SILICON
SILIC
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Editor
Nicholas Vinen
Technical Editor
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Technical Staff
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc
Bao Smith, B.Sc
Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc
Technical Contributor
Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD
Art Director & Production Manager
Ross Tester
Reader Services
Ann Morris
Advertising Enquiries
Glyn Smith
Phone (02) 9939 3295
Mobile 0431 792 293
glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au
Regular Contributors
Dave Thompson
David Maddison B.App.Sc. (Hons 1),
PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov.
Geoff Graham
Associate Professor Graham Parslow
Ian Batty
Cartoonist
Brendan Akhurst
Silicon Chip is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49
003 205 490. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written
consent of the publisher.
Subscription rates: $105.00 per year
in Australia. For overseas rates, see
our website or the subscriptions page
in this issue.
Editorial office:
Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd,
Brookvale, NSW 2100.
Postal address: PO Box 139,
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 9939 3295.
E-mail: silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au
Printing and Distribution:
Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148.
Editorial Viewpoint
I, for one, welcome our new farm
robot overlords
After reading the article on agricultural robots in
this issue, some readers may be concerned about the
job losses resulting from their inevitable use on Australian farms. But increased automation on farms is
on-going and is desirable, for a number of reasons.
There are plenty of jobs available on Australian
farms (siliconchip.com.au/link/aak1) but very few
people available to do the work. You can understand why: who wants to
live out the back of Woop Woop or work in the hot sun all day? Robots,
however, generally don’t complain about their employment conditions!
And if you’re concerned about the pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers
used in agriculture, you will be pleased to hear that the technology described
in our article should lead to a reduction in the use of all of those chemicals.
That’s partly because robots allow these chemicals to be used in a much
more targeted manner. For example, robots can roam the fields, spraying individual weeds so that farmers don’t have to spray the whole crop.
Some can even kill the weeds without needing any chemicals at all. We
also describe technology which allows fertiliser to be applied to the plants
which need it most.
Another technique for increased pest and disease resistance is known as
“inter-cropping” but this is generally only feasible in countries with cheap
labour. But research from the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands mentions that robot technology could make this technique practical on a larger scale, as is necessary in a vast country like Australia (see
siliconchip.com.au/link/aajz).
Another important modern farming technique is “no-till” farming which
has become widespread in Australia over the last couple of decades. By
reducing or eliminating tilling, soil erosion is reduced, water retention is
improved and the remnants of the last crop help to fertilise the next one.
But one of the problems with no-till farming is that it relies on increased
use of herbicides to kill weeds, and with weeds now becoming resistant
to herbicides, farmers may need to go back to tilling to keep them under
control (siliconchip.com.au/link/aak2). The aforementioned weed-killing
robots may help solve this problem too.
The bottom line is that continually improving farm technology should
allow food to be grown in a manner which is far more sustainable and better for humans and the environment. In my opinion, this sort of technology
is far more important to society than autonomous cars, which have been
getting a lot of attention and investment lately (to the tune of hundreds of
billions of dollars in the last few years).
Agricultural technology is also easier to roll out on a wide scale since
farms are a much more controlled environment. And it will have a far greater
positive impact on society if it means a cheaper, fresher and more plentiful food supply. So more investment in this area would be very beneficial.
Australia needs to be at the forefront in developing agricultural technology. With our limited rainfall, huge areas under cultivation and limited
rural workforce, we need to actively develop and use the technology in
order to reinforce our position as a major food producer.
ISSN 1030-2662
Recommended & maximum price only.
2
Silicon Chip
Nicholas Vinen
Celebrating 30 Years
siliconchip.com.au
| 
