Agricultural leaders from near and far gathered in Yuma this week to learn about the latest in technology that will help them in the fields.
Ag officials from Yuma County hosted companies who are bringing the latest technology to what they are calling “smart fields." Like a smart phone, companies are using wireless tech to push Yuma County’s more than $4 billion industry into the future.
The “Desert Difference AgTech” conference opened Wednesday with field demonstrations at the Yuma Agricultural Center, which included a spray drone.
“The goal of the drone is to reduce any liability with pilots out in the fields and make it a lot safer for people applying chemicals," Kyle Dennis, a salesman with Keithly Williams Fabrication in Yuma, told KAWC. "It’s a more affordable option for growers.”
Mitch McClaran, a professor of range management and the director of the Arizona Experiment Station at the University of Arizona, said ag tech like drones and robotics including a RoboThinner from Niqo Robotics for lettuce thinning is how the industry will continue to pursue best practices.
“It’s a game changer for ag," McClaran said. "It has the potential to change the quality of produce, the amount of produce and conserve fertilizers and pesticides. I like to think of it as a paradigm changer in the way ag is done not just here in Yuma but across the world.”
On Day 2 of the AgTech conference on Thursday, ag leaders met at the Yuma Civic Center for panel discussions on topics ranging from growing agtech in a desert climate, the future of automated harvesting and artificial intelligence, or AI, in farming operations.
“We’re working on making Yuma the most advanced ag tech community in the world with over 200,000 acres having access to ‘smart farm’ capabilities,” said Tanya Hodges, the executive director of the Yuma Center for Desert Agriculture.
Paul Brierley preceded Hodges at YCEDA and is now the director for the Arizona Department of Agriculture. Brierley said ag technology brings opportunities to Yuma’s desert ag environment.
“Yuma is such an amazing place," he said. "It’s so important to our state and our nation for the food supply, for the economic contributions with our year-round weather allowing for production. You’ve got farmers who are willing to use the latest ag tech.”
Many of these same ag leaders and ag tech companies will meet up again in Yuma in February for the 2025 Southwest Ag Summit at Arizona Western College.
