This is the way people have transplanted rice into paddies for who knows how long. That’s changed a lot now that machinery has been built to make the task much easier and faster.

When I interviewed one of the officials with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization he asked me why man invented machines. I was stumped so he answered for me. “To do the work for us.” Right. And when it comes to this type of work I can see why you’d want a machine. The mud in the field is necessary but looked difficult to walk in.

We got to watch a demonstration of a machine with a man at the wheel but the main attraction was a prototype of a new GPS-guided planter. I’ll have more on that in another post.

One thing is obvious and that is that what we call precision ag is making it’s way around the world with applications in all types of farming. This stop at the Furukawa Agricultural Research Station was the highlight of our long travel day.

IFAJ Congress 2007 Photo Album

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