California’s Silicon Valley leads the world in technology.
Techwire readers well know the value of applied technology. Consider the value and potential of tech applied to our state’s literal and figurative leading growth industry:
The annual "farmgate" value of our crops is north of $40 billion, not including any multipliers like food processing, exports, retail, tourism, logistics, equipment. The Central Valley is home to four of the nation’s five leading ag counties. In many commodities, California growers produce 90% or more of the US capacity.
There are many more metrics, of course, but one overrides. China just ended its one-child-per-family policy.
Now add urgency and compelling need to all this success that bring together our two Valleys.
- By the year 2050, according to the UN Food & Agriculture Organization, farmers must feed 40% more people on the same amount of land.
- The second catastrophic drought in three years.
Agricultural technology – agtech – is the essential answer. In your special world of coding, chip design, apps and the Cloud, you may not be aware of the transition that is just beginning and the needs arising.
John Deere is making tractors with more computing power than the first space shuttle.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/29/leadership/deere-sam-allen.pr.fortune/
Monsanto just spent $1 billion to buy the weather.
http://modernfarmer.com/2013/10/monsanto-spent-1-billion-climate-data/
Well, not really purchasing the weather, but Climate Corporation, a company that collects data from 2.5 million locations and then manages 50 terabytes real-time, with artificial intelligence, to provide information to farmers in the field that will "boost yields and better manage risks."
Understanding and responding to climate factors, aka the weather, is essential for farming in the Central Valley under volatile climate change weather conditions, like historic droughts.
Micro- or drip-irrigation is commonplace. The low-hanging fruit has been watered and picked.
Next step – how to apply water accounting for plant stress, soil type, time of year and many other variables that can occur, even in the same orchard, vineyard and field. Sensors must be affordable and able to communicate across devices&hellipeven with satellites.
Agtech is the next big thing – biggest since sliced bread. And it’s not a matter of cool entertainment or integrated office processes. For this technology, at this times, our lives depend on it.
Follow it in this space on Techwire. There is much to talk about, and I would like to see your thoughts.
Bob_gore@gualcogroup.com
@robertjgore
