Google’s self-driving car got a lot of attention on Aug. 5, 2011. After being on the road accident-free for almost a year, it caused an accident. The ironic part was that it was on manual mode when the accident occurred. The Google car uses everything from laser range-finders to cameras that allow features for auto-park, adaptive cruise control and autonomous accident-avoidance systems to truly become an “auto” mobile—freeing the driver behind the wheel.

Though the self-driving car is still in its early stages, agriculture is taking advantage of the concept and is ahead of the curve with its hands-free and self-driving tractors. Take for example John Deere’s auto-steering tractor that uses a combination of GPS and ground base stations to maneuver trips up and down the field.

The self-driving tractors available today do require minimal human operation, but the driver can still take the time that used to be focused on steering and use it to perform other tasks while on board.

In a normal workday I spend about one and a half hours in the car driving to and from work. That adds up to seven and a half hours a week, or about 390 hours a year. That is a lot of time I could be doing something other than looking at the plates of the car in front of me, like watching my DVR, surfing the Internet or catching up on some much needed sleep—not really productive … I know.

Just imagine what a farmer could be doing with the time saved instead of concentrating on the route—like monitoring seeding rates, checking the yield monitor, working on another farm project or … texting? Paired with sub-inch accuracy, these auto-steering tractors have a natural ability to aid in multitasking, reduce waste caused by overlapping, decrease drive times, and with good driving algorithms—improve fuel efficiency.

Self-driving cars and tractors are still controversial for many reasons such as assuring the accuracy of routes, personal safety or trusting artificial intelligence to make “a life-or-death-decision.” Personally, I believe that soon a self-driving car will become statistically safer than a human driver. Yes, humans still make better decisions than machines, but self-driving cars and tractors can maintain a constant level of alertness—something very difficult for humans to achieve when you factor in technology, fatigue and other distractions on the road or out in the field.

I often have debates with my friends whether we will see flying cars in our lifetime. I don’t see us being able to fly the cars ourselves since we seem to have enough problems driving in two dimensions, but if we were able to make an autonomous flying car it just may be possible. In the meantime, I’m going to watch for the next big leap in autonomous vehicle technology to come from the ag sector.

A deep, melting snowpack and heavy spring rains have caused record flooding over millions of acres of prime U.S. agricultural land, including North Dakota, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana.

Local experts in flood-soaked regions are predicting all crops in affected areas will show minimal yields. Those crops that do survive will face intense challenges, including heavy disease and weed pressure.

Yet in the Southwest, moisture is nowhere to be found due to a long-lasting La Niña effect. Stunted, yellowing crops are a common sight as severe drought forces crop and forage production to grind to a halt. Areas of exceptional drought are spreading through Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, the southern Rockies, south-central Plains, and even portions of the Southeast.

Photo courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center

Examining the Impact

As analysts put dollar amounts to the catastrophic losses caused by the floods and droughts, experts agree the impact of these environmental extremes will be both large and long-term.

Billions of Bushels and Dollars Lost

One estimate puts 1.9 billion bushels of corn and 640 million bushels of soybeans at risk in the drought and flood areas. That translates to billions of dollars in lost or damaged crops and related losses. Potential crop value lost when the Birds Point levee was blown in southeast Missouri totaled $85.2 million, according to a report by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. Texas drought losses alone are estimated at $1.2 billion and counting.

Shorter Crop Inventories

The tight crop supplies that drove up prices earlier this year will now be stretched even further as dwindling crop inventories are not replenished by strong 2011 production. The USDA has lowered crop production and ending stock estimates for many crops, including corn, rice and cotton. For example, expected U.S. corn ending stocks were reduced from 900 million bushels to 695 million bushels, a 23 percent decrease.

Rising Food Prices

With less supply to meet demand, grain prices will continue climbing. Higher feed grain prices will put added financial strain on the livestock sector. In addition, higher prices will ripple through the food processing sector, resulting in steeper food prices at the grocery store.

Less Producer Spending

As floods and droughts keep draining the profitability of agricultural operations this year, producers will look for short-term ways to save money and will be less likely to purchase non-essential inputs.

Let us know how the recent floods and drought have affected you or your clients.

Attending World Pork Expo is always a June highlight for the C|O team. As you can see in the photo, booth traffic is buzzing with producers mixing with company sales teams to learn about the latest products to help manage their operations.

