Sir, – I refer to your news article, “Rise of the robots” in The Scottish Farmer last week. It is very prescient.
You are going to find that you will need to return to this topic more and more over the coming years. The rise of “Autonomous Systems” will be the dominant and driving trend in agriculture (and all industries) in the coming decades. 
It will have an enormous impact on the work people do and the transition will be difficult for many. Like all transitions, it will offer opportunities for those who anticipate and take advantage of the trend. The transition will, however, be painful and even unbearable for people who are ill prepared. For that reason I encourage you to keep close to and informed on this subject and continue to give it prominence in The Scottish Farmer. All Scottish farmers need visibility and understanding of this trend so that they take informed decisions to ensure their businesses prosper in what will be a very different world.


William Alexander 
BSc CEng FIET
(a professional engineer who works in an unrelated field but keeps in touch with his farming roots, friends and relatives)