation of research. (I'm not picking on Universities, I have witnessed some truly ground breaking technology residing in the hallways of Universities around the world, but it doesn't change the fact very little of it see's the light of day)

The most immediately beneficial development of technology I have witnessed, all happened either on farm, or, with on farm partnerships. Mechanised lettuce harvesters in the USA, developed on farm, are delivering million dollar savings, today. Autonomous tractors using the same sonar buttons on the back of your car, not $20,000 Lidar units, have been spraying orchards in the Netherlands for 3 years, allowing farm managers to deliver their crop protection programs with no consideration for 'overnight' shifts and staff rostering. Fully automatic irrigation and fertiliser systems have been standard in Israel for over a decade delivering water and micronutrient as the crop demands it, not when it is cost effective or convenient for manual labour, resulting in yields up to 6 times the Australian average. (Avocado)

If farming is going to transition into the automated '4th industrial revolution', can we please stop focusing on the 'sexy' and what might be possible in 10-20 years time, and start focusing on delivering the real, beneficial technology that is available today, yet has staggeringly low adoption.

As Bill Gates puts it: "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction."

Drones will not be spraying commercial orchards in the next two years (there, I said it, brace for impact, let the "dronies" keyboards light up), but don't be 'lulled into inaction', there is proven technology worthy of implementation today. Adoption of the incremental, less sexy technology over the next ten years will have a near exponential impact on how we farm, maybe just in time for those drones to take over.

It's time to put the Dreamers, the Do-ers and the Dollars in the same room.