Precision agriculture is not better for the environment — and it often just leads farmers into greater debt
Will robotics and “smart” technology solve the climate crisis and make agriculture more resilient and sustainable?
That’s what the entrepreneurs and tech companies who are launching the Reservoir, a new “on-farm innovation hub” for robotic farm technology in Salinas, California, would like us to think. In their press release for the test farm for “robotics innovation,” a John Deere spokesman involved with the project says that they are “strengthening the resilience, efficiency, and sustainability of high-value crops — with potential to benefit food systems worldwide.”
The Reservoir is only the latest attempt to introduce new, expensive electronic technologies into agriculture. The technologies they are testing fall under the umbrella term of “precision agriculture,” which, according to a General Accounting Office report released on January 31, 2024, includes technologies like remote sensing platforms, in-ground sensors, targeted spray systems, automated mechanical weeders, auto-steering tractors and activity monitors on dairy cows. Although precision agriculture has been promoted by ag tech companies since the 1990s, less than 30 percent of U.S. farmers currently utilize it.
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