As technology begins to transform farming, a team of Cornell researchers is exploring how digital agriculture could affect small and midsized farms, as well as its likely effect on the environment, to inform the design of these developing technologies.
The project, which will focus specifically on the impact of high-bandwidth farm networking, has received a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation. , associate professor of information science and of science and technology studies in the 麻豆视频 and 麻豆视频, is principal investigator on the grant; Hakim Weatherspoon, associate professor of computer science, and Steven Wolf, associate professor of natural resources in the College of Agriculture and Life 麻豆视频, are collaborating.
鈥淭ypically, the large-scale farms, the ones that can amass the most resources, benefit the most from new technologies. And there are all kinds of environmental questions,鈥 said Sengers, whose research has explored technology design and rural communities. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what the impact of digital agriculture will be.鈥
The research project is part of the , one of Cornell鈥檚 Radical Collaboration initiatives.
New technology is enabling some farms to increasingly rely on sensors, data and networking to make better decisions. Researchers hope digital agriculture can increase productivity and minimize the overuse of water or chemicals, since it provides farmers with precise, real-time information about factors including weather, water levels and plant health.
It鈥檚 important to consider the potential social impact while these tools are still being developed, Sengers said, because tools and technology are far harder to change once they鈥檝e been built and implemented. And technological innovation has not always had a positive impact on rural communities in the past, she said.
鈥淲e want to think about how this technology can be designed in order to make sure it does the things we hope that it will do,鈥 Sengers said. 鈥淩ural communities in the U.S. face a lot of economic challenges as well as environmental challenges. We all hope these technologies can have a transformative potential, but given the amount of optimism that鈥檚 tied to this and with the evidence we have about previous technologies, it seems unwise to just assume it鈥檚 going to work out.鈥
The team will focus on the research that鈥檚 currently being done and the technology that鈥檚 already being developed, in order to understand what factors are influencing design decisions. For example, Sengers said, if sensors or cameras are being designed for large, industrial farms that tend to be flat and planted in rows, they may not function well on smaller farms that are situated on hills or include multiple crops.
The researchers will also conduct fieldwork with stakeholders, such as farmers and manufacturers of farming supplies, to ascertain how technology is likely to be used.
鈥淥nce we understand that better,鈥 Sengers said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to be making scenarios of the different kinds of future possibilities for this technology that can then ground decisions today and influence what that technology could be in future.鈥
The project grew out of conversations surrounding the Software-defined Farm, which Weatherspoon and other Cornell researchers are developing in collaboration with Microsoft鈥檚 FarmBeats program, to develop and study new applications for farming.
In addition to informing the design of new tools, the researchers hope their findings can guide future policy.
鈥淧olicymakers can be behind the eight ball if they don鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 coming out, or what the possibilities are, before it鈥檚 actually on the market,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hen it can be a little late to think about how to react.鈥
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