Farming Reimagined: A case study of autonomous farm equipment and creating an innovation opportunity space for broadacre smart farming

Publication date: December 2019Source: NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Volumes 90–91Author(s): J.E. Relf-Eckstein, Anna T. Ballantyne, Peter W.B. PhillipsAbstractAs agriculture meets digital technologies, a new frontier of innovation is emerging and creating multiple pathways to a smart farming future. This paper presents a case study of a smart farming innovation originating from a small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) that designs and manufactures machinery used in broadacre, conservation tillage farming. The innovation, known as DOT™, is an entrepreneur’s response to problems in the agriculture industry. Applying the innovation opportunity space (IOS) conceptual framework, this study identified the process of innovation was based on synthesis of tacit knowledge (experience-based knowledge of farming and agribusiness) and codified knowledge (drawing on computer programming). The innovation offers a solution for farming problems, and other firms are incorporating the autonomous functionality into their short-line manufacturing operations through licensing agreements, and early farmer adoption is positive. However, this smart farming IOS is presently an Unstable IOS and there remain some gaps: public policy for safe deployment of autonomous agriculture vehicles is lagging behind the invention and commercialization; the new business models for manufacture and commercialization of high-tech equipment are just emerging, and data ownership and control remain un...

Source: NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences - November 27, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research