The University of California Merced unveiled its innovative new Experimental Smart Farm on March 30 at the What’s the Future of Agriculture? summit at Fresno State University.
Although UC Merced’s smart farm is focused on technology and automation, it’s also about machine-human collaboration, said UC Merced professor Tom Harmon, who co-leads the smart farm with Professor Joshua Viers. This is an important co-emphasis because while technology and automation are the future of agriculture in California, humans will continue to be needed to not only do many farming tasks, but also to manage the machines.
Harmon explained that the UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm will serve as a hub for data gathering as well as projects researchers can try out before scaling to larger properties. And though much at the farm will be working toward automating some tasks, the goal is also to create better, more highly skilled jobs for the farm labor force.
“We like to think about smart in terms of human resources, elevating the worker and making the work experience more enjoyable, less prone to injury and safer,” Harmon said. “We are envisioning lots of careers for mechanical engineers, computer scientists or technicians who wrangle these robots.”
UC Merced is encouraging farmers to get involved with the scientists, researchers and others who are helming the Experimental Smart Farm. It’s a dynamic work in progress and is designed to address the practical aspects of farming, as well as the scientific and futuristic elements.
Land has been tilled at the smart farm, the first physical step in developing the state-of-the-art project, according to Danny Royer, the Experimental Smart Farm coordinator for UC Merced.
“Even though it’s just a blank field, we have overcome some pretty big obstacles to be where we are today,” Royer said.
Plans call for the farm to grow oats, grain, tomatoes and squash. But the primary crop for the 45-acre property roughly a half-mile south of the campus will be data, according to Professor Harmon.
Conditions will be monitored, and a dashboard will be created that student researchers can access, Harmon said.
“We can look at different pest control strategies, different watering strategies, knowing that the smart farm is keeping track of all this background information,” he said.
The UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm has the potential to play a huge role in the future of agriculture in California, particularly in the Central Valley where the campus is located.
Technology will play a growing and more central role across the board in agriculture and having a resource like the smart farm and the University of California involved is going to be an excellent resource for farmers and agribusiness in the valley and the state.
On a practical farming level, the initial crop plan at the UC Merced Experimental Smart Farm calls for a winter forage, “kind of an oat-wheat mix,” Royer said. “Winter forage is great — the crop residue is heavy in organic matter. This helps the soil regenerate,” he explained. “The more organic matter we can start incorporating at the beginning, the better.”
Additionally, plans also call for including four acres of intensive row crops, such as tomatoes, squash, melons and corn, on the smart farm, according to Royer. He said these crops can ultimately be used for community supported agriculture, or CSA boxes that will be sold to the public
Cows are another important part of the plan, Royer said. “Livestock activity also helps the soil regenerate,” he added.
Longer term, Royer said the farm is set to host farmers markets and other public-facing activities, as well as provide experiences for students outside of those who will directly use the data.
The What’s the Future of Agriculture in California? summit was sponsored by The Maddy Institute, in partnership with UC Merced, Lawrence Livermore Lab Foundation, Fresno State University, CSU Bakersfield, CSU Stanislaus and Climate Now.
My Job Depends on Ag Magazine columnist and contributing editor Victor Martino is an agrifood industry consultant, entrepreneur and writer. One of his passions and current projects is working with farmers who want to develop their own branded food products. You can contact him at: victormartino415@gmail.com.
