field notes IOWA
PREPARE NOW FOR THE FUTURE OF AG ROBOTICS
TOM JUNGE, Iowa Field Director [
tomj@ineda.com]
Even though the winter farm show season just came to an end, we are already busy planning for the December 2019 and January 2020 Nebraska and Iowa Power Farming Shows. We are always looking for exciting new ag technology to feature at our shows. Twenty years ago, satellites, auto-steer and GPS were just hitting the marketplace, while today, advanced precision agriculture, mobile phone/tablet technology and UAVs have taken the spotlight.
So what is the next great technological thing in our industry? Autonomous tractors are typically the first thing to come to mind since the CNH prototype was unveiled two years ago. Plus, there has been one in development in North Dakota since 2012.
Along the lines of autonomous tractors, but on a smaller scale, is agriculture robotics. How soon will we see these products? I ran across an article that stated a Fargo, ND group plans to develop the first 100% autonomous farm by 2025, or in seven years. It is being called the “Grand Farm Initiative.”
When reading things like this I find myself wondering if dealers are prepared for this transition to automation. When it comes to autonomous tractors, I would think “sure,” since they will be selling and servicing any new tractor provided by their major manufacturer. How about agriculture robotics? Do you see these coming from major manufacturers, specialty manufacturers or technology companies? If history repeats itself, much of this new technology will more than likely come from specialty manu- facturers and, in the case of robotics, technology companies.
Major manufacturers have led the charge in the past. For example, in 2017 AGCO/Fendt unveiled their MARS project (Mobile Agricultural Robot Swarms) at AgriTechnica. This Fendt unit is called the Xaver and it is designed for targeted seeding using swarm technology.
But what if most robotics comes from technology companies? Who is going to sell these units? And more importantly who will service them? Here’s a look at what we might be seeing soon.
BoniRob – From Germany comes Bosch’s vision-based, high-speed manipulation robotic ultra-precise weed controller, commonly known as the “Weed Stumper.” This non-chemical solution to weed control identifies weeds and drives them into the ground 24 hours a day. The idea behind Bosch’s BoniRob is that farms could buy one unit and then buy or rent the modules they need when they need them, without having to invest in multiple single-task robots. The growing number of organic farmers will crave this unit.
6 | The Retailer Magazine | May/June
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