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Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI is helping blue-collar workers do more with less as labor shortages are projected to worsen
There are an estimated 180 million utility poles currently in operation in the U.S., and every so often, they need to be inspected. Historically, crews of specialized workers would go from pole to pole, climbing to the top and evaluating the integrity of the structure, regardless of whether or not the pole had a known problem. Today with AI, sensors, and drones, teams can detect the state of this critical infrastructure without physically being there, sending a worker on site only when there's an issue that needs to be addressed. What's more, the data made possible by these remote monitoring systems means workers are more informed and prepared for the job when they are deployed to a pole. 'There's a lot of diagnostic time to figure out what's going on, but now imagine that you just show up on a site with the information. So you're sending somebody to the right spot when there's an actual issue, and then they're much more likely to have the right part, or the right truck, or the right materials they need in that moment,' said Alex Hawkinson, CEO of BrightAI, a company using AI solutions to address worker challenges in the energy sector and other blue-collar industries including HVAC, water pipeline, construction, manufacturing, pest control, and field service. It's just one example of how AI-enabled technologies are increasingly helping workers in blue-collar industries do their jobs, saving them time and energy, and reducing their exposure to risky situations (like having to climb to the top of utility poles). The new wave of AI is also allowing workers across these fields to get more out of the technologies they've already been using and data they've been collecting. AI's long-term impact on jobs is an increasingly important topic of debate, as analysts and economists look for clues by examining hiring practices at different companies. But in many of these blue-collar fields that are currently struggling with labor shortages, AI is a welcome helper. Blue-collar industries that require specialized trade skills are some of the most labor-squeezed parts of the workforce, particularly as aging workers who were trained for them years ago start to retire. Between 30% and 50% of water pipeline workers are expected to retire in the next decade, for example, and there aren't enough younger workers entering the field to replace them. It's a similar situation in farming: The average age of the U.S. farmer is 58.1 years old, and there are four times as many farmers who are 65 or older than those younger than 35, according to the 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture. Farming also has to deal with the seasonality of its labor needs, which sway dramatically throughout the year. 'Another big misconception is that autonomy is about labor replacement,' said Willy Pell, CEO of John Deere subsidiary Blue River Technology, regarding AI in the farming industry. 'In many cases, it just isn't there to begin with. So it's not replacing anything—it's giving them labor.' Whether it's a utility worker inspecting a pole or a farmer harvesting crops, doing more with less time is paramount when there aren't enough people to get the work done. 'One of the biggest things is that farmers never have enough time. When we can give them their time back, it makes their lives meaningfully better. They get to spend more time with their family. They get to spend more time running the higher-leverage parts of their business, the higher-value parts of their business, and they have less stress,' said Pell. 'There's an incredible amount of anxiety that comes with not knowing if you can run your business because you're relying on an extremely sparse, fragile labor force to help you do it. And autonomy helps farmers with this problem.' Crucially, it's not just industry leaders who are on board, but workers too. A study on workers' openness to automation performed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers (and backed by Amazon) found that those without college degrees, or 'blue-collar' workers, are more open to automation than those with degrees. According to the study, 27.4% of workers without a college degree said they believe that AI will be beneficial for their job security, compared to 23.7% of workers with a college degree. For many blue-collar workers, the problems they're facing on the job are increasingly measurable. For example, Blue River Technology has neural networks that integrate directly into field-spraying machines, detecting the crops and weeds in order to spray herbicides only on the weeds. Technologies like sensors and drones have been around for years, but recent progress in AI is allowing them to derive more benefit from these technologies and the data they produce. 'A lot of factories and other industrial environments have had data around for a long time and haven't necessarily known what to do with it. Now there are new algorithms and new software that's allowing these companies to be a lot more intelligent with using that data to make work better,' said Ben Armstrong, coauthor of the study on worker attitudes surrounding automation and an MIT researcher who focuses on the relationship between technology and work, especially in American manufacturing. BrightAI's Hawkinson echoes this, saying that 'a simple sensor reading isn't enough to give you the pattern that you care about' and that it's the maturation of AI that's made the difference. For example, the company has tapped large language models (LLMs) for voice interaction to allow workers to interact with sensor data via wearable devices, which is crucial for workers who need to have their hands free, as is common in the fields BrightAI operates in. Hawkinson said that companies working with BrightAI's platform are seeing productivity lifts between 20% and 30% within three to six months of getting up and running. Overall, a lot of the potential benefits hinge on using AI to improve organization and access to the information that's vital to get these jobs done. Blue River Technology, for example, is tapping LLMs to turn the very complicated information around equipment error codes into a more readable format with easy-to-understand troubleshooting tips. 'In a lot of the companies we're studying, there are these companies' specific tools that workers can use to solve problems in their job by either doing a different kind of research or trying to organize information in a new way,' Pell said. 'And I think for blue-collar workers who have a lot of knowledge about the particular processes and technologies that they work on, that can be really exciting.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would limit Iowa DNR's ability to buy land at auction. But will it advance?
