Wanted: Digital experts to work in agriculture

To the uninitiated, it can be hard to imagine.

Robots with fingers designed to pick mature tomatoes, among the most delicate of crops. A Fitbit-like collar that monitors the well-being of a cow. Drones with sensors to identify dry areas of a field or discover crop production inefficiencies.

"In 30 years, what we're doing or seeing as innovative now will be viewed as tradition," said Susan Duncan, associate director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va.

Science and technology will be core to the farming revolution, which teachers and agricultural leaders envision as including robots, temperature and moisture sensors, aerial images and GPS technology, alongside big data that affects everyone — suppliers, farmers, traders, processors, retailers and consumers.

But agricultural educators and advocates are concerned about the future of agricultural education, given the industry's broad needs and the lack of qualified job candidates. They say part of the problem is marketing: Most people, including students, equate agriculture with farming. The industry gets limited media exposure, they said, but also needs to do a better job of promoting itself, particularly as high-tech.

"We rely on software developers probably as much as Silicon Valley does," said Eric Haggard, director of human resources, talent management and diversity and inclusion at AGCO Corporation, a Duluth, Ga.-based agricultural-equipment manufacturer.

According to an April 2019 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, digital technologies that collect and analyze large amounts of data, typically by agribusinesses, researchers and public sector officials, can help inform decisions on how to fertilize for soil conditions, apply pesticides to targeted areas, use limited water resources effectively, and estimate the potential profit and economic risk in growing one crop over another.

If farms and producers had the digital technologies and expertise that they needed, the United States could boost economic benefits by nearly 18% of total agriculture production, based on 2017 levels, according to the USDA report. That's $47 billion to $65 billion annually in additional gross economic benefits.