Use of Farm Robotics

•  Robotics are being used in the "agricultural value chain" for planting, harvesting, and grocery logistics. There has also been a demand for robots in fruit picking farms.
•  John Deere recently acquired Blue River Technology, a tech startup that created a robot that is able to identify unwanted plants and spray them with herbicides that would help reduce input costs.
• It's estimated that by 2024 robots will push the farm industry to a "$5.7 billion agbot industry."

Competition for Natural Resources

• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations stated in a 2017 report that projections for 2050 state there will be a large scarcity of natural resources for agriculture.
• The competition for these limited resources could lead to overexploitation and degradation.
• The report continues to state that even though global agriculture has become more efficient, the rise in consumption and human population has led to intensified competition.

Structural and Employment Change

•  High-income countries are switching from traditional agriculture to service and industry.
• A shift towards manufactured goods and dietary changes have developed from the interstate movement and reallocation of labor.
• In response to this, farmers have changed from farming multiple crops to a single crop, dealing in cash crops, and selling in markets.

Indoor Farming

•  Vertical indoor farming is one of the fastest growing trends in global agriculture.
• In fact, the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill allocated an annual allotment of $10 million to develop "urban agriculture and supporting projects."
• A major selling point of this trend is this type of farming is pesticide and herbicide free.
•  Whole Foods is one of the major companies that has implemented this type of farming.

Potential Opportunities

• While monocultures have grown in the world, researchers of global farming/ag argue for diversification since it is more ecological and supports the environment.
• A couple of other opportunities in the global farming industry is the use of digital technologies and governments creating new policies to align with current environmental issues.