Following the ‘Falling Dominos’ in AgTech

By CropLife

If you regularly check for interesting videos on the Internet, chances are you’ve run across someone lining up thousands of dominos and then setting them in motion, writes Eric Sfiligoj at CropLife. When performed properly, these falling dominos lead to all sorts of pre-determined patterns and pictures across vast stretches of floorspace.

In the world of business, there is also a “falling domino” game often played. Based on the evidence, we are now seeing many “patterns and pictures” beginning to emerge in the realm of agricultural technology as well.

The first step, of course, is simply setting up the dominos. In agtech, this involves identifying potential “hot” product categories to jump into and setting up a company to do so. Since at least the start of the 2010s, dozens of new technology-oriented companies have entered the agricultural marketplace, dappling in everything from improved planting advances to automatic steering systems to drones. Most recently, companies are beginning to explore the potential artificial intelligence (AI) and application work can accomplish when combined.

The second step in this “falling domino” scenario is further developing and improving upon these myriad technologies. To this end, the marketplace has seen such developments as Raven Industries launching its autonomous spreader, the OmniPower 3200, at the 2022 Commodity Classic; John Deere expanding upon its Blue River weed identification system to introduce the See & Spray Ultimate system for self-propelled sprayers; and HevenDrones debuting a hydrogen-powered drone for agriculture, which promises to increase the payload and operating range of these systems in the near future.