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources would be barred from buying land at auction — with some exceptions — under House and Senate bills that are opposed by conservation groups. The bills, House File 714 and Senate Study Bill 1198, would block the DNR from purchasing land at auction. The department would only be allowed to buy or acquire land from a willing donor or seller. But the legislation's future is uncertain ahead of Friday's "funnel" deadline, which requires most bills to pass a committee by the end of the week in order to remain eligible for consideration this year. The bill includes an exception that allows the DNR to acquire land at auction or from a nonprofit that acquired the land at auction "if the acquisition is in furtherance of a local or statewide conservation or recreation plan." Rep. Norlin Mommsen, R-DeWitt, said he considers that exception "one of the more important paragraphs in there" but said he's open to discussing the language if groups have possible changes in mind. "My goal is to allow for that circumstance where none of us in this room can foresee that it will be imperative that the state acquire it," he said. "And I think it's important that we have that outlet, or relief valve, or whatever you call it." A range of conservation groups showed up at House and Senate subcommittees on the bill Tuesday to testify against the legislation, while lobbyists for the Iowa Farm Bureau and Iowa Cattlemen's Association said they oppose the bill's exception that would allow the DNR to buy land in some cases. The House Natural Resources Committee did not bring the bill up during its meeting Tuesday, meaning the bill will will fail to clear the funnel deadline unless it passes a committee in the Senate. Sen. Tom Shipley, R-Nodaway, said he expects to see a proposed amendment to the bill that the Senate Natural Resources and Environment Committee would consider, but he did not have the language of the amendment as of Tuesday morning. Legislation introduced last year would have banned the DNR from buying land at auction without exception. That bill failed to advance. According to the DNR, about 1% of Iowa's land is public land controlled by the DNR. Over the last two decades, Iowa has lost nearly 1.8 million acres of farmland to development and other uses, for a 5.5% decline, according to a 2024 U.S. Census of Agriculture. Nearly 586,000 farm acres were lost in the last five years. Todd Coffelt, legislative liaison with the Department of Natural Resources, said the department does not currently buy land at auction and has not done so for the last six years, as long as Director Kayla Lyon has been in charge. Coffelt told senators it has been 20 years since the DNR directly bid on land at an auction. He said the six-year time period referred to the DNR buying land from a different group that had acquired it at auction. At the House subcommittee, Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, criticized protests of the bill as "the boy who cried wolf." "I mean this is ridiculous, guys," he said. "This doesn't change a darn thing." Harris called the bill common sense. "It doesn't change anything," he said. "It just locks it in because Director Lyon and this administration will not be there forever. Let's make sure that we continue this policy." Harris asked Coffelt whether the DNR's current policy is not to acquire land at auction. "Yes," Coffelt said. "For the last six years, we have not competed at an auction to acquire land." "And if a third-party group, nonprofit group, some of whom are represented here today, acquire it through an auction, would you guys acquire that land?" Harris asked. "No," Coffelt said. Joe Jayjack, with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, said the bill is "another beat of the drum" by Iowa lawmakers to limit new public land or limit the DNR's ability to buy public land. He pointed to last year's bill preventing the DNR from buying land at auction, and a Senate measure this year that would repeal Iowa's constitutionally protected Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. "Land has to go to auction for all kinds of reasons, and this is restricting a potential buyer from folks that have to go to auction to sell the land," Jayjack said. Fred Long, president of the Iowa Conservation Alliance, said the price of land is unaffordable because large farmers have more money and can pay higher prices. "That's what's keeping the young farmer out," he said. "It isn't the little bit of land that the DNR acquires, because if some guy bought most of what they have and tried to start farming, he'd go broke on it." Daniel Gibbons with Linn County Conservation said public lands and recreation opportunities are important to attract residents and businesses to Iowa. "The benefit of public land is growing with a state where our goals are to bring our kids back," he said. "We want to bring businesses, we want to bring new residents here. And it doesn't take very long looking at the research that the next generations are really craving that outdoor wildlife and recreation experience." Matt Groenwald, a lobbyist for the Iowa Farm Bureau, said the organization appreciates lawmakers' efforts to restrict how much land the DNR can buy. "We know that every acre owned by government is an acre of lost opportunity for our farmers," he said. "Many times these acres could be used by farmers, especially young farmers, beginning farmers, cattle farmers, farmers looking to grow their operations so they can thrive in rural Iowa, raise their families in rural Iowa and send their kids to school." But the organization is registered as undecided on the bill because of the bill's exception language. "The inclusion of paragraph two would codify a currently unused practice by DNR and does not achieve our members' goal of eliminating taxpayer dollars from competing against our citizens at auction," Gronewald said. Jake Swanson, a lobbyist for the Iowa Cattlemen's Association, echoed similar points. "Our farmer members do not want to see government representatives bidding against them at an auction," he said. