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2007-06-22 Home Front Economy

Farms fund robots to replace migrant fruit pickers

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Posted by lotp 2007-06-22 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top

#1 Around 5 years ago, I read somewhere that nearly all produce crops except strawberries and grapes could be harvested mechanically if the demand was there. These, and probably others, were delicate and had to be manipulated carefully. I'm sure someone could figure it out.

Posted by Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-06-22 01:16|| 2007-06-22 01:16|| Front Page Top

#2 Agriculture is one of several killer apps for robotics. It's not just picking, it's sowing, fertilising, weeding, identifying pests. Robots will revolutionize agriculture.

I remember telling a wheat farmer 12 years ago that he would have robots on his farm within 5 years. He scoffed. OK, so I was a bit out on the timing.

As I recall the problem which brought up my comment was his farm was on the far eastern edge of the Western Australian wheatbelt, where there is just the minimum rainfall required to grow wheat. Consequently, rows of wheat are spaced far apart to maximise the moisture available to each plant.

His problem was that machines spread fertiliser and pesticide evenly over the ground, and as a result most went to waste. A robot would be able to precisely target each plant.

Posted by phil_b 2007-06-22 02:03|| 2007-06-22 02:03|| Front Page Top

#3 Actually, the machines they use these days are near autonomous. My wife's family runs a large farm and their tractors, spray rigs, etc. have more computers than a F15.

Posted by DevilYack">DevilYack 2007-06-22 09:09|| 2007-06-22 09:09|| Front Page Top

#4 My company does a lot with farm machinery controllers. In the Midwest, there are farmers whose machines self-guide with GPS & beacons. They regularly plant & spray throughout the night. Also, variable-rate seed, fertilizer, and chemical applicators have been in use since at least 2003 on field crops. The application rates are based on GIS-registered nutrient removal data, not the actual real-world observed condition of the plants, though.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2007-06-22 09:50|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2007-06-22 09:50|| Front Page Top

#5 But then we would need an Amnesty Program for the illegal robots sure to come from Mexico to work the jobs the American robots won't do.

Posted by Howard Nomoney 2007-06-22 17:06|| 2007-06-22 17:06|| Front Page Top

#6 We could engineer Grapes and Strawberries so they can be harvested by machines. It's only a matter of time.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2007-06-22 18:05|| 2007-06-22 18:05|| Front Page Top

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