By: Ashley Robinson, Lydia Mulvany, David Stringer
March 28, 2017
Robots are taking over farms faster than anyone saw coming, as the first fully autonomous farm equipment is becoming commercially available, meaning machines will be able to completely take over a multitude of tasks.
Tractors will drive with no farmer in the cab and specialised equipment will be able to spray, plant, plow and weed cropland. And it is all happening well before many analysts had predicted thanks to small start-ups in Canada and Australia.
While industry leaders Deere and CNH Industrial have not said when they will release similar offerings, Saskatchewan’s Dot Technology has already sold some so-called power platforms for fully mechanised spring planting.