Syngenta Thrive

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Growers, get ready for the next big transformation in farm technology—the driverless tractor. After two decades of building on a precision platform that started with GPS navigation, farm equipment manufacturers are getting close to realizing the much-anticipated milestone of having fully automated tractors on farms.

Right now, the driverless tractor still needs an operator, whose role is to intervene frequently to keep the tractor on task. But the ultimate goal is to offer growers driverless equipment that is smart—or autonomous—so they can perform tasks without human intervention. In other words, the driverless tractor would act as its own operator.

This goal requires equipment with sensors and cameras to relay data to onboard computers, which need artificial intelligence, so they can instantly respond to anything affecting the equipment’s current task. The technology will require minimal outside help.

Driverless tractors will allow growers to monitor field operations remotely from their computers.

Race to Autonomy

While the farm equipment industry has spent a couple of decades moving toward developing autonomous equipment, the race to commercially market that equipment has recently moved into high gear.

“Key farm manufacturers are all working in some way on autonomy,” says Dan Halliday, global product manager of precision land management at New Holland Agriculture. Niche companies and after-market suppliers also are developing autonomous solutions, which adds pressure across the industry to keep moving ahead, he says.

In 2016, both New Holland and Case IH introduced autonomous tractor prototypes, which the companies are still testing in the field.

“We’ve done a lot of work since then,” Halliday says. “We are working on sensor technology to make the driverless operation viable. And we launched smart auto-turn features last year.”

But there’s still work to be done, he adds. “There are applications that will need more work before we can fully automate them. If you want to till a field, it’s relatively easy to automate. However, if you’re combining, there’s a lot more going on.”

John Deere signaled its commitment to autonomous machinery when it acquired Blue River Technology. Blue River specializes in computer vision and machine learning, which are key technologies for developing task-oriented autonomous equipment.

“Frankly, we know that the move toward autonomy is about more than just a tractor driving across the field,” says Than Hartsock, manager of production system solutions at John Deere. “The quality of the job that the implement is doing matters, because that’s what ultimately impacts the crop that’s being grown. It’s not just the combine, but also the header that really matters. We are focusing our efforts on sensing, controlling and automating those functions.”

Blue River’s work on an advanced sprayer system illustrates the potential of automated technology. Computer vision allows the sprayer to sense the environment around it and look for weeds. The machine learns through artificial intelligence to identify weeds from soybeans, and then it precisely sprays individual weeds. This labor-free operation uses a minimum of chemicals and captures crop data to document the entire process.

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Autonomy takes out potential human error and gives the user a choice to operate overnight or for 24 hours. Clearly growers can benefit from increased efficiency on their farms utilizing these technologies.

Dan Halliday

The Digital Component

The ability to capture data from autonomous machinery will benefit farmers, according to Dan Burdett, global head of digital agriculture at Syngenta.

“The driverless tractor and automated farm equipment will be able to record any field event, which is important for developing insights, such as calculating return on investment [ROI],” he says. “Capturing timely and accurate data to document field applications for reports and stewardship requirements will also be possible.”

Because various sensors, tools and artificial intelligence will automate data collection, Burdett says the data will “enable a whole new level of decision-making capabilities. Growers will benefit from all of it.” He says the adoption of digital technologies in the ag industry is inevitable and moving fast.

“It’s escalating, and that’s driven partly by farm economics,” he says. “It’s very important for farmers to know their numbers. Digital tools and information technology can help farmers be better business people.”

Also driving the move to digital is a demographic change. “There are younger growers coming back on the farm who have a different way of doing things, including how they make decisions for the farm,” Burdett adds. “They do much more online research and consume a lot more information than previous generations.”

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The Future of Autonomy

For many years, the high cost of components needed for autonomous vehicles was partially responsible for ag manufacturers not bringing the vehicles to market. But that is changing.

Uber, Google and Tesla have made big investments in technology for their self-driving cars. This development has substantially lowered the cost of some components that are also used in automated farm equipment.

“We are seeing tremendous progress and innovation in cameras that are more capable and less expensive,” Hartsock says. “The sensors they use to look for obstacles in the road are becoming more effective and less expensive, too.”

As more industries use these components, prices will further drop, making autonomy within reach of farmers.

“We continue to see farmers who want products that make them money in a safe environment and that make fieldwork easier,” Hartsock says. “And as circumstances continue to compromise viable labor in our industry, farmers will need this help. All of these technologies make things easier and often have a substantial ROI for farmers.”

Autonomous and semi-autonomous equipment also may do the job better. “Autonomy takes out potential human error and gives the user a choice to operate overnight or for 24 hours,” says Halliday. “Clearly growers can benefit from increased efficiency on their farms utilizing these technologies.”

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For more than 50 years, U.S. corn, sorghum and sugar cane growers have depended on atrazine herbicide to produce food sustainably. They trust that its safety and efficacy are well documented, as are its environmental, economic and production benefits.

In fact, atrazine is one of the most closely examined herbicides in the world. “This herbicide has gone through a tremendous amount of scientific testing, both with regard to managing its risks and measuring its benefits,” says Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America. “I doubt there is any compound used in agriculture—or anywhere else in society—that has been more thoroughly evaluated on its presence in surface and groundwater and its potential effects on wildlife.”

Toxicologist Timothy Pastoor, Ph.D., who spent much of his career at Syngenta studying atrazine, agrees. “When I talk about the science behind atrazine, I talk about the more than 7,000 studies that support the registration, which is far more than any other active ingredient on the market,” he says. “Atrazine is inexpensive, and it works. It’s the all-star of agriculture.”

Atrazine Advantages

All of that research has brought to light atrazine’s many benefits. For example, without atrazine, crop yields would potentially diminish, making U.S. growers less competitive compared with other global producers.

“If you significantly reduce yields, you’ll likely drive up production acreage,” says David Bridges, Ph.D., president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. “Well, there’s not a lot more acreage out there that’s prime farmland, so what do you do? You put marginal acreage that is currently in conservation programs—protecting streams and wildlife habitat—into production, which has negative consequences for the country as a whole.” Research shows that using atrazine helps keep an average of 513,000 acres in a noncrop scenario, allowing for more biodiversity on this acreage.

On farmed acres, atrazine helps reduce soil erosion by enabling no-till farming and conservation tillage. “Atrazine gives growers residual weed control, so they’re not having to do deep plowing every year, reducing soil and pesticide runoff,” says Dennis Kelly, head of state affairs at Syngenta. “Without atrazine, the fields may not be no-till any longer, and that’s going to decrease water quality due to increased sediments, especially in sensitive watersheds.”

According to studies, some 3 million dump trucks worth of soil are kept in place each year because of atrazine. Less plowing also means less petroleum burned, which means less carbon dioxide emitted.

Atrazine is highly selective and inhibits photosynthesis in weeds, while corn is very tolerant. According to Bridges, “It tends to make other corn herbicide products even better, leading to more than 60 prepackaged mixtures with other herbicides in the market.

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Farmers know that when they apply a product containing atrazine—of which there are more than 60—they’re going to get the broad-scale weed control they’re looking for.

Timothy Pastoor

Economics Upsides, Production Pluses

Atrazine is crucial economically, too. According to studies, the use of atrazine supports 85,000 jobs across the ag industry. It also means a boost of more than 900 million bushels of corn output each year.

Without atrazine in their toolboxes, growers would feel the financial implications quickly. “It makes a $34 to $48 positive difference per acre for a corn grower,” says Bridges. “When you’re talking about farmers with a couple thousand acres, that big difference in weed control and yield protection results in a large increase in their bottom lines.”

As one of the few herbicide modes of action available to growers, atrazine offers another benefit to growers, notes Ethan Mathews, director of public policy for the National Corn Growers Association: “It’s one of the last lines of defense we have against weeds that are resistant to other herbicides.”

It’s, therefore, not surprising that growers and herbicide manufacturers alike often turn to atrazine for more effective weed control. It’s frequently sold in combination with newer active ingredients because it makes those products work better. “Other active ingredients might not have the span of weed coverage that’s necessary for the farmer; the addition of atrazine gives the product formulation the span of activity farmers are looking for,” Pastoor says. “Farmers know that when they apply a product containing atrazine—of which there are more than 60—they’re going to get the broad-scale weed control they’re looking for.”

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Strong Grower Support

Given atrazine’s central role in the production of corn, sorghum and sugar cane, it’s understandable that concerns were raised last June when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an unfavorable preliminary draft ecological risk assessment on the herbicide. In response, the scientific and agriculture community submitted hundreds of thousands of comments in support of the product.

“The retailer and grower response and support were amazing,” Kelly says. “We believe that once EPA reviews the overwhelming evidence on the safety of atrazine, it will make changes to its assessment and farmers will be able to continue to use atrazine.”

Although EPA’s public comment period for that draft has concluded, the agency’s review process is ongoing. Next, EPA will review the provided information, amend the draft report as appropriate, and hold a Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) meeting. Then the agency will publish a preliminary reregistration decision and ask for further public comment.

In addition to all the public comments, EPA will consider the volume of data that atrazine has on its side. “It’s one of the best-studied, most extensively regulated molecules on the planet,” Pastoor says. “Thousands of scientific studies have demonstrated that, when used properly at the labeled rate, atrazine has not, will not and, in fact, cannot adversely affect human health.”

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By the year 2050, U.S. growers will need to reach an impressive level of food production to help feed a growing world population. Fewer in number, they will operate multifaceted businesses with stunning new technology to increase efficiency on farms.

These predictions come from experts who study food and farming trends. Here’s a look at what they think life on the farm will look like in 33 years.

Food Demand Increases

The two big drivers of food demand—population and income—are on the rise. The world’s population is expected to reach 9.1 billion people in 2050, up from 7.4 billion in 2016. Farmers globally must increase food production 70 percent compared to 2007 levels to meet the needs of the larger population, according to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.1

Also driving food demand is an increase in global income levels, especially those in developing countries. As a result, these countries will be able to expand diets with more protein.

A different trend is emerging in highly developed countries with more health-conscious populations. The focus on starch-based crops like corn will shift to more plant-based proteins like soybeans and other legumes, says Derek Norman, head of Corporate Venture Capital at Syngenta Ventures, which helps support other companies that share its vision of producing more crops with fewer resources.

Consolidation Accelerates

The 2012 ag census revealed a big shift in farmer ages that holds major implications for the future, says Widmar. For the first time, growers who are older than 65 outnumber farmers who are younger than 45. The difference is substantial, with 2.1 older growers for every farmer younger than 45.2

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As incomes rise, consumer preference moves from wheat and grains to legumes, and then to meat, including chicken, pork and beef.

David Widmar

When older growers exit the business, there are fewer younger growers to replace them. As a result, farm consolidation will be significant and quick, says Widmar. The consolidation will change farm dynamics to larger, more managerial complexities.

Farming will go “from a one-man show to something resembling a medium- to large-size business,” he says. “As a farmer, it will be very complicated, with a mix of multigenerational family members and hired employees.”

High-Tech Solutions Evolve

Farm consolidation will drive the need for more outside labor. Expect high-tech solutions like robotics to come to the rescue.

“If you have a robot, it can help manage labor issues,” Widmar says. Already, dairy farmers use robotic milkers as a substitute for labor. And farm equipment manufacturers are testing prototypes of robotic tractors and sprayers to handle fieldwork without human drivers.

The leap from prototype to commercial operation of robotic machinery may be short. Many new machines are currently equipped with the electronics to control operations with very little human interaction. However, the legal and regulatory issues surrounding robots must be bridged first.

With its regulations already in place, drone technology is poised for a boom in farm usage. In the next 10 years, the agricultural drone industry will generate 100,000 jobs in the U.S. and $82 billion in economic activity, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report. Potential use of on-farm drones by 2050 is huge, from imagery and product application to transporting supplies and jobs not yet imagined.

As farming relies more on complex equipment with lots of electronics, data collection will play an increasingly larger role in farm management. Programs like AgriEdge Excelsior® from Syngenta help growers learn to use data for whole-farm management. In the future, farms will have an increased need for data and information technology specialists, Widmar says.

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Gene Editing Booms

“By 2050, there will be gene-edited crops, and it will trigger a much wider variety of crops being grown,” says Norman.

This new technology allows scientists to precisely edit genes in DNA with the goal of creating a better crop variety. In the future, gene editing should enable farmers to select specific crop varieties that have features like resistance to different diseases, drought tolerance or more desirable oil content. Gene editing will provide a greater variety of crops that can be grown by editing out traits hampering widespread production.

By-the-Plant Crop Management

Water availability, environmental impacts and soil health will continue to challenge growers in the future. But new technologies will help them deal with these issues more efficiently, says Norman.

For example, the Israeli company Phytech, which is collaborating with Syngenta, has developed a monitoring system that features continuous plant-growth sensors, soil-moisture sensors and a microclimate unit. Monitoring data is then accessible on mobile devices and computers for immediate action, if needed.

“The technology to measure soil health, as well as satellite and aerial imagery to monitor crop growth, will be mainstream,” Norman says. He also expects widespread adoption of precision technology that reaches down to the plant level. Blue River Technology, another Syngenta collaborator, has developed a precision-smart implement that does just that. Called a LettuceBot, the implement uses cameras, processors, computers and quarter-inch sprayers to thin lettuce plants in the fields. This type of technology results in less chemical use and a lower environmental impact, which will be very important in 2050.

A Clue to the Future

While predictions can shed light on the future, we are still 33 years away from 2050. A whole new generation of growers, who are not yet born, will be farming midcentury, and much will happen between now and then that we cannot predict.

But if the past is a clue to the future, U.S. growers will continue to seek better ways to produce crops by embracing innovation.

1 “Global Agriculture Towards 2050”
2 “Farm Demographics—U.S. Farmers by Gender, Age, Race, Ethnicity, and More”

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When Vern Hawkins was a young boy, he rarely ventured beyond his rural Indiana community. Little did he know then that one day he would lead the world’s largest developer and manufacturer of crop protection products. But even today, when he travels around the globe as president of Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, his agricultural past remains an important touchstone.

“Like most of my friends, I chose to get involved in 4-H and FFA when I was young,” says Hawkins. “Working as a farmhand for neighboring farmers and participating in those organizations gave me a deep-rooted passion for agriculture that has stayed with me throughout my life.”

History With Syngenta

Hawkins began his career at Syngenta more than 30 years ago, while he was still a student at Purdue University. Before earning a degree in agronomy, he was a sales intern for two summers with Syngenta predecessor ICI Americas (ICI). After graduation, he joined ICI full time to manage a sales territory in west-central Illinois. He then transitioned into a business-analyst role, while pursuing an executive MBA at Temple University. After earning his MBA degree, he took on a global fungicide and insecticide product management role with Zeneca Agrochemicals, based in the United Kingdom (U.K.). He later returned to the U.S. to manage the North America fungicide business and the introduction of azoxystrobin, which is now used on more than 130 crops grown in more than 100 different countries. He then went back to the U.K. to lead the global business for pyrethroid insecticides.

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In 2000, when Novartis and AstraZeneca merged their agribusinesses to form Syngenta, Hawkins became a key member of the new company’s management team. During the next 10 years, he held leadership positions in several core areas, including sales, marketing and product development. His strong work ethic, problem-solving skills and fairness to colleagues and customers alike—skills he first learned as a young farmhand—eventually earned him his current position as president of Syngenta Crop Protection and region director of North America in 2010.

Reflecting on the company’s journey so far, Hawkins says it’s the people who have made the greatest impact on Syngenta. “I think our most important achievement to date is the long-standing customer partnerships that we’ve earned, sustained and continued to build on,” he says. “Beyond our great portfolio, we have the people and relationships—with resellers, growers, suppliers, regulators and legislators—that are helping us bring the most value to the industry we serve.”

Looking Ahead

Despite today’s challenging market environment, Hawkins is excited about the future of Syngenta and American agriculture in general. “We launched three new active ingredients in 2015,” he says. “By 2020, we expect to launch five more. Any time you have a market-leading portfolio grounded in strong partnerships, the result is increased opportunity—for the industry, the channel and, ultimately, the grower.”

Hawkins is also a strong advocate for agriculture’s next generation of leaders. By supporting students in FFA and 4-H, he gives back to those groups that helped ignite his passion for the industry. “Over the next few decades, we will need leaders with a high level of knowledge and expertise to help us navigate the changing demands in agriculture,” he says. “That’s what these groups are all about.”

While market conditions, pest spectrums and his roles at Syngenta have changed over the years, Hawkins’ love of agriculture has remained constant. “I begin most days trying to figure out how to help farmers improve productivity,” he says. “It’s a privilege being part of an industry that helps feed the world.”

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Researching tomorrow’s technology for today’s crops is a time-honored tradition at the Vero Beach Research Center (VBRC), where dedicated Syngenta scientists have been unlocking the potential of plants since 1963.

“We not only believe in bringing plant potential to life, we live it,” says Jorge Cisneros, Ph.D., research and development manager at VBRC. “For 50 years, the Vero Beach facility has supported this goal, making us a key research center both in the United States and abroad.”

Syngenta invests more than $1 billion each year in research worldwide, including at VBRC. The facility has earned a reputation for combining the latest technologies with practical, hands-on field testing. Florida’s 12-month growing season allows scientists at the 240-acre center to generate multiple seasons of field data per year for a wide range of crops, including sugar cane, corn, soybeans, cotton, small-grain cereals, citrus, vegetables, and turf and ornamentals.