The mood is guarded optimism, as the recent price run-ups for hog sales have been good, but cautious as we approach fall with continued signs pointing towards higher feed prices. Many producers told us in the Novartis booth that they had little equity to sustain any further erosion of their balance sheets, yet their prevailing outlook was optimistic.

There are few things we cannot live without, with one of the most important necessities being food. Food has always been and remains a centerpiece of American culture: our celebrations often involve large meals and extravagant dining experiences, while families convene around the kitchen table daily to enjoy a hot meal and recap the day. But with food prices on the rise—a trend expected to continue in the second half of 2011—will our basic need to eat alter how we currently view food?

With more options at the grocery store visitors’ fingertips today than ever before, I have been pondering the following question: at what point will price overrule our palates or perceived “social” value of food?

To get some answers, I took to the virtual streets of Facebook and Twitter to get some input from consumers across the country. And here’s what people are saying:

• “Our family has started to shop the sales, buy only necessities, construct a weekly menu and buy locally.”
• “I buy gas whenever the price dips, cut down on unnecessary spending, make do with less, more cooking and less going out, watch more TV and fewer movies.”
• “If I can’t find regular blueberries at my grocery store, unless the organic blueberries are at least in the same price range, I just go without.”
• “We are buying cheaper cereal and lower-quality meat (like 80-20 beef rather than healthier stuff).”

Conscientious sums up the shifts in consumer purchasing decisions expressed today. While some are purchasing lower-quality ingredients to reduce spending, most are just starting to cut back on the extras, rather than changing their purchasing habits altogether. With the outlook for potentially higher prices ahead, will the future months be the time consumers select different brands, cuts of meat or alternative ingredients to keep grocery bills in check while filling nutritional needs?

Food is something we in the U.S. and other more affluent countries take for granted. For most of us it’s hard to imagine having to go without food just because it’s not available. If we run out, there’s always more. We benefit from the American farmer, who is the most productive in the world, and the infrastructure that (for the most part) gets food from the farm to our forks efficiently and safely.

We are complacent about food. It is a foundation of our lives. It’s like electricity or fuel or clean air. Each is critical to our existence, but take any one of them away and our lives change dramatically. You could say for this reason that food is an important part of our national security.

Those who protect our national security think food defense is important as well. They have examined how food gets from farm to fork—all of the intricacies of production, processing, delivery, etc.—and realized one important thing: our food system is at risk from agroterrorism.

It is unsettling to think about how easy it would be for someone with an agenda to significantly impact our food supply. Starting a disease pandemic, such as foot-and-mouth disease, is an option. Endemic in parts of the world, foot-and-mouth is a disease the U.S. has been successful in keeping it outside of our borders. But the threat still remains and industry groups are doing their part to help raise awareness among producers and industry leaders about food safety issues and how to avoid and prepare for a potential outbreak.

Some have suggested that the recent death of Osama bin Laden will encourage the more radical of his followers to retaliate against the U.S. Our national security is on alert, and that includes stepping up surveillance of our food system to protect a vital part of our nation’s security.

As Americans struggle with sticker shock at the grocery store, they continue to demonstrate their savvy survival techniques. Thanks to a new study by Harris Interactive, we can learn from the best of the best.

Some of the successful saving strategies utilized according to the study include:

• Using coupons (72%)
• Comparing unit prices of package sizes (71%)
• Shopping at discount grocery stores (66%)
• Stocking up when items reach rock-bottom prices (64%)
• Buying in bulk (57%)

And, who are the best users of these strategies?

Higher-income households ($75k HHI vs $35k HHI)

• Using coupons (81% compared with 63%)
• Comparing unit prices of package sizes (88% versus 61%)

More highly educated households (college degree vs no high school diploma)

• Using coupons (78% vs. 51%)
• Comparing unit prices (83% vs. 66%)
• Buying in bulk (62% vs. 42%)

Women (sorry guys)

• Using coupons (78% vs. 66% men)
• Comparing unit prices of package sizes over men (75% vs. 67%)
• Stocking up on goods when they reach rock-bottom prices (68% vs. 60%)

Apparently TLC believes there’s an audience for this movement based upon their new show, “Extreme Couponing.”

How do you stack up against the successful saver? Have you found another technique that works for you? Will you dare to share?