[jamesrcole]

> You do need guys, however, for when things do go wrong, and for all the other farm tasks (equipment maintenance, fencing, maintaining irrigation, and so on).

How far away is automation of those kinds of tasks, I wonder? I don't have much of any idea, myself.

[tinco]

Very far away. Computers can't even drive cars autonomously yet, which is a far simpler task. As it stands computers can't deal with any sort of irregularity that humans would deal with through basic creativity. I've also not seen robots plan fine manipulation yet, even though I feel that should be achievable with current technology.