Shropshire Star comment: Welcome the rise of the robots

And what they are doing may change the world. Just as this county was the birthplace of the industrial revolution, now we have the seeds on our doorstep of an agricultural revolution. Put simply, the robots are coming.

Farming work has always been hard labour, and it remains a tough life even with the advent of modern machinery.

Now Harper Adams University at Edgmond is taking things several steps further with its pioneering research into agricultural robots and the role artificial intelligence can play in the farms of the future.

The university has already done field trials in which crops have been brought in using driverless machines, and has also been developing drone technology.

What is exciting is that this is not pie-in-the-sky stuff. It offers practical, workable solutions which could improve yields, increase efficiency, and make life a bit easier for farmers.

With the ever-growing world population meaning there is a spectre of a looming global food crisis, it is important that agriculture keeps pace as demand grows. Already there are things going on at our farms which seem the stuff of science fiction.

This is a new world of opportunity and farmers are showing that they are not hidebound by tradition, but are open to changing the way they do things, with the very important proviso that those new ways work.

Every revolution brings with it questions about the impact. If robots are doing the work, what will that mean for agricultural jobs? The advent of Brexit has raised concerns that the labour pool will start to dry up. Will robots take their place?

It does not seem likely that we shall be saying goodbye to Farmer Jim or Farmer Jane just yet. The robots and digital technology are the tools of the farmers, and not their masters. Freed from some of their toils, the farmers will be able to concentrate on different aspects of the farming business to maximise the chances of success.

In other areas of human activity, the use of machinery to do menial tasks has tended to be met with initial suspicion which evolves into a realisation that it represents a liberation to do other things instead. So cheer on this new revolution. This is innovation which promises a bumper harvest.