Next Gen Ag

Farming And Agribusiness Leaning Heavily Into Tech

Development on Many Fronts

Technology is not only maximizing existing farmland, but also helping to bring more land into production than ever before. As Brandon Silveira, founder and CEO of FarmFundr.com wrote for Forbes, “Farms are evolving, both in size and value … I believe one reason for these changes can be attributed to technology. Land that was once considered ‘undesirable’ or difficult to farm can now be developed into a healthy, operational farm with the right technology.”

Advanced technology is so prevalent in agriculture these days, that attending a farm-related trade show is likely to yield more talks about apps than acres and computer chips than center pivots. That is, except for the presentations showing how those computer chips are helping the center pivots water with more precision than ever before.

Successful Farming reported as much in March when the publication detailed the rapidly developing role artificial intelligence (AI) will soon bring to the field. The article stated how AI applications will soon allow the farmer to see optimal production right down to the seedling level, as discussed by panelists at the 2023 World Agri-Tech Summit in San

Francisco.

“Data collection and artificial intelligence (AI) implementation have become increasingly prevalent among new agriculture technology,” wrote Alex Gray. “The resolution, or scale, of data, has been getting higher, slowly narrowing down from entire farms to acres and soon down to the individual plant … [Developers] hope with AI technology processing data and computer vision, farmers will be able to manage their fields, down to individual sections of the plant, in real time.”

While at present widespread application of such futuristic tools is a way off, there’s still far more technology at work in agriculture than Nebraska’s general public may realize, from machinery and market research to more advanced hybrids.

“Technology has been very impactful on the family farm,” said Jim Robinson, chief technology officer with Rob-See-Co, which develops and markets advanced seed for corn, soybeans, alfalfa and sorghum. “While large farms are controlling more acres than ever before, technological advancements have allowed family farms to be more efficient.

“New corn hybrids and soybean varieties from Rob-See-Co are more resilient in the face of adversity. With better standability, disease tolerance and higher yield potential, new products don’t need to be managed nearly as closely as hybrids and varieties of 25 years ago.”

Farming Process Aided

Bringing that seed to maturity is another area where the farmer has more and better tools at his or her disposal, Robinson said.

“Water rights and restrictions will likely impact more of the state than we have seen in previous decades. This will impact Nebraska farmers who rely on irrigation to produce their crop in our drier climate of Nebraska,” he said. “Sensor technology and hybrid improvements will allow producers to stabilize yields while more closely managing their cost of production. While technologies will improve grain marketing, it will also