The coffee fruit is grown in different regions all over the globe. From farms on the slopes of active volcanoes, to jungles that experience heavy seasonal rains—each farm brings a uniqueness to the coffee they produce.
But as climate change intensifies, populations increase, and technology advances—the future of farming is pushing boundaries of what we thought was possible. Science fiction is starting to become reality…
Vertical Farming
Rather than crops spanning for acres and acres, what if farms were actually stacked on top of one another, like a skyscraper? What if we grew crops indoors, using vertical space to intensify production? Forbes covered this at length back in November.
Well, there are a number of companies that are beginning to build out a new wave of agriculture.
Plenty, wants to put a 100,000 square foot indoor farms outside every major city in the world and Skygreens is committed to providing agricultural solutions with minimal impact on natural resources.
Drone Farming
It might seem a little outrageous, but drone farming is quickly becoming a reality. From the analytical data drones are able to capture from the sky, to planting and crop spraying—there is a lot of potential with manned and automated drones. Technology Review breaks down a number of different ways drones are revolutionizing agriculture.
DJI, for example, already has an octo-copter that was created for the sole purpose of distributing liquid pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides. The drone can save farmers hours and hours of time that would normally be spent on manual spraying.
Artificial Intelligence
A.I. goes hand in hand with drone flight and automation. Drones are able to capture images from a perspective we couldn’t get otherwise, but it’s the software and algorithms that analyze those images that can truly save time, space, and crops.“The Ceres Imaging tech relies on a sensor that measures light wavelengths that the human eye can’t see. These wavelengths are then analyzed to provide a sense of the health of crops.”
Terrific example of this in use via CNN.
While agriculture is as old as civilization, the future of farming is leaning heavily on tech.
How else do you think technology can help the farming industry? Let us know in the comments.