INTRODUCTION
According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, agriculture contributes $104.8 billion annually to our state’s economy. The state is home to 64,793 farms, but that figure has decreased each year. For example, Wisconsin lost 638 dairy farms in 2018 and 818 in 2019.
It doesn’t help that the next generation of farmers doesn’t want to farm. Mic magazine wrote that “working off the land doesn’t have the same appeal for the tech-driven, millennial generation.” But what if advanced technology like robotics was brought to the farms? It could help with staffing challenges, as fewer farmers could do more work.
If we are to protect and even grow Wisconsin’s ag industry, then we need to help farmers by investing in new technology–and the startups behind them.
TECH TRAINING
First, it’s important that both the current and the next generations of farmers get the training they may need. Fortunately in Wisconsin, farmers have options.
The University of Wisconsin offers a Farm & Industry Short Course program, which takes place over 16 weeks during the non-growing season. Participants can earn a certificate in farm management; dairy, crops or livestock production; farm equipment; or turfgrass.
Wisconsin’s tech colleges also offer training for jobs in agriculture, with a list of programs–many held virtually–available through the Job Center of Wisconsin. They include Agri-Business Science Technology (Western Technical College), Energy Management Technology (Northeast Wisconsin Technical College) and Agricultural Power and Equipment Technician (Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College).
Note, the UW and tech colleges’ programs don’t necessarily focus on technology such as drones and the like, but the fact that they have the infrastructure in place means that they can someday teach these particular subjects.
TECHNOLOGY TO HELP FARMERS
What technology is out there that can help farmers today? Here’s a look at a couple of examples.
Lely, a Netherlands-based company, focuses on improving the cow farming industry with AI and robots. Lely has created an automatic cow feeder and a barn floor cleaner, but its most revolutionary creation is the Astronaut A5, which completely automates the cow milking process. As a result, the machine helps farmers collect more milk in less time.
Back here in the state is New Glarus-based GLW Technologies. It is working with the University of Wisconsin’s Cranberry Genetics Lab to create the Persephone Drone, which is meant to revolutionize fieldwork on a farm. With its hyper-spectral scanner, the Persephone Drone will be able to fly over a field and collect data in minutes that would normally take farmers hours to collect.
It’s these types of technology that will hopefully help the next generation of farming.
