4 ms·
There is http://agrokruh.sk/ http://agrokruh.sk/ (sorry could not quickly find english version). Instead of robotic swarms that would be difficult to maintain,
by rini17 6y ago
There is http://agrokruh.sk/ http://agrokruh.sk/ (sorry could not quickly find english version).
Instead of robotic swarms that would be difficult to maintain, it uses simple rotating arm with farm implements attached as needed. It is independent from fossil fuels, runs silently on modest amount of electricity. The emphasis is not on cutting-edge tech but on self-sufficiency and on improving the quality of the soil.
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoThat’s a good idea. There are many ways automation can help. Data, self sufficiency, labour, water, environment etc. for me..I want to focus on small urban Ag and labour saving tech automation. Our challenge here in the states ..California..is labour. Labour availability and affordability. I also envision that plant breeding and hybrids will be integral to any kind of farm automation. I am already working with a couple of plant breeders on this. But only for a few main crops. Lots of work to do.
- rini17 6y agoFull automation in the open field is bound to fail as there are so many factors you can't predict, weather, pests, market demand. You will inevitably end up with some kind of warehouse hydroponics under artificial light. In urban environment there is always (at least leisure) labour available. You have to stop fixating on labour as a problem and instead think how to attract people to come and maintain the garden.
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoWe do not have labour. Those who do not actively farm for their living do not understand how serious the labour issue is.. 100 acres is not a ‘garden’. The denial of labour availability as a problem by non farmers and tech sector is why there is no labour automating innovation in Ag. Why isn’t anyone listening to us?
- giantg2 6y agoPeople are listening. Look at Ag Funder. They invest in agricultural tech. There have been advances in automating aspects of agriculture. Tractors that can drive themselves, irrigation systems based on soil moisture, etc. One of the problems is that small farms are less and less viable since the 80s and have been consolidated under large companies. There's not much incentive to develop solutions to small farm issues when the big farms source labor for a couple cents per pound. Even when the solutions are available, they will price out the small farms.
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoOk. Thanks for your input.
- rini17 6y agoI am not listening to you because you seem to insist on automating 100 acres of land in urban environment. This implies you have to keep out all the people living around, to prevent them from interfering with the automation. That sounds utterly absurd. Why not doing it on large scale (to reap automation scaling advantage) and away from cities (to leave more urban environment for... how to say it... human activity?) Oh, and 100 acres _is_ a community garden. In Europe these are everywhere.
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoThere are 100 acre community gardens everywhere in Europe? I have lived in Europe. Where exactly is this? Thanks. Of course, we need to keep ‘people out’ of working environments. Large scale Ag benefiting from automation grow commodity crops and not food crops. Next?
- rini17 6y agoWhat kind of examples do you need? Community gardens don't have much online presence if at all. They can be spot quite easily on sat photos, you can look yourself. Example: [1] Is it foregone conclusion that large scale benefits stop at 100 acres just because it's food crop, not commodity crop? How so? [1] https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1932402,17.1483728,3208m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@48.1932402,17.1483728,3208m/dat...