How Barn Raising Ideals Can Invigorate AgTech
For most of AgTech’s history, companies both large and small have vied to become the singular industry standard, attempting to “own all the marbles,” writes Lighthouse Ag CEO Aaron Hutchison as part of CropLife’s Cultivating Tomorrow series. Despite substantial investments and acquisitions, this approach has fallen short. It’s time to return to the roots of farming communities and embrace collaboration for the greater good.
I sometimes use an Amish Barn Raising as an example of a healthy farming community. This event, where neighbors come together to build a barn, showcases the strength of collaboration and knowledge sharing. In modern farming, this spirit manifests when a community rallies to harvest a sick neighbor’s crop, preventing a family from losing their livelihood. These small, collective efforts focus on the long-term health of farming and the community.
History shows that some of the industry’s most significant advancements began with a handshake between individuals and trust in their word to help a common customer. These modest beginnings, free from legal complexities or grandiose business plans, have the potential to improve lives and transform the entire ecosystem still today.
Despite challenging economic conditions, including a 15%-20% projected decline in net farm income to its lowest level in nearly a decade, innovation in agriculture continues to thrive. The surge in precision technology adoption, with variable rate technology use for pesticide application rising from 20% in 2019 to 50% in 2022, and the growing biologicals segment showcases farmers’ willingness to embrace new solutions.
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Farmers are increasingly leveraging data from IoT devices across their operations, using advancements in AI for real-time analytics. AI/ML are emerging as one of the most transformative tools in agriculture, focusing on solving specific, high-value problems such as soil health monitoring, crop disease prediction, and supply chain management. It also drives the technologies of see-and-spray, autonomous tractors, and warehouse inventory camera systems.
As AgTech chased novel and more elusive goals, the industry lost sight of the small, impactful efforts that make up our foundation. Efforts that allow our technologies to help farmers where they are today. These innovations don’t diminish the power of collaboration – they necessitate it. Today, if you go it alone – you won’t go very far.
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