SOURCE Magazine Spring 2022 May 2022 | Page 19

that is flowing into agriculture sustainability and technology projects .
“ We need more resources to meet the demand that ’ s out there ,” added O ’ Mara . “ Many people don ’ t realize that there ’ s more money in conservation in the farm bill than almost all other bills combined .”
Ag Tech Breakthroughs The UN predicts the world ’ s population will reach a staggering 9.7 billion by 2050 . The one thing nearly 10 billion people will need : food . Farmers face the challenge of feeding a growing population on a planet with a fixed amount of arable land and resources . That was the focus of a SXSW panel on the future of new technology at the farmgate , along with the startup investment money that is flowing in to help fund a good amount of this technology .
Jahmy Hindman , Ph . D ., the chief technology officer at John Deere , suggested the only way to meet this challenge is by leveraging advanced technology and autonomy to do more with less . The talk focused on how agriculture has always been a leader in the tech space , bringing selfdriving equipment to the farm long before anyone was developing it for cars , and it didn ’ t stop there . Farmers are equipped with AI , robotics , and other technologies to help them manage their fields and make each harvest more productive than the last . adjustments , as opposed to steering the tractor where it needs to go .”
Preparing for What ’ s Next Back at SXSW , a Colorado farmer on the climate change panel relayed what many in the ag retail industry already know : farmers are more ready and open to technology that will help them feed the world than ever , and understand that adapting to climate challenges will help everyone .
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“ We ’ re already using less water to grow more crops than before ,” said Paul Bruchez , a fifth-generation farmer who relies on the Colorado River for irrigation . “ I can tell you that my neighbors who were not as ready to jump into this are now much more open to conservation practices than even ten years ago . We know that we are all in this together .”
In addition to participating at SXSW , John Deere had a large presence at this year ’ s Consumer Electronics Show , also known as CES . The event brings in tens of thousands of technology industry professionals to the multi-day event in Las Vegas .
At this year ’ s show , John Deere introduced its first fully autonomous tractor that ’ s ready for largescale production and available to farmers later this year .
“ We ’ re currently able to guide machines throughout the field within two and a half centimeters , or about one inch , of accuracy . That precise location-sensing technology enables farmers to place seed , spread nutrients , and harvest their crops , all without ever having to touch the steering wheel ,” said Hindman to the crowd . “ I don ’ t know if any of you have driven a tractor , but I can tell you from experience , that without this self-driving technology , farming is incredibly exhausting , mentally and physically . It ’ s GPS technology that allows farmers to spend their time in the cab of a tractor , looking at real-time data that they ’ re collecting during the job that they are doing , to determine if they need to make any