The Future Farm Expo kicked off Tuesday with talks on drones, smartphone apps and how automation will save farming.

Staff photo by George Plaven

Austin Hawkins, right, territory manager for Intelligent Ag, discusses wireless blockage monitoring technology for tillers and seeders Tuesday with Tom Jackson during the Future Farm Expo in Pendleton.

Staff photo by George Plaven

John Church, professor of precision ranching at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada, flies a drone as part of a presentation on managing cattle Tuesday during the Future Farm Expo.

George Kellerman has four predictions for the future of farm technology.

Speaking before a crowd of several hundred registered guests at the Happy Canyon Arena, Kellerman said he expects all farm equipment will be eventually be connected to the Internet, rigged with sensors, capable of artificial intelligence and able to operate autonomously in the field.

The future is now, Kellerman said. If we build the right kinds of vehicles, equipment and technology, I think its doable.

Not only is it doable, but Kellerman insisted it will become imperative as farm industries contend with a growing labor shortage.

A lot of people think robots are going to take jobs in agriculture, Kellerman said. Its just the opposite.

Kellerman, a founding member and chief operations officer of Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, delivered the keynote address Tuesday morning at the Future Farm Expo in Pendleton, where he discussed how robotics and automation will save farming in the 21st century.

With that in mind, the Future Farm Expo serves as a forum where high-tech innovators from around the world can rub elbows with Eastern Oregon growers and explain how the latest developments from drones to smartphone apps will boost efficiency and production of local crops.

More than 250 people registered for the three-day conference. Jeff Lorton, who manages the Oregon UAS Future Farm program in Pendleton, said the goal is to build connections that can ultimately unlock the potential of agricultural technology.

The Columbia Basin is one of the worlds most productive agricultural areas, Lorton added, with a farm gate value of $20 billion.

This is the perfect place for the creation of a future farm, he said.

Day one of the three-day expo featured presentations about precision agriculture and how technology is steering farms from automation to autonomy. John Church, professor of precision ranching at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, Canada, provided a live indoor demonstration of drones he uses to manage livestock from the sky.

Drones can be used on the ranch to find lost cattle, map pastures and take livestock inventory using multi-spectral cameras, Church said.

We can not only manage the cattle, but the pasture these cattle are on with these (unmanned aerial vehicles), he said.

The final panel of the day brought together industry experts who fielded questions about where they see farm technology heading in the next five to 10 years.

Mel Torrie, founder and CEO of Autonomous Systems Inc., said adoption of any new technology boils down to trust.

I think the route is going to be just greater and greater automation until that trust catches up to the technology, Torrie said.

The Future Farm Expo continues Wednesday, including UAV field demonstrations at Echo West Vineyard. The conference wraps up Thursday with a pancake summit back at the Pendleton Convention Center.

Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.

Stay on topic - This helps keep the thread focused on the discussion at hand. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

Share with Us - We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism.

Be Civil - It's OK to have a difference in opinion but there's no need to be a jerk. We reserve the right to delete any comments that we feel are spammy, off-topic, or reckless to the community.

Be proactive - Use the 'Flag as Inappropriate' link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts.

See the rest here:

Ag automation the theme at Future Farm Expo - East Oregonian (subscription)