Ancient Knowledge, Big Data and Robotics in Agriculture

I think we all should be concerned about the loss of genetic diversity in agriculture.  The photo above was taken several years ago as I was crossing the Oklahoma Panhandle.  I stopped because it was an exceptional group of cattle and they weren't black.

There are several reasons the cattle industry has become dominated by black cattle -- notice that I say black and not Angus.  One is that Certified Angus Beef has done an amazing job at promoting the quality characteristics of the beef produced from Angus cattle.  A second is that the Angus breed truly does typically marble more easily and therefore, the beef is more flavorful and tender.  Because the market favors those characteristics, ranchers are often paid more for black-hided cattle that exhibit the phenotypic Angus traits.  Less profitable breeds tend to fade away, or become extremely small niche opportunities for breeders seeking uniqueness and finding profit in a boutique market -- or the they find more effective ways to market their product.

The same thing has happened in almost every aspect of agriculture.  We now see only a few basic types of most species dominating their market -- whether it be corn, soybeans, fruits, vegetables, pigs, chickens, or whatever.  Agriculture moves toward the most profitable.

The narrowing of the gene pool comes at a price.  Along with more productivity based on market-driven factors we often see susceptibility to disease or, weather-driven factors such as drought or extremely wet conditions.  That susceptibility adds to the use of chemicals, drugs, or other high-cost inputs to combat the problems.

A different approach, especially in countries that are less industrialized in their techniques, might be through the utilization of multiple strains of a plant across a field, or the varying of strains based on specific conditions unique to a location.  Ancient civilizations did this through a collective wisdom garnered through trial and error and close observation.  Today, with the information gathering capabilities we have, data banks could be designed with a focus on what I might term "species intelligence" that allows the farmer to better match genetics to current conditions of soil, weather and other factors at his specific location.

We need to re-think species diversity.  Uniformity is not always the answer.  We have moved that direction, to some extent at least, to accommodate industrialization of the farming processes.  It is easier to plant, cultivate and harvest the crop when it is uniform.  Varying species across a field would mean that the needs of the plants would not all occur simultaneously.  Diversity might add to the necessity for robotic farming.

It is interesting to me that in order to gain efficiency we moved away from ancient knowledge and techniques but, in order to reinstitute that ancient knowledge we may be challenged with developing even higher forms of technology in order to reap the benefits of that knowledge and wisdom.  Have you ever noticed that we seem to "evolve" in circles?  The pendulum swings....

A Human Element in Agriculture

A few years back we took a trip to Kenya.  Although not the purpose of the trip, the agriculture that we witnessed there was a highlight for me.  The photo above is of laborers picking tea leaves in a region called "The White Highlands" west of Nairobi.

Our guide told us the work of the tea pickers was very difficult and that they were not paid well.  I have no doubt of the difficulty, I have put in many hours of manual labor and it can be extremely demanding physically.

One way such backbreaking labor could be minimized, or possibly eliminated, is through robotics.  Sensors would detect when the leaves are at the peak level of maturity for picking.  The difficult manual labor would be eliminated and instead, there would be mechanics and engineers to maintain the machines.  Those labor intensive jobs would be eliminated.

Even though it was a number of years ago that I witnessed this, the thought of mechanical pickers crossed my mind at the time.  I considered the large amount of capital investment and the elimination of the difficult jobs.  I also thought about the fact that most people in Kenya are struggling to survive, have little opportunity for employment and rely on foreign investment to a large extent for the growth of most industries and therefore, jobs.

The U.S. is a country founded on agriculture and trade.  We have moved far beyond that to one of technology and service, but we still are the most advanced producers of food in the world.  Our farms are the most productive and each farmer feeds many, many people -- not only here, but around the world.

In our developmental period, farmers and their families provided much of the backbreaking labor.  In some areas, imported labor in the form of slaves increased productivity (I am opposed to slavery in all forms but, won't get into that discussion here).  Later, and even today, much of the labor for some types of farming comes through poor immigrants seeking jobs.  However, a tremendous amount of the need for manual labor has been replaced by mechanical devices that plant, cultivate and harvest the crops.

Those who have never been in the situation of desperately needing a job don't understand that there is dignity in work -- even difficult manual labor.  Mechanization and robotics eliminate jobs.  Are we guilty of applying "first world" views to "third world" problems when we think this way?  Those jobs may be foundational to some economies.  The issue of appropriate compensation, health care and working hours/conditions is something totally different.  Those are issues of governance.

I am a firm believer in and enthusiastic about the advances being made in both mechanization and robotics as applied to agriculture.  Along with such advances though, needs to come an awareness of the impact on the people dependent on agriculture for the dignity of a job.  An awareness of the social issues is just as critical as the desire to replace human labor with machines.

Robots and Ethanol

I thought this to be an interesting article on Ethanol. The ARS is searching for ways to make ethanol production more efficient. They need to.....


Robot, Yeast Combo May Mean More Ethanol

Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Peoria, Ill., are excited about the latest member to join their team: a one-armed robot. They expect it to speed studies aimed at harnessing the power of proteins for industrial uses, such as making fuel ethanol from fibrous corn stover. The robot is the centerpiece of an automated system called the "plasmid-based functional proteomics work cell." According to Stephen Hughes, a molecular biologist with the ARS National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, the system is the first of its kind to fully automate several procedures that have traditionally been carried out by hand--human hand, that is. A short list of functions includes extracting genetic material from the cells of plants, microbes and other organisms; making DNA copies of genes; inserting the copies into Escherichia coli; culturing these bacteria so that the copies can be sequenced and their proteins identified; and inserting desirable genes into yeasts used to make ethanol. Thanks to the fast, precise movements of its mechanized arm, the robotic system can carry out such tasks hundreds--or even thousands--of times faster than a human could, notes Hughes. He and colleagues in the ARS center's Bioproducts and Biocatalysis Research Unit codeveloped the system with a team from Hudson Control Group of Springfield, N.J., starting in 2004. Of particular interest is using the robotic system to genetically modify new strains of Saccharomyces yeast that can metabolize sugars locked up within corn fiber--something these microbial workhorses have so far failed to do. Currently, only the starch from corn and other grain crops is being converted commercially into the sugars from which ethanol is derived. With the Saccharomyces yeasts now used, this equates to nearly three gallons of ethanol from a bushel of corn. Using new strains capable of breaking down corn fiber could potentially squeeze 10 percent more ethanol from the grain, Hughes and colleagues estimate. Read more about this and other ARS bioenergy research in the April 2007 issue of Agricultural Research magazine, available online at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/apr07/robot0407.htm ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.

Source: Jan Suszkiw, ARS News Service

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I think there is definitely a place for ethanol in the alternative fuels debate. I would just like to see it made from recycling scrap organics, or from fibrous plant residues that can be harvested from marginally productive land rather than from corn. Until the switch occurs, the negative impact to food prices, and the inefficient ethanol production methods will cost the consumers more than the benefits.