Mexico Tariffs, Robot Farmers, and Addressing Water Waste

What the Proposed Tariff on Mexico Could Mean for Wall Street

President Trump has recently spoke publicly about his idea to impose tariffs on “all goods imported from Mexico” unless the government in Mexico “substantially stops the illegal flow of aliens”. While it’s unclear how far the President will go to make sure this new tariff goes into effect, if it does, there are several consequences that need to be considered, including the instant increase in prices on many of the goods consumers in the United States purchase regularly.

In addition to public backlash on prices, the stock market is another area of concern. In the past, when President Trump’s actions have impacted trade, like the failed talks between America and China, Wall Street has been negatively impacted. In May, for example, the trade war propelled the Dow Jones averages to plummet more than 6 percent. And even just talking about a tariff on Mexico has resulted in the Dow falling over 1 percent - about 350 points.

And while relatively small in comparison to other major stock market falls, plenty of investors and Wall Street executives are worried about what’s to come if the President is willing to back up his ideas with serious action.

Is Farming with Robots the New Frontier?

For most of America’s agricultural history, crops have been picked with cheap labor, ensuring that the market has a steady drip of fresh produce. Of course, with seasonal labor becoming more difficult to find because of a crackdown on illegal immigration, growers whose crops must be handpicked are facing serious trouble. Because seasonal labor scarce, it has become more expensive, which means farmers around the country are looking for new options.

At first, it seems like the obvious solution is to get unemployed or difficult to employ (individuals with nonviolent criminal history, for example) Americans to do the job. Unfortunately, not only are most unemployed Americans unwilling to do this type of farm work, those who do give it a try have a tendency to walk off the job, complaining that it’s too difficult. As a result, American farms are losing money - and fast. In Georgia alone, farmers lost more than 120 million dollars over the course of a year simply because their crops could not be picked.

The solution?

According to some farmers and innovators, the answer is simple: Robots.

Over the past several years, individuals and teams have been working to create a robot that can pick delicate crops that traditionally needed to be done by hand, like strawberries. And, thankfully, these robots are getting close to being able to do just that. Around the world, this type of AI is being developed in order to ensure that good food doesn’t go to waste. Among the leaders in the race to create robot farmers are Japan’s

Utsunomiya University, a company from the United Kingdom known as Dogtooth, and the Belgian group Octinion.  Silicon Valley is also getting in on the action; Blue River Technology, a startup who made a robotic lettuce-thinner, was purchased by John Deere in 2017.

While the era of robotic farmers is probably still a few years out at best, as technologies continue to improve (specifically AI, robotics, GPS, machine vision and drones) and converge, it’s only a matter of time before we can start thanking robots for the food that ends up on our table.

Addressing Water Waste with a Smart New Technology

With more and more people thankfully turning their attention to the environment and sustainability, serious issues, such as conserving water and preserving it as a natural resource, are starting to be addressed within the tech world. One of the leaders in water conservation is WINT Water Intelligence, an Israeli company creating state-of-the-art technologies to “save and use water more efficiently”.

At the heart of WINT is a desire to help people recognize when they are wasting water. For example, what if your smart phone could notify you whenever unusual water use, or overuse, was detected? What if your water system could immediately shut down if a break occurs, ensuring that no unnecessary water gets wasted until it’s fixed?

Although it might seem simple, it’s this type of everyday technology that can really make a big difference in the way we understand how we use - and waste - water. Alon Geva, the CEO of WINT, says that “as much as 25 percent of water is just wasted through leaks, bursts and overuse”, which means finding a way to detect and prevent those issues is a big deal.

WINT, which focuses on creating comprehensive systems of "smart valves, AI, machine learning and communication systems to save companies significant amounts of water and expenses,” is available in the United States and promises to help individuals and businesses “maximize their water use while minimizing their water bills”.