In recent years, many small American farms have been struggling due to low commodity prices. As a way to cut down on expenses, some farm owners automate their labor, which helps them harvest crops and raise animals more efficiently.
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This robot that grows animal feed is 400% more productive than a human farmer
A California-based company launched a robot that grows fodder (farm animal feed), and says it's way more productive than humans.
A California-based company called Fodderworks makes robots that grow fodder (feed for cows, chickens, and other animals). According to Kyle Chittock, the company's general manager, an average person can harvest approximately half a ton of fodder per day, while Fodderworks' bot can do two tons — a productivity increase of 400%.
While the bots can also grow leafy greens and other produce, Chittock says sprouted grains — known as fodder when fed to animals — are becoming increasingly common on farms because they are more nutritious for livestock than corn.
Chittock says the system doesn't take many farm jobs away from humans because there are few large-scale fodder operations in America. However, anyone employed to grow fodder obviously faces competition from the bots.
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The prices of the bots depend on how much fodder they can produce per day (those that harvest more fodder cost less per ton produced). Bots that grow one ton of fodder per day start at $233,000. A 12-ton-a-day system costs $995,000, which works out to about $83,000 per ton. (
You can watch the bot in action below:
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