SPECIAL REPORT: PART 2
THE CYBER FARM
In our previous issue, we looked at how farming could soon be transformed by technology, including drones and robots. Jess Stevenson introduces 12 of these coming innovations
1. CARBON CALCULATING
Good data analysis balances the amount of carbon a farm sequesters. Costs are cut on chemicals, while profits and biodiversity are improved. Natural capital features, such as restored field and riparian margins, are valued and used to increase predators for pests. The tech is in its infancy but there is a growing field of carbon-and biodiversity-calculating firms. Trinity AgTech uses scientific methodology, remote-sensing technologies and an AI machine to process data to make sure a farm is operating to its triple-bottom line – for people, planet and profit.
2. RENEWABLE ENERGY
Renewable energy will reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. Anaerobic digesters, for example, can use animal and food waste to generate biogas. In Lincolnshire, an anaerobic digester powers Dyson Farming’s new giant glasshouse, which produces 750 tonnes of strawberries each year. Heat from the digester and a climate-control system allows an expanded growing season. The waste digestate is used as organic fertiliser on nearby fields. A circular approach means the farm is carbon neutral.
3. PRECISION TECH, AUTOMATION AND DATA
Precision technology will be widespread on the farm. Autonomous machines and robots will help seed, manage and harvest crops. As a result, labour costs are cut, soil is no longer compacted and fewer chemicals are used. At agricultural university Harper Adams, a hands-free farm uses conventional tractors retro-fitted with autonomous systems to grow wheat, barley and field beans across 14 hectares. Similarly, the ag-tech start-up Small Robot Company uses a robot called Tom and an artificial intelligence (AI) operating system called Wilma to analyse and manage crops on a ‘per plant’ basis on farms in Hampshire and Wiltshire.
4. AGROFORESTRY
Planting a future crop of timber trees between arable crops on the farm should improve soil health, manage water flow, increase wildlife and farm productivity. By helping to lock in carbon, the farm should also be more resilient to extreme weather and soil erosion. At Shimpling Park Farm in Su olk (below), 3,500 native trees have been planted in lines through fields growing cereals and pulses. The trees will be harvested for timber in the future; early advantages include shade for sheep in the summer.
6. COMPANION PLANTING
‘Nurse’ crops are grown to help commercial crops, such as oilseed rape, resist pests and maintain profits. Similarly, two cash crops, such as peas and barley, are grown and harvested together, shaking up traditional monocultures and reducing reliance on chemicals. Regenerative farming practices like these are being studied as part of an EU project led by Rothamsted Research. It found that planting oilseed rape with nurse crops such as clover or oats reduces damage by the cabbage stem flea beetle.
5. BIOTECHNOLOGY
Gene-edited or genetically modified (GM) crops or animals may be grown in response to a disease threat, for nutritional benefits or increased productivity in a di cult climate. Many scientists believe gene-edited crops could deliver a wide range of beneficial traits, from drought resistance to carbon fixing. The method involves removing or modifying genes already found in an organism, unlike GM, which can use genes imported from other plants or animals. These techniques are not used in the breeding of crops or animals grown for food in the UK today, but gene-editing research is ongoing.
7. DRONES
Drones will reduce the need for heavy farm machinery, improve soil health and manage crops precisely. Digital maps of the field allow the farmer to pinpoint disease, weeds or where additional nutrients are needed. Drones are already used to monitor crops but those that operate as a sprayer are in their infancy in Europe. Now a game-changer could be on the way. The British Drone Consortium is working with the government to be the first licensed organisation to sow seeds and apply sprays with the ‘XAG’s Jet Speed’. It has an autonomous flight control system and high accuracy navigation. Its hopper can carry 15–20kg loads and cover eight to 10 hectares an hour.
8. LIVESTOCK SENSORS & THE INTERNET OF THINGS
Linking smart ear tags or sensors to an online software system will allow the farmer to increase productivity and improve animal health more quickly. Sensors that cattle swallow to provide early warnings about ill health or fertility are being developed. In Northern Ireland, dairy farmer David Tait has been using a bolus developed by Austrian company smaXtec. The sensor gives information on a cow’s temperature, pH levels, rumination and movement. He says it helps detect problems such as mastitis, sore feet and lung infections early.
10. VERTICAL FARMING
Growing fresh salad leaves on vertical shelves inside a shipping container creates a local crop for the farm shop. Food miles, fertiliser and water use are reduced. In Bristol, for example, vertical farming company Lett Us Grow supplies shipping containers with soil-less aeroponic systems to growers in urban and rural areas alike. Also, large hydroponic greenhouses operated by Valefresco have been increasing the yield of crops such as pak choi by up to four times, using the same amount of land.
9. VIRTUAL FENCING
In future, farmers will be able to manage stock movements through GPS collars, cloud computing and online software. Animals are warned with a mild electrical pulse when approaching a boundary that has been mapped on a smartphone. Removing physical fencing improves grazing management, saves time and protects sensitive areas such as water courses. Virtual fencing has been researched by Scotland’s Rural College. Farmers in the Highlands trialled the tech on commercial hill herds. Early findings show stock learnt the system in 24 hours and weren’t stressed by it.
11. INSECT ANIMAL FEED
In livestock or egg production, a big challenge is the amount of protein required, which can be 70% of production costs. At around 48% protein, soy feed is efficient and hard to replace but Cambridge tech start-up Better Origin is doing just that. Its artificial intelligence and circular-waste-driven insect factories are producing on-farm animal feed in the form of black fly larvae – helping deliver a final feed that’s up to 80% protein, and preventing deforestation caused by soy farming. Wood Farm Free Range Eggs in Bedfordshire is now using the tech commercially.
12. LAB GROWN MEAT
The on-farm lab creates cultured beef burgers. Animal muscle cells are taken from a living animal, cultivated and processed into a meat product. Many firms are marketing cultured chicken, beef and pork as ‘no kill’ meat. In 2020, US company ‘Eat Just’ got approval to sell lab-grown chicken nuggets in Singapore, but the tech is controversial and energy intensive.
Jess Stevenson is a journalist and television producer specialising in farming, rural affairs, climate change and food production.