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Simple monoculture fields were appropriate for 20th-century mechanical equipment. I wonder if these kinds of higher-complexity arrangements could be automated w
by HPsquared 2y ago
Simple monoculture fields were appropriate for 20th-century mechanical equipment. I wonder if these kinds of higher-complexity arrangements could be automated with modern robotics and computer vision.
- Gravityloss 2y agoThat idea sounds excellent and combines old and new ideas in an unexpected way. Hacker News can facilitate wonderful syntheses sometimes.
- whiplash451 2y agoAny startup working on this in EU?
- bryanlarsen 2y agoDon't know about startups or the EU, but "big ag" in North America definitely is.
- Gravityloss 2y agoFrom quick Google it looks like there are a lot with different exact focuses!
- Numerlor 2y agoI think farmers are wary of relying on tech like that and ending up depending on some FaaS, or at least the independent ones that aren't just some huge corporation.
- mbonnet 2y agoI'm from an agricultural region (though more ranching than crop farming). This is absolutely the case. Everyone got fucked over by John Deere and is now extremely wary of such things.
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoI doubt such an organic process could be fully automated - but why would you, given there's plenty of people around? It isn't going to be cheaper I'm sure. Anyway, there's been experiments with biodiversity that is compatible with machinery by alternating rows of plants. This reduced e.g. the proliferation of pests between rows.
- MichaelZuo 2y agoMost existing farms in the US/Canada already have trouble finding enough labor to work much simpler processes.
- HPsquared 2y agoEvery market runs the price level where there's some haggling and marginal cases.
- pfdietz 2y agoI would hope that wages will rise across the world, making manual labor intensive processes obsolete. This would be a good thing.
- bovermyer 2y agoExcept historically this is not what's happened when production has become more efficient.
- pfdietz 2y agoOf course it's what happened.
- Isamu 2y agoA bit of truth in both your statements. Productivity increases are usually due to investments in equipment and training, and employers are keen to recoup this cost. So the employees have to demand a share in increased wages. This may not happen. It is absolutely not automatic. No employer turns over increased profits to the employee (well not usually.) So what has happened during our lifetime is that jobs have been exported to lower wage markets, since the employer reasons that they can invest in higher productivity in a cheaper job market and pocket the difference.
- FredPret 2y agoYup, but on a tiny scale - 1 square meter instead of 1 hectare at a time: https://farm.bot https://farm.bot It's a converted CNC router machine with cameras and water and weeding attachments. Though I'm sure you can mount a big version on a wheeled vehicle that drives around tending the farm.
- edm0nd 2y agoThis farm bot is so neat, very interesting. It has my pondering if I should get one since I just moved out into the country. I suppose I should first just get a planter and do some regular growing first and then I'll be better positioned and understand its benefits.