Farmers spot diseased crops faster with artificial intelligence

More than 30-meters below the busy London streets, there is an eco-farm called Growing Underground that's part innovative agri-tech project and part sci-fi inspired netherworld. Created to provide increased food security and combat the environmental degradation caused by mass agriculture, this self-contained, zero-emissions, fully functioning farm provides an exciting opportunity as the world's population grows and food demands increase.

OnePointOne farm uses vertical farming techniques to grow nutrient-dense, seasonal produce year-round. The farm operates on artificial intelligence and robots tend to the plants. Vertical farming also uses less water and can produce significantly more crops than standard horizontal farms — specifically 250 more plants per acre than traditional farms.

On his organic farm in Illinois, Will Glazik is experimenting with different types of agricultural methods to increase his crop yield while also avoiding the harmful impacts of industrial farming. He’s part of a growing movement called “sustainable intensification,” which combines both conventional and organic farming techniques. While there are challenges with this approach and what works in one place might not work in another, combining these types of farming could help feed a growing global population.

There’s a subterranean, organic farm in one of Seoul’s subway stations that could be another way to approach sustainable urban farming. The “vertical” farm, known as Metro Farm, uses a mineral nutrient solution instead of regular soil, and has an automated tech network to control the underground ecosystem’s temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. While Farm8, the tech startup in charge of the venture, hasn’t made much of a profit yet, the farm produces about 30 kilograms of vegetables per day at a rate that is 40 times more efficient than traditional farming.

As climate change continues to impact agriculture production and land viability, a new concept known as “sustainable intensification” has entered the conversation as a way to cultivate a relationship between traditional and organic farming. Taking the best from both practices, this new practice emphasizes environmentally friendly farming with higher yields of food production.

Three biointensive mini-farms in the US are teaching small-scale farmers from throughout the world how to grow more food through sustainable practices that focus on using less water and land. After bringing these farmers onto the US farms to learn the methods through a hands-on approach, the farmers then return to their home countries to implement and encourage the biointensive practices.

A barley farm in southern Oregon transformed 70 of its 400 acres into a wetland sanctuary after it had spent years leaking phosphorus pollution into the Upper Klamath Lake. A team of scientists and advocates collaborated with the farmer to finance and construct the new natural ecosystem, which began to yield the farmer both environmental and financial benefits after only one year.

An Arizona farmer became the first organic regenerative certified farm in the southwest using practices that conserve water and improve soil health along the drought-stuck Gila River. His practices include growing arid-adapted crops, integrating livestock grazing, and planting cover crops.

After realizing that his soil was becoming more saline after repeated uses of chemical fertilizer, a farmer in India made the switch to organic farming with the hopes of saving his crops. By switching to organic farming he has a lower crop yield than he would by using chemicals, but he is hopeful others will see the benefits of this method.

The Alexandre Family Farm in California made the switch to regenerative agriculture as a way to improve their soil health and improve the quality of their dairy operations. They are part of a growing number of individual dairies across the country that are embracing organic farming and are becoming “certified regenerative” as a way to build relationships with consumers and retailers on their own.