The region’s subtropical climate, high rainfall and sandy soils also provide ideal conditions for testing compounds for potential use as fungicides, herbicides, nematicides and insecticides. “The weather here is conducive to high pest pressure, which is critical for successful trials,” says Paul Kuhn, Ph.D., senior group leader for the disease control team at VBRC. In addition to its trial-friendly climate, VBRC also boasts several other unique advantages:

Lessons From the Field

The VBRC is one of the few locations within Syngenta worldwide where researchers can conduct studies in the lab, growth chambers, greenhouses and the field at the same time to fully characterize new products and determine how they will perform in commercial applications, Kuhn says. Finding these answers as quickly as possible is important, since CropLife America estimates that a new crop protection product can take 10 years and up to $256 million in development costs to advance from discovery to use in a grower’s fields. VBRC researchers help identify the best new products for growers to use under diverse crop, pest and weather conditions. They also conduct the extensive research required by government regulatory agencies to ensure that new products will be effective for crop producers, as well as safe for people, wildlife and the environment.

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Innovative Solutions

Through the years, VBRC scientists have played major roles in the development of key Syngenta brands and technologies. The center is involved in the critical early-stage testing of chemical and biological compounds, including investigating modes of action, identifying their spectrums of activity, determining optimal use rates, and screening for crop safety and environmental impact. “Almost every herbicide that has been registered through Syngenta has come through our facility,” says Cheryl Dunne, group leader for the weed control team at the VBRC. These products include Halex® GT herbicide and other Callisto Plant Technology® brands, as well as the Touchdown® brands and Dual Magnum® herbicides. Scientists at the center also have helped develop a number of disease-fighting products, such as Revus® and Inspire® fungicides and Maxim® Quattro seed-applied fungicide. In addition, VBRC scientists have evaluated the efficacy of many insecticides, including Warrior II with Zeon Technology®, Fulfill® and Actara®.

“We help put tools for pest management into growers’ hands,” says Clark Lovelady, group leader for the insect control team at the VBRC. “We’ve accomplished this by providing quality data and unique observations about the behavior of these compounds through lab assays, greenhouse trials and field studies.”

Solid Support

VBRC scientists go even further to answer questions and fine-tune products once Syngenta introduces them commercially. “We also collaborate with our sales force, retailers and growers to investigate unexpected outcomes and product issues, and we answer their questions quickly,” says Dunne, who has worked at the center since 1988. In addition, the scientists focus on water quality to enhance product efficacy, she adds. “We evaluate herbicide efficacy dependencies on water pH and mineral ion content, for example, so we know what water conditioners growers should use to help our products work efficiently.”

Powerful Partnerships

While Syngenta researchers conduct many tests on site, they also collaborate with university researchers across the country. Mike Owen, Ph.D., an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach weed specialist, appreciates the center’s focus on herbicide resistance management. “VBRC researchers’ collaboration with university researchers is instrumental in moving the discussion forward,” he says. “We can help educate growers through the university system, but we don’t have the leverage to facilitate changes in their behavior. Syngenta can help growers address resistance issues, directing them to diversify their approaches to weed management.”

The stability and low turnover of VBRC’s staff is also a plus, says Jim Graham, Ph.D., a professor of soil microbiology at the University of Florida. He appreciates the VBRC team’s assistance with sampling citrus groves for Phytophthora propagules, based on a protocol developed at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center to estimate fibrous root damage caused by the fungus. “I’ve worked with colleagues who have been at VBRC for a number of years and have formed working relationships that are valuable to our research program as well as to the Florida citrus industry.”

Connections With the Community

VBRC values its role as a responsible corporate citizen, from its favorable impact on the local economy to its charitable contributions and involvement in the community. “Not everything at VBRC focuses on research,” Cisneros says. “We provide training to colleagues, give tours to visitors, hold workshops and enjoy contributing to our community, from serving as science fair judges at the local school district to providing Christmas gifts to needy children in the area.”

VBRC researchers’ shared philosophy of continuous improvement is another key to success. “With our specialists’ years of experience and wide-ranging areas of expertise, we’ve been able to find an incredible synergy through diversity,” Cisneros says. “Our team believes that world-class science holds the power to find solutions to feed a growing global population and make a positive difference in the world.”