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The Coming Disruption of Transport
- Thread starter kEiThZ
- Start date
just east of the creek
Senior Member
I know this is not transportation, but it is a ‘disruption’ to much of life as many farmers know it - hours spent in the cab of your Case, even if it is under gps control. This is a whole level of innovation beyond. There are many like efforts underway, so this is just one example. Coming soon to a ‘Near Urban Farm(Ing)’ near you, the ‘Coming Disruption of Agriculture’ …. Now if they can invent one that automatically installs fence posts, strings wire…
I believe the QR codes will take you directly to the reels.
Play
I believe the QR codes will take you directly to the reels.
Play
TRONto
Active Member
Are they autonomous? I imagine that as the technology gets more sophisticated (and expensive) it could spell the end for certain types of farmers.
just east of the creek
Senior Member
Yes, within limits. You map your fields, add in parameters and almost any newer piece of moving equipment can be operated with minimal driver inputs. Beneficial when seeding for instance.but this is fully autonomous for a (in these demos) blowing activity.
As to the ‘end of certain type of farmers’…. Have a look at the stats. That has been happening since the end of 1946, and accelerating as larger and larger corporate farms become more and more common. Not that they cannot be ‘family’ farms, but they are big operations. I have a friend in NY state milking almost 4,000 cows. Family farm. Family corporate farms. Family corporate American Farm that would love to get across the border with their dairy products. And that’s where we differ. Our standards are higher, and like the EU, we allow far fewer growth hormones, additives and other chemicals into dairy and food products in general. And we should be keeping to those standards and many would argue, improve them.
As to the ‘end of certain type of farmers’…. Have a look at the stats. That has been happening since the end of 1946, and accelerating as larger and larger corporate farms become more and more common. Not that they cannot be ‘family’ farms, but they are big operations. I have a friend in NY state milking almost 4,000 cows. Family farm. Family corporate farms. Family corporate American Farm that would love to get across the border with their dairy products. And that’s where we differ. Our standards are higher, and like the EU, we allow far fewer growth hormones, additives and other chemicals into dairy and food products in general. And we should be keeping to those standards and many would argue, improve them.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Assume you meant 'plowing'?
Some of these tasks have been around for a while. Twenty years ago one of our fields was spraying by an autonomous machine; although if I recall the perimeter had to be manually driven first. 'Robot' lawnmowers have been out for a few years ($$). A buddy has one. They had to perimeter wire his property (like invisible fence for dogs) but now they have one that is GPS-enabled.
just east of the creek
Senior Member
Thank you (!?) for catching that spelling error. I need to proof read with my glasses on.Assume you meant 'plowing'?
Some of these tasks have been around for a while. Twenty years ago one of our fields was spraying by an autonomous machine; although if I recall the perimeter had to be manually driven first. 'Robot' lawnmowers have been out for a few years ($$). A buddy has one. They had to perimeter wire his property (like invisible fence for dogs) but now they have one that is GPS-enabled.
Have you seen the autonomous snow plows/blowers? Same principle of operation as the lawn mowers.
We have our fields mapped, so you set up the drill etc for the operation you want to perform and then away you go. However, you are in the cab monitoring and prepped to override should something go sideways. You can get caught up in paperwork, on line work etc, and depending on how upscale you have gone in the tractor ($ vs $$ vs $$$$$) your working environment can be pretty comfortable. But this level of autonomy would be / could be different again - monitoring the units performance by phone, tablet etc from a remote location - another unit (I.e. your tractor) as you preformed other functions.
If you have the cash flow, all is possible.
crs1026
Superstar
If you will pardon a dumb question from a city boy who knows nothing of farming....
I'm curious what the value add of the automation is, beyond reducing the wear and tear on the operator.
Fuel savings? Faster rate of production? More accurate or better rate of application of seed or fertilizer? More product harvested without damage/spoilage? Use of a less skilled/costly operator?
I'm wondering how that trades off positively against the cost of the machines. Is it just about the number of acres that one farmer or farm family can manage?
- Paul
just east of the creek
Senior Member
Paul
I'm in a bit of a hurry currently so I grabbed this, which is broad enough description, with several standardized assumptions, no negative implications, but really does not include stats of any sort. Stats are harder to come by, I think any farmers using higher levels of autonomous are still coming to grips with investment vs cost savings vs time, and costing those in $ - we are. The costs of any of this can be intimidating to any but a large operation. This will add more pressure to smaller operations that are not specializing in a local or specific crop. This information will formalize with more use.
The value-added benefits of autonomous agricultural machines could and can include:
- Increased Productivity: Autonomous machines can enhance agricultural productivity by up to 30% by 2025, transforming global food supply chains.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=0931...Wx0dXJlLTctZWNvbm9taWMtaW1wYWN0cy0yMDI1&ntb=1 - Labor Cost Reduction: Adoption of these machines may reduce farm labor costs by 20% by 2025, boosting economic resilience in agriculture.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=0931...Wx0dXJlLTctZWNvbm9taWMtaW1wYWN0cy0yMDI1&ntb=1 - Precision Farming: They use advanced sensors, GPS, and AI-driven software to ensure tasks are performed with pinpoint accuracy, improving crop yields and conserving resources.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=232f...YWdlcy1vZi1hdXRvbm9tb3VzLW1hY2hpbmVyeS8&ntb=1 - 24/7 Operation: Autonomous machinery can operate day and night, increasing productivity and completing operations faster than ever before.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=232f...YWdlcy1vZi1hdXRvbm9tb3VzLW1hY2hpbmVyeS8&ntb=1 - Data-Driven Decision Making: They collect real-time data about soil health, moisture levels, and crop conditions, enabling farmers to make informed decisions about irrigation and pest management.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=232f...YWdlcy1vZi1hdXRvbm9tb3VzLW1hY2hpbmVyeS8&ntb=1 - Enhanced Safety: Autonomous machines remove humans from potentially hazardous situations, reducing accident risks and liability.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=ee30...lZml0cy1vZi1hdXRvbm9tb3VzLXRyYWN0b3JzLw&ntb=1 - Sustainability: They promote sustainable practices by minimizing waste and conserving resources, contributing to environmental protection.
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=ee30...lZml0cy1vZi1hdXRvbm9tb3VzLXRyYWN0b3JzLw&ntb=1
lenaitch
Senior Member
The only autonomous snow blower I have seen is from Yarbo. According to our local Husqvarna dealer, the 'drive portion is Husky. The only quibble I have with the images I saw were the auger housing is fairly small and might be challenged in a snowbelt area. Then again, you could send it out several times a day and it wouldn't complain like I would.
In addition to what Paul posted, there is technology where you can buy satellite imagery that show soil composition and moisture. Load that information into compatible equipment and you can tailor crop inputs to individual parts of a particular field.
Not cheap and cost will be the issue for a while. The trouble with farming equipment is it is fairly task-specific, either in its entirety or in certain attachments, and none of it is cheap anymore. A bailer only bails, and you only bail when you have a mature crop, which is a couple of times a year. Other than that, it sits. Until the cost comes down, I suspect adoption will be limited to the large scale prairie/US mid-west operations with fields that disappear over the horizon. Either that or we might see an increase in contract services when a company provides a service but they can spread the cost out over multiple customers (they are still limited to the crop/growth cycle). Typically, in Ontario, the only wide-scale contract work currently is spraying (a lot of farmers simply can't be bothered complying with the regulations) and combine harvesting and haulage, primarily because of the equipment costs.
just east of the creek
Senior Member
I do not disagree with any of the above.
We currently own and lease and come nowhere to competing on size with mid western CDN outfits, not to mention the USA and some EU countries (Hungary, Romania etc) where, I believe, these farms are commonly owned by offshore interests (Dubai for instance) and funded as such. Farms in excess of 20,000 acres. The largest, I believe is Agricost and it’s in excess of 50,000 hectares I believe. Big Business with a capital B.
We currently own and lease and come nowhere to competing on size with mid western CDN outfits, not to mention the USA and some EU countries (Hungary, Romania etc) where, I believe, these farms are commonly owned by offshore interests (Dubai for instance) and funded as such. Farms in excess of 20,000 acres. The largest, I believe is Agricost and it’s in excess of 50,000 hectares I believe. Big Business with a capital B.
Jonny5
Senior Member
Farmland (and also timberland) is the new frontier for global private investment funds. Giant pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are buying it up at a record pace, particularly in Africa, India, and South America, where it's relatively cheap and they have loose rules and regulations. Then you have on top of that the farmland operator companies, who take care of the farm as a business for those funds so they don't have to get their feet dirty, either literally or figuratively.
Small pension funds are in on it too, though they do it through large investment feeder funds and they likely have no idea what they actually own a share in at the end of the day. They are sufficiently happy to have the glossy annual reports about it being a "green" or "sustainable" investment, and not evil oil and gas, but they contribute just as much to the corprotisation of food.
This isn't new either, it started in earnest about ten years ago. Next thing they are coming for is water, and I'm not talking about bottled.
It always amuses me when people throw around the term "late-stage capitalism" and ho ho are we nowhere near that point yet. It's still in its infancy.
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