California's agriculture industry leans toward big tech as farming expenses soar

For Northern California farmers, everything from water to fertilizer to labor has gotten significantly more expensive over the last several years.

"Operation costs have gone up, labor costs have gone up, everything has gone up but commodity prices to the growers have not," said Devin Bower, who owns an organic almond and pistachio farm.

Bower, like many other farmers, said adapting to challenges is just part of life as a grower. But that adaptability gets squeezed by things like water restrictions and nationwide inflation.

For those farms that can afford the up-front investment, smart technology can help save cash in the field.

At this year's Colusa Farm Show in Colusa County, agriculture vendors from all over the country were showing off their latest and greatest innovations. Programmable and remote-controlled "drone tractors" have seen a rise in popularity over the past five years.

"Opportunities like this really give the power back to the farmer when you have your own equipment and your own time and really can manage it as easily as you could a smartphone," said Kurt George, who is the vice president of Business Development for Hylio, a Texas-based company specializing in what it calls "AgroDrones."

Hylio's drones can take care of spraying, watering and even seeding with better precision than traditional farm equipment, all without making an impression on the land below. The company estimates that its drones use 1/10th of the water of a traditional irrigation system.

Hylio's AgroDrone first came on the market about five years ago. George said it's taken some time, but his company's product is gaining popularity in California. George himself is a rice farmer in Colusa County.

"California farmers are definitely at a tipping point, and I think the combination of workforce reduction with COVID and the water reduction through the latest drought: That's what tipped people over the edge," George said.

Other vendors were showing off fully autonomous farming vehicles and smart sprayers trained to target only the green chlorophyll in plant leaves.

Robert Myre of Myre Distributing said those targeted sprayers can cut down on chemical use by 50% after one use, saving farmers supplies and money while limiting the number of chemicals in surrounding water systems and in the crops themselves.

These innovations have long-term cost-saving benefits, but up-front costs can range from $1,500 to $300,000 for a single unit.

Almond grower Devin Bower said for small and medium-sized farms like his, those prices can be out of reach.

"That technology is awesome, but obtaining it or having it come in where the price point is too high, you know you're really kind of limited on what you can do," Bower said.

Meanwhile, larger corporate operations have been taking advantage of this "smart farming" equipment for several years.

"I think large farms that are huge that, you know, a million dollar loss to them is nothing, those guys can adapt new technologies pretty easily," said Jared Enos, a walnut grower representative with Carriere Farms.

As more farms invest and the technology improves and becomes easier to produce, it may eventually become more affordable to those mid-size and small growing businesses.

And as farms in the West adapt to climate change and the potential for more crippling droughts in the decades to come, it may also become more necessary.

"Autonomous farming is definitely where the ag industry is headed," George said.

---

Source: KCRA News

---