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                                 Trend 2050: Agriculture's Future

By 2050, U.S. farmers will achieve an unprecedented level of food production to help feed a rising world population. They will run multi-faceted businesses with stunning new technologies to increase farms' production.

Such forecasts come from experts researching food and farming patterns. Here's a look at what they think life will look like in 33 years.

Here is the some trends for 2050

·         Increased food demand

·         Accelerates restructuring

·         High-tech solutions

·         Booms Gene Editing

·         By-the-plant management

Increased food demand

Food demand's two main drivers — population and income — are growing. The world population is projected to hit 9.1bn people in 2050, up from 7.4bn in 2016. Globally, farmers need to increase food production by 70% relative to 2007 rates to meet the needs of the larger population, according to a UN Food and Agriculture Organization report.

Rising global income rates, particularly in developing countries, also drives food demand. Thus, these countries will broaden diets with more protein.

"Consumer preference shifts from wheat and grains to legumes and then to meat, like chicken, pork and beef," says David Widmar, economist at Purdue University.

A specific trend is developing in highly developed, population-conscious countries. Focusing on starch-based crops such as corn will move to more plant-based proteins such as soybeans and other legumes, says Derek Norman, Syngenta Ventures' head of Corporate Venture Capital, which helps support other companies sharing their dream of growing more crops with fewer resources.

Accelerates restructuring

The 2012 ag census showed a significant shift in farmer ages, with potential implications for the future, says Widmar. Second, growers older than 65 outnumber farmers who are younger than 45. The difference is substantial, with 2.1 older farmers under 45.

When older growers leave the company, fewer younger growers replace them. Farm transformation will be significant and fast, Widmar says. Consolidation would transform farm dynamics into growing, administrative complexities.

Farming should go from one-man shows to medium-to-large companies, he says. Managing family members and employed farm workers would be very difficult.

High-tech solutions

Farm restructuring will force more external labor. Expect high-tech solutions like robotics for rescue.

Using a computer will help with labor issues, says Widmar. Milk farmers already use robotic milkers to replace labor. And farm machinery manufacturers test robotic tractor and spray prototypes to perform fieldwork without human drivers.

The jump from prototype to robotic machinery can be short. Many new computers now have electronics to monitor processes with very little human contact. However, the robots' legal and regulatory problems must be bridged first.

Despite its current rules, drone technology is ready for a boom in farm use. According to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report, the agricultural drone industry will generate 100,000 U.S. jobs and $82 billion in economic activity over the next 10 years. Potential usage of on-farm drones by 2050 is immense, from imagery and product development to unimagined resources and employment.

Since farming relies more on complex machinery with lots of electronics, data collection will play a growing role in farm management. Programs like Syngenta's AgriEdge Excelsior ® help growers learn to use data for whole-farm management. Farms will need data and information technology experts in the future, Widmar says.

Booms Gene Editing

Crops will be gene-edited by 2050, enabling for broader crop selection, says Norman.

The new technology helps scientists to precisely modify DNA genes to produce a better crop variety. In the future, gene editing will allow farmers to select different crop varieties with features such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, or more desirable oil content. Gene editing can provide a greater variety of crops to be grown by modifying features that hamper widespread development.

By-the-plant management

Water quality, environmental effects, and soil health will continue to challenge prospective farmers. But emerging technology should help them solve these problems more effectively, says Norman.

For example, the Israeli company Phytech, working with Syngenta, has built a monitoring system featuring continuous plant-growth sensors, soil-moisture sensors, and a microclimate device. Monitoring data is then, if appropriate, available on mobile devices and computers for immediate action.

Soil health measurement technology will be mainstream along with satellite and aerial imagery, says Norman.He also expects widespread adoption of precision technology reaching plant level. Blue River Technology, another Syngenta partner, created a precision-smart device that does just that. The implement, called LettuceBot, uses sensors, processors, computers, and quarter-inch sprayers for thin field lettuce plants. This form of technology leads to less chemical use and less environmental effects, which will be very significant in 2050.

A hint for the future

Although predictions can shed light on the future, we are 33 years from 2050. A whole new generation of farmers not yet born will be farming mid-century, and something will happen between now and then that we can't foresee.

But if the past is a guide to the future, U.S. farmers should continue to try new ways to grow crops through innovation.