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FOA 196: Changing Agriculture with Small Robots
Sam Watson Jones is a fourth-generation farmer and the co-founder of Small Robot Company, an agri-tech startup firm that specializes in advancing agriculture through artificial intelligence and robotics. Specifically, Small Robot Company uses precision agriculture to promote efficiency over speed. Sam is also a director of his family’s farming, house building, and manufacturing business, Howle Manor Group.
Sam joins me today to discuss a different way of looking at precision agriculture and how his brand, Small Robot Company, is making waves in the agricultural industry. He shares some insights on agricultural technology entrepreneurship as well as current trends in agriculture. Sam also highlights how his brand’s technology enables per plant precision agriculture as well as his vision for the future of farming.
“We are not looking to replace the farmer. We are looking for this technology to empower the farmer.” - Sam Watson Jones
This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:
- Sam’s journey back to his family’s farm and what he realized about the farm’s business model.
- The trend of precision farming and how big of an industry it currently is.
- The potential relationship between small smart machines and per plant precision farming.
- Concerns Sam has with bigger machines and the impact they could have on soil health.
- Sam’s perspective on what kills so many entrepreneurial ideas.
- The power of shifting your mindset from thinking “how” to thinking “who.”
- The three robots that Small Robot Company is working to create and their functions.
- Sam’s “farming as a service” model, how it differs from other models, and why his company chose that route.
- The reason monocultures exist, whether or not it is natural, and the implications.
- How innovation will influence big players in agriculture.
- The potential of what could happen to the cost of production over the next five years.
- How Sam’s farmer background aided his perspectives as an entrepreneur.
- Sam’s hopes for the future of agriculture, our farmlands, and the 4th Agricultural Revolution.
- The personality behind Small Robot Company and why this branding matters.
Resources Mentioned:
Connect with Sam Watson Jones
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