Digging Deeper...

Earlier this month in Las Vegas, the Consumer Electronics Show convened its 56th tradeshow extravaganza. CES was first held in 1967 in New York City attracting 17,500 attendees and more than 100 exhibitors. The first keynote speaker at the time was Motorola chairman Bob Galvan who introduced radios and televisions with integrated circuitry. The technology was described back than as a “monolithic integrated circuit” set onto one small piece of semiconductor material. Silicon. Engineers called it a chip. This year’s CES event featured around 4,000 exhibitors, attracted almost 200,000 attendees and occupied 2.2 million square feet. CES is the second biggest tradeshow in the world, and spotlights technologies including mobile hardware and accessories, energy and power, 5G technology, robotics, IoT/sensors, AI and cybersecurity.  But something else lately has grown its profile at CES: Agriculture Technology, and its footprint is getting bigger.  

By: Dennis McLaughlin, McLaughlin Writers LLC – Sources: National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.; McKinsey & Company, Chicago, Illinois; Future Farmer Magazine, Fargo, South Dakota; Business Facilities Magazine, December 2021 and 2022 issues; Kansas Bioscience Authority 2010 Progress Report.

Farm Tech Is Getting To Be Big Business

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that agricultural technology is gobbling up exhibit space at CES and other such events and forums known more for their high tech displays of electronic products such as radio receivers, television sets, MP3 players, video recorders, DVD player, digital cameras, camcorders, personal computers, video game consoles, telephones and mobile phones.  Agriculture, however, has always been a leader in innovation, notes Future Farmer, a Fargo, ND-based ag tech magazine. Always, in this context means 12,000 years of human civilization.

The National Geographic Society maintains that “agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that its development has been dubbed the Neolithic Revolution that took root 12,000 years ago.” Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles that humans had followed since their evolution, explains National Geo, were swept aside in favor of permanent settlements and a reliable food supply. “Out of agriculture,” it goes on, “cities and civilizations grew, and because crops and animals could now be farmed to meet demand, the global population rocketed—from some five million people 10,000 years ago, to more than eight billion today.” In other words, when early humans didn’t have to spend all day hunting and foraging for food, they could begin to cultivate societies, communities, the arts, scholarship and science and technology.

In a more timely perspective on the agricultural industry, McKinsey & Company describe it as having radically transformed over the past 50 years: “Advances in machinery have expanded the scale, speed, and productivity of farm equipment, leading to more efficient cultivation of more land. Seed, irrigation, and fertilizers also have vastly improved, helping farmers increase yields. Now, agriculture is in the early days of yet another revolution, at the heart of which reside data and connectivity. Artificial intelligence, analytics, connected sensors, and other emerging technologies could further increase yields, improve the efficiency of water and other inputs, and build sustainability and resilience across crop cultivation and animal husbandry.”

The agricultural and food technology industries have been undergoing tremendous change, reports Business Facilities  as trends develop in the way consumers value food safety and security and an older population seeks healthier diets, reports Business Facilities, a pioneer magazine publisher is the site selection industry.  “Companies in this industry sector are looking to adapt to these trends by spending billions on research, new product development and supply chain optimization,” say its editors.

Ag Biz Council Keeps Pace

The future of food, beverage and agriculture production has never been more exciting, though maybe exacerbating at times. Farmers are facing labor shortages, climate change and environmental protection regulations that require action, all while trying to feed a growing global populace. As they work to overcome these challenges, one key strategy they deploy is the introduction of advanced ag innovation into their farming practices.

The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City is doing its part to keep the ag industry apprised of developments and advances. It will be presenting its 7th Ag Innovation Forum, February 8, 2023, at the Kansas City Downtown Marriott. (Registration information available here.)

Ag Adapts

Several ag tech-focused startups are active in the region. But many local pioneer ag companies are also adapting ag tech to improve their conventional operations. And they have been at it for quite some time. Enough so, that the greater Kansas City area has been tagged as the Silicon Valley of Ag Tech.

Last year in ranking the Top Ten U.S. cities having the various attributes and resources that might attract companies and startups to relocate there, Business Facilities listed Kansas City, MO, as No. 9 among cities considered to have “The Best Tech Hubs Growth Potential.”  The magazine also ranked Kansas City No. 10 among cities that had “The Best Business Climate.”

Kansas City’s rankings are impressive considering the competition, which included some heavy weights like Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Phoenix, Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Indianapolis. But this is not Kansas City’s or the state of Kansas’ first rodeo. Back in 2010 the Kansas Bioscience Authority – created in 2004 through a bipartisan effort on the part of a Republican-controlled legislature and a Democratic Governor and Secretary of Revenue – was ranked No. 5 in the nation by Business Facilities for its biotechnology strength.

In 2010 the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Jack Rogers said, “Biotechnology strength is one of the most important and fiercely competitive rankings categories. Kansas clearly has shown that it is a biotech force to be reckoned with, and has staked a claim to a leadership position for years to come.” He also noted that KBA’s stewardship of a $581 million biotech investment fund [in its first five years of existence] was “a uniquely focused effort that has made Kansas a national  center for animal health research, a leader in pharmaceuticals and an emerging player in bioenergy.”

Couple that recent history to the upcoming commissioning of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility and the inauguration of Kansas State University’s Innovation Center, and you’ve got pretty good argument to further claim the region as the “Silicon Valley of Agriculture.”