Computing has become central to lots of peoples’ jobs over the last few decades, but lots of folks forget that even industries that don’t (at first) seem to have much to do with computing are becoming more and more connected to computing technology. Agriculture is one of these fields – farming, especially at large scales, has been transformed by computing. Modern farming equipment like tractors, combines, and irrigation systems have become integrated with suites of sensors, collecting data about the plants and animals the farmer is producing and making tasks which would otherwise require careful manual labor into an automatic process. And now that computing is such an important part of contemporary agriculture practices, computer science skills and knowledge have become important farming skills in and of themselves. Farmers have always been generalists; carpentry, small engine repair, and other practical maintenance skills are absolutely critical for farmers, who often by definition live in rural areas where they might not have easy access to a specialist for hire. Coding, network administration, and other IT-related skills now fall into that same category of skills—things farmers need to know to do themselves.
Here’s one good example of a computing technology that has created a ton of efficiencies for farmers: John Deere’s “see & spray” system, which uses machine learning and computer vision to identify weeds and apply weed killer precisely where it is needed rather than spraying a whole field with expensive and potentially harmful chemicals. As the farmer pulls the machine over their rows of crops, the system replaces a whole group of workers who would otherwise painstakingly spray each individual rogue plant. If your field were only a half-acre, the “see and spray” system wouldn’t be worth the cost. But for farms that plant and harvest hundreds or thousands of acres each season, this cutting-edge technology is one way to gain scale and do more farming with less human labor.
Another area that indicates the importance of computing in agriculture is the “right to repair” movement. Systems like John Deere’s “see and spray” product are sophisticated, but incredibly expensive. And to make matters worse, the equipment that John Deere sells uses “software locks” which are software safeguards that prevent customers from working and repairing their equipment. Instead, farmers who use “see and spray” and other tools like it are forced to rely on the John Deere company to come remove the software lock and then perform the repair service. “Right to repair” advocates are trying to persuade legislators that these kinds of “software locks” which prevent customers from fully using equipment they’ve already purchased should be regulated or prohibited. Until then, however, companies like Ursa Ag are responding to farmers’ demands for repairable technology by releasing their own products using simpler technologies and giving customers everything they need to maintain their equipment indefinitely. Coding and software engineering are becoming two of the important repair and maintenance skills for farmers who aren’t operating at a scale that can absorb John Deere’s customer lock-in efforts.
If you want to teach your students about Ag-Tech, here are some places to start: