What this domain covers
Agriculture is becoming more connected, automated, data-driven and scientifically precise. Sensors, autonomous equipment, robotics, drones, genomics and new growing systems are changing how food is produced, monitored and moved.
What belongs here
- Precision and autonomous agriculture
- Farm robotics and drones
- Livestock sensing and herd intelligence
- Plant genomics and gene editing
- Smart irrigation
- Vertical and controlled-environment farming
- Food science and traceability
Why it matters
Food systems sit at the intersection of technology, biology, climate, energy and logistics. Even small improvements in prediction, automation or resource use can have large effects when applied across the agricultural system.
We are no longer restricted to only farming when the sun is up - and are witnessing the dawn of the digital harvest.
— Jim Carroll
In Jim’s words
From “Keynote: CropLife for GrowCanada, Calgary – The Future of Food and Agriculture” (December 2015)
Jim Carroll delivered the keynote address at GrowCanada 2015 in Calgary, Alberta in December 2015, speaking to senior executives and professionals from CropLife Canada and the broader Canadian crop protection and plant science industry. The talk, “The Future of Food and Agriculture,” explored the extraordinary pace of innovation reshaping agriculture globally — from precision farming and autonomous field equipment to genetic science, soil health technologies, and the data-driven transformation of the entire food supply chain. Carroll challenged industry leaders to think boldly about the opportunities created by feeding a global population projected to reach ten billion — and to ensure Canada’s agricultural sector was positioned at the forefront of the innovation wave, not trailing it. The message resonated powerfully with an audience grappling with the intersection of science, regulation, consumer expectation, and rapid technological change.
From “Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #15 - 24-Hour Farming & Agricultural Reinvention “We are no longer restricted to only farming when the sun is up - and are witnessing the dawn of the digital harvest.”” (July 2025)
Farming is transforming through vertical integration, robotics, data science, and 24/7 operations. This is not just about feeding more people, but instead, completely reimagining food production for the technology and digital age One that leads to a potential future in which we are no longer restricted to farming outdoors – in the future, we will be doing much more of it indoors as well. As a global society, we need to do this because as the world’s population grows to 8 billion, we need BIG, bold solutions to come up with new ways of growing global food production. And what has happened is that our early experiments with the concept of growing indoors are about to enter the industrial scale, as we see the arrival of trends that bring together technology, advanced science, disruptive ideas, and new concepts – bringing into reality a new industry that promises to provide fast innovation that solves one of the biggest challenges of our time!
Explore Jim’s writing in this domain:
Keynote: CropLife for GrowCanada, Calgary – The Future of Food and Agriculture
Decoding Tomorrow: 30 Megatrends - #15 - 24-Hour Farming & Agricultural Reinvention “We are no longer restricted to only farming when the sun is up - and are witnessing the dawn of the digital harvest.”