Robot Bees, Tiny Crop Sensors & a Pig That Loads the Washer | Daily Farm Brief

Good morning, Farm Nation, and Hello Truck City. This is FarmTales Unplugged Daily Farm Brief for Thursday, October 15th. Brought to you by World TradeX empowering farmers. I'm Rick Cordonova. Today, tiny machines planted alongside your crop with a price target of one penny each. Then a pig that loads a washing machine, live shrimp from Indiana, and a quick harvest check. Plus, ducklings doing the weeding, flying robot insects that could help pollinate crops, wheat turned into threads, and a skunk doing a handstand. And if you enjoy this show, please give us a follow, like, or share. That would be fantastic. So grab your coffee, fire up whatever you're driving, and let's find out what was happening while you were busy actually working. Lead Story Planting a Field of Tiny Machines. Imagine planting tiny machines with your seeds, then asking them how the roots are doing. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania and their partners are developing sensors that could go through a planter and into the soil. They respond to radio signals reporting moisture and chemical conditions underground. The price they're aiming for is about one cent apiece, and the materials are designed to break down afterwards. Above ground, the team is also developing tiny stickers for leaves, those changed to give a visual reading of conditions on the plant. A camera on farm equipment could read them as it passes. Sherry Kagan's team described the work in a report published Monday. The technology is still being developed, that penny price is a goal. But picture a field giving you a warning before the plants start looking sick. A pig that loads the washing machine. A pig pulled 10 socks off a person's foot and put them into a washing machine. His name is Pongo, his owner is Iris Brunn in Italy. Guinness verified the feat in 2024. His time was 1 minute 55 seconds. He also earned a record for performing 15 tricks in a minute. That is one smart pig. Now, from Italy to Indiana, there's a family raising saltwater shrimp in Indiana, and the water may be the strangest part of the story. Daryl and Carolina Brown started RDM Aquaculture in Fowler in 2010. They say they've been reusing their tank water ever since. That's 16 years of working with the water that keeps this unusual farm going. The Browns raise the shrimp indoors. Customers can buy them alive right at the farm door. Walk into a farm in Indiana and walk out with live saltwater seafood. The family also gives tours and teaches people who want to enter the business. Their website lists an online shrimp farming overview for tomorrow, October 16th. So if somebody wonders whether a shrimp farm belongs in corn country, the Browns have a working operation to show them. And now a quick harvest check from Tuesday's USDA report. Through Sunday, corn harvest was 33% complete. Soybeans were 46%. Both were behind their usual pace. Corn trailed by six percentage points, beans by four. Weather windows still matter. Now the ducklings that do the weeding. Meet a Vermont farmer whose weed control crew swims to work. Eric Andrus and his wife Erica built Boundbrook Farm on heavy wet ground in Ferrisburg. Eric turned to cold-tolerant rice and a Japanese method that puts ducklings into the flooded fields. The little birds eat and trample weeds. They also go after insects moving between the rice plants. The farm explains that the rice leaves are too abrasive for the ducks to enjoy eating. But timing matters. When the rice begins filling with grain, the ducks need to come out. Those developing grains are something they will eat. The family has been developing this system since 2010, and its website now lists 26 rice orders. Picture that field. Rice growing in Vermont with a flock of little ducks helping bring in the crop. And now the high-tech moment: robot insects that could pollinate crops. A flying robot that weighs less than a paper clip, and MIT researchers have made one perform 10 somersaults in 11 seconds. That's a machine with flapping wings powered by tiny artificial muscles. Researcher Kevin Chen and his colleagues are working towards robotic insects that could eventually help pollinate crops. Imagine a greenhouse where little flying machines move between flowers, delivering pollen. In experiments reported last year, an improved design could hover for almost 17 minutes. Later work gave the robots much faster, more agile flight, including those repeated flips. The team still wants to add tiny batteries and sensors so they can fly and navigate outside the lab. But the idea is remarkable. A mechanical hive, a crop of flowers, and a swarm of robotic bees helping get the pollination done. That future still needs work. The flying robot bees are already real. On this day in farm history, on this date in 1895, Henry D. Perky received a patent for turning grain into something that looks almost woven. The title was Bread and Method of Preparing Same. He cooked whole wheat, then pressed it through grooved rollers. The grain came out in fine threads that could be gathered into biscuits. Shredded wheat. A crop from the field became a completely different kind of breakfast. And more than a century later, you can still recognize what he was making. And now let's finish with the old farmer's almanac. Let's open the almanac and finish with a little animal that has a very dramatic way of saying, give me some room. A spotted skunk can do a handstand. It balances on its front paws, raises its back end and tail, and shows off its markings. That's a warning. Oklahoma State researchers studying the plain spotted skunk describe that upside-down display as a part of its defense. This belongs to the smaller spotted skunks, relatives of the familiar striped ones. And here's the almanac's useful point about skunks in general. They eat insects and grubs, including pests that can damage crops and gardens. Those little holes in the lawn can be signs of somebody digging for dinner. Of course, they also eat other things and can disturb plants. If you're stepping outside after dark, take a flashlight, give wildlife space, and let a skunk move away. Foot stamping and a raised tail are warnings worth noticing. And if you happen to see the smaller spotted variety lift itself onto its front feet, there's a reason for that performance. Even a quiet evening outside can offer a sight you never expected. Today, one cent crop sensors and a pig loading laundry, live shrimp from Indiana, a fresh harvest check, and Vermont ducklings helping grow rice. Robot bees and the man who invented shredded wheat and a skunk doing a handstand. And if you'd like more information about any of the topics we cover on our show, there's a matching blog for every episode we release. You'll find it on our website, farmtailsunplugged.com. To farm nation, have a safe and productive day. To Truck City, keep the shiny side up. The future of food starts with the people who grow it and depends on the people who move it. And there you have it. That's your FarmTales Unplugged daily farm brief for Thursday, October 15th. Brought to you by World TradeX empowering farmers. I'm Rick Portonova, and I'll see you Friday morning.