The Robots Are Here: Should You Hire One?

Technology and machinery can reduce labor needs on the farm. When is it right for you?

- By Cassidy Walter Business Management Editor [e-mail]

Autonomous machines and technology hitting the market today eliminate the need for human labor for specific on-farm tasks. If you’re struggling to find reliable, affordable labor, these innovations may present solutions. But how do you know it’s time to invest?

“This has been going on forever,” said Chad Hart, Extension economist at Iowa State University. “What is different now is that the sophistication of the machinery is such that it’s replacing labor that, say a generation or two ago, we couldn’t imagine that there would be a machine that would do that type of work.”

Do Your Research

“Farmers really have to sit down and put some pencil to paper,” Hart said.

In deciding if an autonomous machine is right for your operation, he said, consider the cost of the machine compared with the cost of labor, factoring in maintenance costs over the life of the machine and if the machine fits the size of your operation.

David Beard, who farms in west-central Indiana, recommended researching the technology’s effectiveness and reliability. He said he is in his second year using a Solinftec Solix autonomous sprayer to help grow non-GMO soybeans. The machine scans the field and only sprays weeds. Beard said besides saving him time, the technology’s precision saves him from spraying the whole field, reducing herbicide injury to the soybeans.

“If you’ve got a special situation, like we do with the non-GMO [soybeans], then you can pencil a little bit more value in it from that standpoint,” he said.

Time Is Money

Hart said it’s important to consider the value of your time.