My Opinion About Automated Farming

Mary Pham
Mr. Simunec
Wednesday, March 7th, 2018.
 My opinion of automation

It is predicted that by 2030, a many as 800 million jobs could be lost worldwide due to automation. A
study, conducted by McKinsey Global Institute, says that advances in AI and robotics will have a drastic effect on
agricultural societies. Around the world, but especially in the developing world, food and farming systems continue
to rely on 20th century technology. The same technology that brought us the internet and transformations in
medicine are now revolutionising farming.

Farming techniques and types of crops vary in different countries. Farmers living in other areas have
particular climates, landscapes and microorganisms, so they must adapt their growing practices to local conditions.
Usually, the process of growing crops starts with understanding growing conditions. From there, farmers chose
which crop is most fitting for them to grow and prepare the land. The process of loosening and turning the soil is
called ploughing or tilting. This is important because it helps bring nutrient-rich soil to the top, traps air into the soil
which is necessary for the roots to breath and it helps the soil to retain moisture for a longer duration. Even after
ploughing, big lumps of soil may remain in the field and are crushed using wooden or iron planks called levellers.

When crops are grown in a field, they absorb nutrients from the soil. After growing many crops in the same
field, the level of nutrients in the soil decrease as they are being used by the crops and may eventually become
infertile. To avoid this situation, farmers often add fertilizers to the soil, which are natural or chemical substances
that contain one or more nutrients essential for plant growth. Next, the seeds are sown into the field. The farmers
makes sure the seeds are sown at an appropriate distance and at the correct depth. They must make sure that the
crops get the right amount of water needed to survive and grow properly. Once the crops are ripe, farmers harvest
crops manually with the help of appropriate tools.

Much of this process to grow crops are done manually, but the evolution of technology is changing the way
farmers manage their farms - such as sensors that detect nutrients and water in soil. This technology is enabling
tractors, harvesters and planters to make decisions about what to plant, when to fertilise, and how much to irrigate.
Robots already do much of the harvesting of lettuce and tomatoes in our greenhouses.

In my opinion, this automation is mostly positive. For farm workers, harvesting crops is hard work. They
work long hours constantly picking crops from plants and if the crop isn't organic, the fields are covered in
pesticides that can put workers at risk of cancer. Instead, replacing these workers with robotic harvesters may be a
good idea. Also, one robot could have multiple arms and this may cause the process to be way faster. Robots can
reduce pesticide use; a weeding machine can precisely pull out weeds - a tedious task for humans - so that farmers
don't have to use as much weed killer. Although the machine may be a little pricey, it will definitely boost the
efficiency. One of the negatives that these automated machines have, is that some countries are still dependant on
agricultural labour, and so what will people do to survive? These robots may be taking jobs from people and leave
fewer opportunities for people to make a living.

To purchase farming equipment cost anywhere from 9,000 dollars to 20,00 dollars. The average amount of
money a farmer makes is 27,000 dollars a year. Paying an immense amount of money once is preferred over paying
a slower individual for more than 15 years. The environmental impacts come from the high GHG emitted into the
atmosphere. The emitted GHG levels won’t adjust the opinions of business owners whose goals are to make money.
Using mechanical farming equipment can change the pace and production of farming for the better. Millennials must
choose to make smart decisions regarding our earth, population and circumstances.