BOULDER, CO - Tractica released a report earlier this year on new developments in robotized farming, including some new hardware that promises to improve yields and cut back on production costs. Soon, driverless tractors and drones could sow and grow food for the global population.

The newest entrants in automated ag, driverless tractors, are already making new strides. According to a report from Enterprise Tech, driverless tractors are programmed to navigate fields and automate a range of farming processes. Furthermore, driverless tractors with limited autonomous capabilities could become increasingly prevalent in lower-end tractors, creating a spectrum of autonomy (and affordability) available to small and large growers alike. Tractica predicted driverless tractors will be affordable in about ten years.

“Driverless tractors are in the early stages of commercialization,” said Clint Wheelock, Tractica Managing Director and Co-Author of the report, in an interview with Enterprise Tech. “Up to this point [they] have been in the prototype stage. With that said, we expect that the next few years will be a time of significant growth for this category, with approximately 500 unit shipments in 2016 – marking the beginning of true commercialization – about 1,600 units in 2017, and more than 4,100 in 2018.”

We reported earlier this month on the rise of drones in agriculture. The simplicity of use, integration with data analytics, and capacity for precision plant care has made drones an increasingly popular choice among growers, according to Tractica.

“UAVs enable farmers to use chemicals and water on the crop more judiciously,” Tractica reported. “Apart from regular growers, aerial surveys are in demand by seed and fertilizer manufacturers to boost their sales by doing a free aerial analysis of customers’ farms. Despite regulatory restrictions on the use of agricultural drones in some regions, the sector is attracting more money and becoming more crowded every day.”

Even more surprising than the surge in robotized farming is the corresponding market value. Tractica projects the ag robot industry to be worth $73.9B in revenue by 2024.

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