Change is hard, no matter how old you are, what profession you are in or what it pertains to. We all like things to ride along on an even keel and keep things the same, after all, sometimes the old saying rings true of “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” And then sometimes, being open to change makes our world a whole lot better…even for farmers.
Recently, Chris Bennett, who writes for FARM JOURNAL and whose articles appear on AGWEB, wrote an article on The Weed Seed Destroyer which is based on using LED technology to work with a combine and kill weed seed on the go. According to developer Jon Jackson, the innovator behind the invention, “Blue light is going to become a regular tool for weed control in farming.”
The seed destroyer is a bolt-on unit that utilizes mild warming and intense LED rays to saturate weed seed as it passes with chaff flow during harvest. The seed killing device is ready for spring cutting trials in Tennessee wheat and Ohio barley and is currently being tested for soybeans.
According to Bennett’s article, the device attaches to the rear of a combine and warms and exposes the weed seed to blue LED lights as the chaff tumbles through, all done on the fly. It can be adapted for any model of combine and seed kill efficacy is above 98% on waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, according to Central State University. It decreased average percent total germination for the four weed species of morning glory, fox millet, common ragweed and pigweed. Wow! Bennett’s full article can be read here, https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/soybeans/agriculture-invention-harnesses-led-light-inside-combine-kill-weed-seed?mkt_tok=ODQzLVlHQi03O.
This invention is a huge agricultural advance in more ways than one. First of all, it eliminates weeds without applying more chemicals. With the price of farm chemicals skyrocketing this year, this is good news for the farmer, which in turn will be good news for the consumer. It also means less chemicals on the crops that go into the foods that we eat. It’s a win-win all the way around.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that between 20 and 40 percent of the global crop yields are lost each year to pests and diseases, despite application of around two million tons of pesticides. In a world where we still have hunger, it is sad to lose this much food and it’s sad for the farmers to lose such a big part of their yield.
Regardless of whether you are a farmer, married to a farmer or even care about farming, these agricultural advances affect all of us when it comes to safety and prices of our foods at the supermarket. Without the farmer, we don’t eat.
OTHER AGRICULTURAL ADVANCES. Over the years, advances such as the weed destroyer have helped farmers become better at what they do, giving them better yields while also keeping our prices down. Some of this new technology isn’t as big of stride like the invention of the tractor that replaced horses, but rather smaller discoveries that have made big advances. Some new and upcoming agricultural technology is:
*Robots and drones could allow farmers to slash agrichemical use by spotting insect and weed enemies earlier which would allow precise chemical application or pest removal. Red Whittaker, the robotic engineer at Carnegie Mellen University in Pittsburgh, PA, is the one responsible for designing and patenting the automated guidance system for tractors in 1997. In his words, “The market is demanding foods with less herbicide and pesticides and greater quality. That challenge can be met by robots.”
He predicts that drones, mounted with RGB multispectral cameras will take off every morning and identify where there is a pest problem. These cameras would be able to collect data from invisible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that could allow farmers to pinpoint fungal disease before it becomes established. They have already started to test this method on sorghum.
*AGRIBOTIX. This is an ag data analysis company based in Boulder, CO, that supplies drones and software to map unhealthy vegetation and its possible causes. It currently processes drone data from crop fields in more than 50 countries.
*USING DRONES FOR APPLICATION. Research is currently underway for applying pesticides from the air with a drone. This allows farmers to only spot treat an area in the quantity needed as opposed to spraying an entire field. This is better for the consumer because less pesticide is used and it is better for the farmer’s pocketbook since he will use less chemicals.
This same procedure will also be used for the smarter application of nitrogen and fertilizer.
*Devices to measure vegetable growth so that harvest can occur at the prime time is underway.
*Livestock-sensing technology that can help manage the welfare and health of animals will make it more viable to keep every animal in a large herd healthy.
*Better ways of monitoring and maintaining soil quality. Soil quality is the basis for a good crop and there are many variables so having a system where all variables can be plugged in and produce a plan for adding the correct nutrients in the right quantities will be a huge advantage for farmers.
NEW TECHNOLOGY CAN BRING BACK THE SMALL FARMER. The bottom line for any of this advanced technology to work is that farmers have to be willing to give it a try. Change is hard, especially when they have developed personal techniques that have been handed down through the ages that work on their piece of ground. It’s hard to give up the old ways when they work.
In the last couple of decades, the trend has been toward “bigger is better.” Farming more acres and buying bigger equipment is the dominating trend in farming. Sadly, the downside of trend is that it renders small scale farming impractical, leaving no room for the little guy. This is why many family farms are ceasing to exist.
But there is good news on the horizon for small farmers. George Kantor, a robotics engineer also at Carnegie Mellon University, predicts “there is potential for intelligent robots to change the economic model of farming so that it becomes feasible to be a small producer again.”
Who would have thought that the latest technological advances would help the little guy as much as the big producer? In the end, we all want the same thing and growing is all about change, knowing what change to embrace and what to let go.
No comments:
Post a Comment