<story><title>Japanese firm to open world’s first robot-run farm</title><url>http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/01/japanese-firm-to-open-worlds-first-robot-run-farm</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>ValleyOfTheMtns</author><text>&amp;gt;and the decision to use grow lights indoors instead of sunlight&lt;p&gt;This is the part of indoor automated farming I don&amp;#x27;t get. You have this free, abundant source of energy needed to grow plants, and you don&amp;#x27;t use it... why? Seems like a massive inefficiency. Indoors is fine to protect the crops and control the environment, but why not above ground with a clear roof to let sunlight in?</text></item><item><author>nostromo</author><text>&amp;gt; The robots will do everything from re-planting young seedlings to watering, trimming and harvesting crops.&lt;p&gt;Has the author been to a farm in the past 20 years?  Most crops today are not planted by hand, or watered by hand, or harvested by hand.  (Harvesting is still the most labor intensive part of farming for a few fruits, but automation isn&amp;#x27;t far off.)&lt;p&gt;I think the most interesting part of this farm is not the automation, but the water saving, the reduction in pesticides, and the decision to use grow lights indoors instead of sunlight.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Tsagadai</author><text>Physical space is often a constraint. Green houses which cover large areas which are needed in areas where it gets cold in winter and you want certain types of food. The other is that the quantity of sunlight varies throughout the year in everywhere that isn&amp;#x27;t on the equator. Grow lights allow you to go from seed to harvest faster. Consider that the earth is not infinitely large and there is already a substantial portion of arable land covered in crops and there are few ways to increase productivity while still planting in the ground. Also consider costs of managing land with a limited staff and transportation.</text></comment>
<story><title>Japanese firm to open world’s first robot-run farm</title><url>http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/01/japanese-firm-to-open-worlds-first-robot-run-farm</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>ValleyOfTheMtns</author><text>&amp;gt;and the decision to use grow lights indoors instead of sunlight&lt;p&gt;This is the part of indoor automated farming I don&amp;#x27;t get. You have this free, abundant source of energy needed to grow plants, and you don&amp;#x27;t use it... why? Seems like a massive inefficiency. Indoors is fine to protect the crops and control the environment, but why not above ground with a clear roof to let sunlight in?</text></item><item><author>nostromo</author><text>&amp;gt; The robots will do everything from re-planting young seedlings to watering, trimming and harvesting crops.&lt;p&gt;Has the author been to a farm in the past 20 years?  Most crops today are not planted by hand, or watered by hand, or harvested by hand.  (Harvesting is still the most labor intensive part of farming for a few fruits, but automation isn&amp;#x27;t far off.)&lt;p&gt;I think the most interesting part of this farm is not the automation, but the water saving, the reduction in pesticides, and the decision to use grow lights indoors instead of sunlight.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>orthecreedence</author><text>Oddly enough, and this is completely anecdotal, I&amp;#x27;ve had much better luck growing outdoor plants than indoor plants. If an indoor plant gets some kind of pest (spider mites, aphids, etc) then you pretty much have to sit around spraying it and its peers with oils or alcohol day after day until you&amp;#x27;re confident the infestation is gone.&lt;p&gt;With outdoor plants, there are so many natural predators to pests that things tend to form a balance. In addition to that, yes, there is the world&amp;#x27;s most abundant (and inexhaustible) energy source just sitting there waiting to be used.&lt;p&gt;So I&amp;#x27;d be really interested to know the benefits of indoor growing as well (besides the obvious reasons with regards to not wanting DEA aircraft spotting your crops).</text></comment>