Gear

The High Tech of Rural America: 9 Unusual Gadgets and Contraptions

Erase all preconceived notions about the technological competence of rural America. The people who work the land are using technologies that rival what’s coming out of the world’s most advanced R&D labs. We present nine must-see examples.
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  • DeLaval AMR Circular Cow Milker
  • ClicRWeight 3D Camera
  • Insect Forecast
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Hey, city slicker: Erase all preconceived notions about the technological competence of rural America. As you drive past all those rolling, pastoral fields during your summer road trips, you might be lulled into thinking our farmers and ranchers are stuck in the 1950s -- or maybe even homogeneously Amish. But think again: The people who work the land are using technologies that rival what’s coming out of the world’s most advanced R&D labs. Hell, they’re actually using technologies that come out of advanced R&D labs. From autonomous tractors to robot fruit pickers to cow milking machinery of amazing complexity (see image above, and our explanation below), rural America is on the cutting edge. So throw away your twee, urban biases of country folk. They’re using the technology of the future to feed us all -- and this holds true for the local produce, meat and poultry that you’re going to buy this weekend at the farmers market.

DeLaval AMR Circular Cow Milker

If you ever took an elementary school field trip to a dairy farm, there’s a good chance your teachers had you milk a cow for a few seconds. Now imagine just how expensive our milk, cheese and Gogurt would be if we still milked cows with our hands. And while the current automated systems are quick, they can still use an update. An update with a spin. The DeLaval AMR Circular Cow Milker pictured above puts dairy cows on a robot-powered merry-go-round of milk extraction. The system uses up to five robots to prepare the teats, milk the cows, then finally disinfect the cow’s money makers. After the cows milky bits have been cleaned, the cow is free to return to her herd to be replaced by another cow on the carousel. The system uses cameras, lasers and personal information about the cows to locate each cow’s teats. Because like snowflakes, no two cows’ teats are quite the same. Photo: DeLaval