Technology and automation continuously reshape the work of running a farm. A little more than a century ago, farm chores relied on people’s hands and backs along with the work of horses, steam engines, and early tractors and machines. Today in Wisconsin and the wider Midwest, robotic milkers, automated feeders, driverless tractors, virtual fences and drones are just starting to handle daily tasks. Elsewhere robots pick fruit, spray crops or fry weeds with lasers. Automation is no longer a distant vision. Technology is being used to fill labor gaps, trim costs, increase efficiency and boost precision. Success, though, still begins with a solid plan.
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The article was written by John Shutske, Nesli Akdeniz Onuki, Kevin Bernhardt, Hernando Duarte, Carolina Pinzón-Sánchez, Stephanie Plaster and Angie J Ulness.
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