Landwards Spring 2021
Lunchtime lectures
How robots are redefining the future of farming Kit Franklin, principal investigator for the Hands Free Farm, agricultural engineering senior lecturer and a member of the IAgrE Executive, reprised his lecture, first given as part of the New Scientist Live online series last autumn. This is a summary of the IAgrE’s recent lunchtime lecture. Kit began with changes in society and how they are impacting conventional farming. From 1915 to 2015, the UK population has grown from 45 to 65million whilst the farming workforce has dropped from less than 2.4 to 0.6million. 38
This has been achieved by a combination of plant and livestock breeding, animal and crop health, nutrition developments, and technological developments (ie tractors).
There have been significant positives for the workforce including reduced hours and improved health and comfort. At the same time there has been significant yield and productivity gains. However, society still faces the prospect of a growing
