SNOHOMISH — It almost looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie as Steve Mantle walked through the grass at Chinook Farms in rural Snohomish, followed by a four-wheeled robot. But in an ever-advancing technological world with increasing labor costs and uncertain climate conditions, the reality is more and more farmers want and need to rely on tech for reliable food production.
While Snohomish County has a large agricultural community, the farms are tiny compared to giant operations existing in other parts of the country, said Linda Neunzig, the county’s agriculture coordinator.
The question was, “How do we bring technology to our farms without the farmer having to be at risk or have to invest a lot of money in technology?” Neunzig said. The answer is the county’s new Ag Tech Program.
Mantle is the CEO of innov8.ag, an agricultural-focused technology company, which the county contracted for the program. Innov8.ag identified technology across the industry Snohomish farmers could benefit from. Now, through a grant from the state’s Department of Ecology, the technology is available for loan, free of charge. Because of the grant’s parameters, the tech is currently only available to farmers in the Snohomish River Basin.
The robot that followed Mantle around on Friday is called a Burro Grande. At first glance, the four-wheeler looks like a beefed-up version of one of those carts you throw your pumpkins on while picking up your jack-o’-lantern to be. Essentially, the Burro is that, with some programmed perks.
The robot can carry 1,000 pounds, pull 5,000 pounds and be set up to independently follow a drawn path for a variety of agricultural chores, Mantle said.
“It’s really neat when you take that creativity that’s required to work on a farm and harness that with applying a technology,” Mantle said.
So far, local farmers have used the Burro to assist in fertilizing Christmas trees, complete dairy farm chores and move around plant starts, Neunzig said.
The program also has soil moisture sensors and geospatial data mapping technology available as well.
SoilOptix technology allows farmers to map entire fields inch by inch to visualize and analyze soil nutrient levels and needs. AgriNet sensors allow farmers to measure moisture and temperature every 4 inches down to plant roots, giving data to farmers easily accessible on a smartphone.
“If we have healthy soil — we have healthier plants,” Neunzig said. “We’re making sure that the plant is as healthy as it can be, whether it’s a blade of grass or it’s an apple tree.”
Neunzig, a farmer herself, came up with the idea for the innovative program while on her tractor, brainstorming solutions to problems she’s run into herself or heard from the tight-knit community of farmers across the county.
“Sometimes it evolves with a bunch of us sitting around a table saying, ‘What if?,’” she said. “Sky’s the limit.”
Technology is available for use now, and farmers in the Snohomish watershed can reach out to staff members or fill out a scheduling form to figure out next steps.
Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.
Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.
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