What Will Autonomous Farming Tech Mean for Crops and Workers Who Harvest Them?

Summary

An Associated Press story on farm automation, republished by Farms.com, includes a farmer who uses Farmblox.

The story looks at how automation is reaching farms of every size, from solar-powered irrigation in Florida to robotic berry pickers and driverless tractors. It also gives room to farmers who doubt the tools can replace skilled workers, and to workers who wonder what the change means for them.

Vermont dairy and maple farmer Will Brigham sees automation as one answer to the national shortage of farm workers. Since 2021, his family farm has used Farmblox, an AI-powered farm monitoring and management system, to get ahead of problems such as leaks in the tubing used for maple production.

Brigham liked the system enough to join Farmblox as a senior sales engineer, helping other farmers adopt the same kind of technology.