[ProtectOurFreedom]

There was an interesting article in the past few days about a robotic cotton picker that selectively picks ripe bolls and, using sticky “fingers,” carefully strips out the cotton fibers. It avoids having to spray desiccant on the fields to use large cotton harvesters. But it was unbelievably SLOW.

I saw another interesting YouTube video about robotic drones spraying crops. The operator stood by on a large trailer that acted as a landing platform. He refilled the tank with chemicals and swapped out battery packs. The drone could make one up and return pass over a large field. It could fly a lot closer to the crops, be more selective in spray, avoid drift, and avoid obstacles. It looked real promising but the author never addressed economics.

Nut orchards are highly mechanized now with tree shakers that knock the nuts off the branches.

All of these things look real promising, but you have to wonder about the changes in labor requirements. Fewer unskilled laborers and more highly skilled repairmen and operators / programmers.

Thanks for posting.

[GenXPolymath]

You mean the Mississippi Aggies replacing who historically harvested their cotton.

https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2023/10/end-effector-robotic-system-developed-msu-engineering-team-puts-autonomous

HAIL STATE

[bigbob]

There won’t be any “farm workers” for planting, cultivating or harvesting crops in another 15 years. As a John Deere guy told me, they can put in a crop of corn without a farmer being involved other than to initiate actions. The reason farmers still drive tractors is because farmers like to drive tractors. But where the tractor goes and what it does is all automated. See “Precision Agriculture”.

[metmom]

Some crops are just too fragile to use mechanical reapers for. Nuts?

They are tough.

Apples bruise easily and will bruise and rot if knocked to the ground.

And there’s more than just harvesting the crop. Growing, making decisions, disease and pest control, nutrient requirements, etc.

[dfwgator]

So what are all the unskilled people going to do?

You know what they say about ‘idle hands’.

[PeterPrinciple]

It could fly a lot closer to the crops, be more selective in spray, avoid drift, and avoid obstacles. It looked real promising but the author never addressed economics.

---

The technology is a substitute for actual product. I had many discussions with farmers that they might be better off with more fertilizer than a nice color map and report.

They are sold on the idea it saves fertilizer but total cost is the same.