FRESNO, CA - Lance Donny, Founder and CEO of OnFarm, as well as a 20-year executive of software and ag companies, is scheduled to speak at the upcoming PMA Tech Knowledge on the future of farming from May 11 through 13.
He recently shared some of his insights with PMA’s Ashley Boucher about emerging technologies and their applications for the future of the fresh produce industry.
“When we look at Ag and tech for the next 5-20 years, we’re seeing that growth will come from the use of information for better decision-making,” Donny says. “We hear that we need to be able to feed 9 billion people by 2050 — we’ll succeed in that by increasing production driven by making more informed decisions and working twice as efficiently. We’ll yield more quality product out of the same or less amount of input.”
Donny believes that the first step that the produce industry should take is to determine what growers need and evolve the plan from there.
“Some growers, especially in California right now, have a priority need for water management – many crops are heavily water dependent, and water quality is important. That might be a first priority need for them. So, after identifying the need, we look at the best options to figure out how to meet that first need – and then build from there.”
A key aspect of the future of farming technology is what Donny calls the “Internet of Everything,” or IoE. The IoE essentially describes the interconnectivity of different sources of technology.
The example Donny gives is your water or utility meter at your home. With today’s technology, it can connect to the internet and transmit its data to companies from the home automatically. That means no more visits from people to come check it manually. The same kind of interconnectivity can be applied to the produce industry.
“In my lifetime, it’s highly possible that every plant in a field could have a sensor on it and be able to tell software systems what the plant needs on an individual basis. Then automated equipment can go by and apply the right amount of the fertilizer or water or pesticide for that specific plant.”
Donny believes that growers care about this data and that it is up to tech companies like OnFarm to lead the way for the produce industry.
“It’s both an evolutionary and revolutionary step in agriculture. Our investments in agriculture will drive the next phase, something like Ag 3.0 – using data to grow more efficiently. Our challenge is: How do we take that next step in the industry and deliver results to the farmer?”
A fundamental issue getting in the way of advancements for the agricultural industry is that our information systems aren’t connected, Donny says. Data needs to come together so that trends can be more easily spotted and understood. None of this is possible without data.
When asked about what the future of the produce farm will look like, the answer was simple: mechanization.
“Great efficiencies in commodity crops can be driven through mechanization,” Donny says. “We’ll see more of that in produce. Everything from planting and harvesting and application of material will be done in a fully mechanized or autotomized basis. We’ll see fertilizer application by robots that travel down a row or field and apply fertilizer at the plant level autonomously. Harvesting will be more and more mechanized.”
Overall, Donny says the three areas in produce that we’ll see innovations are in labor, logistics, and applied materials.
And the good news for us is, there are already companies working on these problems as you read this. It won’t take too long until the possibilities listed above become reality. Don’t expect to see all of them today, Donny says. We’ll continually drive to accomplish more, grow better, and in the end make more efficient farming decisions.
