How the Feed Industry Can Embrace the Brave New World
The way feed is grown, manufactured, stored, transported, and formulated into rations all are open to monumental, technological transformation, according to Irish agricultural futurist Aidan Connolly.
Connolly, who is president of AgriTech Capital LLC, said compared to other industries like health care, agriculture lags behind in the adoption of novel technologies to streamline operations. Opportunities he identified to infuse technology to improve agricultural efficiency include:
- Robots – In healthcare, robots are deployed to execute tasks ranging from processing blood samples to performing surgery. In many cases, they prevent human error while completing tasks more efficiently and reliably. In agriculture, robotic technology is emerging to handle planting, weeding, insect vacuuming, harvesting, and packaging of crops.
- Internet of Things (IoT) technology – Smart devices like Fitbits and Apple Watches are transforming health care by providing real-time data without the need for human monitoring. Similarly, IoT devices are being introduced to agriculture to perform tasks like monitoring feed inventories and gathering agronomic data in real time.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) – AI can help mine the volumes of data generated in agriculture to guide management decisions by detecting patterns in the performance of animals and crop production systems.
- People – Agriculture traditionally has “hired from within” in terms of people with agricultural backgrounds. Connolly predicts a shift in this trend as technology replaces human labor, but the need will still exist for highly skilled workers to manage the technology. He believes this will result in an agricultural workforce with a broader background, who are seeking stimulating, higher-paying jobs.
Offering another health care comparison, Connolly said more technology does not mean fewer jobs in the industry. To the contrary, the medical industry currently has the best job outlook in any field, with 19% growth predicted in the next few years.
That same robust job expansion could be possible in the agronomic, feed, and animal agriculture sectors if embracing technology results in the hiring of more skilled workers to perform tasks like data analysis, software engineering, and coding.
He cited a recent McKinsey survey indicating that more than 50% of large farms and nearly 25% of small farms in the U.S. are using, or planning to use, precision agriculture technology. Automation, robotics, and electrification are also on the radar of crop farmers. The larger the operation, the greater the interest in such technologies.
The McKinsey survey authors advised that supplier and consultant relationships with farmers also will change as the result of new technologies. They suggested the most successful industry partners will be those who embrace innovation in their own businesses; use data and analytics to bring value to customers; use technology to delivery personalized counsel to individual farm operations; and help farmers monetize adoption of sustainable practices.
“We must welcome digital disruption,” Connolly advised. “Technology on the farm provides solutions to many of agriculture’s most urgent problems, and those who prepare for disrupting innovation by investing in and retaining talent will enjoy new levels of productivity and wealth.”
For more on nutrition, read:
