How Technology Will Influence Farms of the Future, Change Way Crops are Produced

From the invention of hoes, scythes and ploughs to the introduction of tractors, innovation is at the heart of agriculture, writes Anmar Frangoul on CNBC.com. Today, a number of digital technologies — from autonomous robots that pick fruit to subterranean farms — are helping transform the industry.

As technology develops, it’s only natural that the sector will change and adapt. Its within that context that research carried out at institutions such as Harper Adams University is becoming increasingly important.

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Founded in 1901, the university is based around a 635-acre farm in Shropshire, England. It focuses on everything from food production to animal sciences, engineering and land management.

Simon Blackmore is head of robotic agriculture at Harper Adams University. His research interests include precision farming, agricultural robots and smart machines.

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“As an agricultural engineer I’m looking at agriculture from the machinery point of view,” he told CNBC’s Lubna Takruri. “I believe with the opportunities that we’ve got in this new technology we’re going to get a new revolution in agriculture, in crop production, that is going to take advantage of these technologies.”

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Avatar for Barry Micallef Barry Micallef says:

It is worth mentioning in this article that robotics are going to significantly change how we approach weed control in the next 10-15 years. Robotic weeding systems already exist, and they should make our present approach to chemical weed control in agronomic and horticultural cropping systems obsolete in the next 10-15 years. That also includes transgenic herbicide-resistant crops; they will become obsolete as well. The present focus on chemical weed control by weed scientists will also become obsolete.

Barry Micallef, Professor, University of Guelph