
Ask HN: Would you automate 100 acres of farmland - jelliclesfarm
I have the opportunity to draft a proposal to farm 100 acres of urban farmland.<p>It is iffy financially mostly because of labour availability. And costs. But. I am still going to go ahead and create a proposal for a working farm ..a kind that has never existed. An automated urban farm with a kitchen-sink&#x2F;duct-tape approach wrt available Agtech.<p>Even if it gets rejected, it will become part of public records(it is public land). I am ok with it. Maybe someone will take it up some day and run with it even if I can’t now...but perhaps it might go through..regardless..<p>I am familiar with how the previous farmer farmed it as he has been mentoring me for the past 6 something years with my own farm. I want to take all that and modernize it.<p>1. Starting with minimal and automated tillage.<p>2. Swarming robots for cultivation, weed management and data collection of pest&#x2F;inputs&#x2F;yield prediction.<p>3. Updated paperwork and certification. I want to create my own protocols, compliance and audit standards for automated farms. Including traceability and best practices.<p>Bad news: it’s super cost prohibitive. Because I have to be grounded in reality, I am going to chisel it to suit the project.<p>Having said that...I can’t help fantasize about cutting edge futuristic farm of the future..with existing Agtech.<p>Any ideas? Forget about the costs. Just vision.
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eb0la
Forget robots.

Gather data on how the plans are doing (think lora-wan sensors) and try to
minimize both waste and costly investments (like unneeded fertilizers and
treatments).

Hire a someone who knows how plants grow and when they are in their better
condition.

Surprisingly some plants give the sweetest fruits when they are near death
(think grapes and wine).

When you have data, you can focus on investment and ROI. It is also more
prudent ;-)

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jelliclesfarm
We have a labour problem. There aren’t many people who are willing to do
repetitive manual labour for minimum wage. We need robots.

Plants grow without data. Farming needs manual labour and mechanization(that
requires skilled labour). We need to automate farming.

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rini17
There is [http://agrokruh.sk/](http://agrokruh.sk/) (sorry could not quickly
find english version).

Instead of robotic swarms that would be difficult to maintain, it uses simple
rotating arm with farm implements attached as needed. It is independent from
fossil fuels, runs silently on modest amount of electricity. The emphasis is
not on cutting-edge tech but on self-sufficiency and on improving the quality
of the soil.

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jelliclesfarm
That’s a good idea.

There are many ways automation can help. Data, self sufficiency, labour,
water, environment etc. for me..I want to focus on small urban Ag and labour
saving tech automation. Our challenge here in the states ..California..is
labour. Labour availability and affordability.

I also envision that plant breeding and hybrids will be integral to any kind
of farm automation. I am already working with a couple of plant breeders on
this. But only for a few main crops. Lots of work to do.

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rini17
Full automation in the open field is bound to fail as there are so many
factors you can't predict, weather, pests, market demand. You will inevitably
end up with some kind of warehouse hydroponics under artificial light.

In urban environment there is always (at least leisure) labour available. You
have to stop fixating on labour as a problem and instead think how to attract
people to come and maintain the garden.

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jelliclesfarm
We do not have labour. Those who do not actively farm for their living do not
understand how serious the labour issue is..

100 acres is not a ‘garden’. The denial of labour availability as a problem by
non farmers and tech sector is why there is no labour automating innovation in
Ag.

Why isn’t anyone listening to us?

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giantg2
People are listening. Look at Ag Funder. They invest in agricultural tech.

There have been advances in automating aspects of agriculture. Tractors that
can drive themselves, irrigation systems based on soil moisture, etc. One of
the problems is that small farms are less and less viable since the 80s and
have been consolidated under large companies. There's not much incentive to
develop solutions to small farm issues when the big farms source labor for a
couple cents per pound. Even when the solutions are available, they will price
out the small farms.

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jelliclesfarm
Ok. Thanks for your input.

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pretzell
I just got hired on a ~100 acre farm to basically do this. We have one other
person who's been working on a auto weed puller (autonomous driving over rows
and computer vision to pick weeds). Would love to talk more about this! my
email is zach_asmith@yahoo.com

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jelliclesfarm
Thanks! Will reach out! Yes..the farm is actually 136 acres right in the
middle of Bay Area!

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giantg2
Your best bet is to plant blackberries and semi-dwarf fruit trees. Then open
it as a pick-your-own place. You would need minimal labor.

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jelliclesfarm
Harvest would be brutal. Can’t automate that!

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giantg2
That's why you crowdsource as a pick-your-own.

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jelliclesfarm
That is not a viable business model. High foot traffic and liability issues.

Would a person running a factory allow random people to enter and do part of
the work for DIY inside their premises? Just because Ag happens under the open
skies doesn’t mean that it’s a park with free entry to all. Working farms are
professional spaces and are for profit.

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giantg2
LOL. Pick-your-own is a common model found at farms. Do some Google searches.

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jelliclesfarm
With all due respect..I don’t know what your domain expertise is, but I am not
going to ask you to ‘do some Google searches’ for you do your job.

This is about automation and latest tech enhanced mechanization of small
farms. Not how to sell produce.

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giantg2
Actually the premise of this post is about writing a proposal to farm 100
acres of urban land. Automation could help in that endeavor and was listed as
one of the aspects that could be explored. Often the best solution is the
simplest. Pick-your-own is a common model used by small farms to reduce labor
requirements for some types of produce such as apples, strawberries, etc. This
approach would also require less capital investment than specialized automated
machines.

There's nothing wrong with googling aspects of your job - how else will you
discover new things if you don't seek them out. In fact, most software devs
research job related information via Google searches all the time.

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jelliclesfarm
Ok. Thanks for your input.

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ed_db
Satellite and Drone imagery.

