AI in agriculture: Automated orchards teaching the next generation of farmers
Mind behind innovative soft fruit farm talks about future-proofing horticulture.
Mind behind innovative soft fruit farm talks about future-proofing horticulture.
If you were to think of a typical farmer, you would probably imagine a man standing in a field, wearing a hat, riding an aging tractor, surrounded by animals and crops
Such perceptions may have been true around half a century ago. But today’s farmers are a tad more technologically advanced.
They are augmenting their work with AI tools to improve efficiencies and increase their crop yields at a time when farming is under threat from all sides.
Examples include robot-based greenhouse systems from Iron Ox that use bots to identify trends in water and nutrient mixes, and smart tractors from Monarch Tractor that can be operated autonomously.
Around 87% of agriculture businesses in the U.S. are using AI technologies, according to a recent RELX and Proagrica report, with deployments used to improve farmyard efficiencies and reduce operating costs.
And the important thing for farmers today is to pass down their knowledge to the next crop of farmers.
One of the people helping teach the next generation of agriculturalists that farming is not just ‘wheelbarrows and wellies’ is Alan Harvey, head of the curriculum for horticulture and floristry at Hadlow College in Kent, England.
His team is building an innovative orchard, boasting automated operations and smart tools that he believes will help excite aspiring farmers as well as support the wider agriculture industry.
Supporting industry
Harvey has been in and around the horticulture and agriculture sector for about 25 years. His journey began as a parting supervisor working in an ornamental plant nursery, which he described as being quite automated for the time.
In more recent years, he has been more involved in the food production part of the sector from growing crops to hydroponics – another aspect that he outlines as being quite automated in terms of the environment.
Harvey’s work now involves spearheading the college’s new robotic soft fruit farm.
To bring their dream orchard to fruition, his team obtained a “substantial” amount of funding. The college plans to use the funds on various tractors, machinery, harvesters, robotic sprayers and pruners, among other things.
The reason for building an innovative orchard was twofold, he explained.
“We were considering planting a new orchard. Orchards have a pre-determined lifespan and ours was coming to the end of its productive existence, so we were considering where the next orchard should go and how we should do it.”
The second reason was to support the industry. “It can be used for companies to come and do short courses, like CPDs (Continuing Professional Development) as well as help promote the industry to the public − anyone can come and have a look at it,” he said.
“I was keen to be involved in this because it's a passion of ours at the college to prepare students as well as support industry and this is a great way of doing it.”
Agriculture as an industry is still reeling from the pandemic, which led to worker shortages and canceled orders compounding difficulties for farmers.
In the U.K., where Hadlow College is based, Brexit has exacerbated already difficult worker shortages, with Harvey pointing to labor as one of the biggest issues facing the industry.