And their wastes are fertilizer, which we will need after we have processed the necessary amount of Martian soil to make it usable.
More immediate benefits of automation and networking in agriculture include water conservation, reductions in pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer use, control of plant diseases and pests ... and lower long-term costs.
Being a FReeper is very educational in a lot of unexpected ways. Especially being an Undead FReeper!
;o])
Oddly enough, the guy who is supremely interested in getting humans to Mars, and presumably feeding them there, Elon Musk, has a brother who has worked on developing container-shipment sized facilities for growing food under controlled conditions.
I would presume that they will find a way to work together on Mars-colony food-growing procedures. But the goats and chickens are my contribution.
Likely T-c will want to send kudzu. (Woops, there goes another planet lost!)