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@ or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa DNR would be blocked from buying land at auction under new bill
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Securing the future of a family's farm
Agriculture is crucial to North Carolina's economy, environment and culture. From the mountains to the coasts, farming is a fabric of the literal and figurative landscape. Yet in recent years, many of the state's farms have struggled. Data from the newest U.S. Census of Agriculture, which was released in 2024, shows that between 2012-2022, North Carolina saw a decline of 7,400 farms. That's a 15% decrease — from more than 50,000 farms to less than 43,000 — in only 10 years. Estimates from more recent years suggest that the decline is continuing. Some counties and communities feel this loss more acutely than others, but the trend is truly statewide. And it is, or should be, concerning. A variety of factors have led to many farms hurting, from high input prices and volatile markets to the damage from storms like Helene, which especially impacted communities in Western North Carolina. Another challenge is transitioning a farm from one generation to the next. 'Generational transfer,' as some estate planning and agricultural experts call it, is a complex process, one filled with economic and emotional hurdles. How do you navigate the ins and outs of transitioning dozens or hundreds of acres? How do you ensure that you're being fair to all heirs without necessarily carving up the farm into equal-sized parcels and limiting its productive capacity? What if you don't have any children, or what if none of your children want to farm? When much of your savings are tied up in the land itself — when, as some have called it, you're 'land rich and cash poor' — how do you fund your retirement, cover medical expenses, and provide for family without simply selling the land to the highest bidder, which, in North Carolina, usually means selling to a real estate developer? There are no easy answers. What works for one family might not work for another. But the Duckett family of Buncombe County highlights one way that farmers can successfully transition their land, keep it in agriculture, and gain some financial security all at once. Their story can serve as instruction and inspiration to farm families across North Carolina and beyond. Nestled in the heart of the rural Sandy Mush community is the multi-generational Duckett family farm. Cattle graze its fertile pastures and wildlife love its wooded areas. 'I've lived here all my life,' Kevin Duckett said. For him and his family, the land isn't just a source of livelihood. It's their home. Yet years ago, the future of their farm looked uncertain as his father got older and his health grew worse. 'He had always farmed, and he didn't really have any retirement savings. My aunt, my dad's sister, was pretty much in the same health situation. It was hard. We had to start looking at selling the land. None of us wanted to do that, but we weren't sure what else we could do.' Duckett's hope was to continue his family's farming legacy, and to one day pass the farm down to his daughter. But that plan was in jeopardy. Given Sandy Mush's proximity to Asheville, the family knew that putting the land on the market likely meant converting it out of agriculture. Many of the once-rural places in and around Buncombe County have transformed into sprawling subdivisions and low-density residential development. A family friend threw the Ducketts a lifeline, telling them about the nonprofit Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, which works with landowners to help them protect their land from development through conservation easements, or legal agreements that protect property as open space. In some instances, the Ducketts heard, farmers could be paid to protect their land so that it would remain a farm forever. More: Few relief options for Henderson County farmers — local growers face $135 million loss The SAHC team confirmed that, if their property met certain qualifications, the Ducketts could be paid for protecting their farm through a conservation easement. Recognizing that maintaining agricultural land provides a series of public benefits — from securing places for food production and safeguarding wildlife habitat to preserving scenic vistas and maintaining water quality — several different federal, state and local programs fund farmland protection. For example, the Natural Resources Conservation Service manages the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. North Carolina also has a state-level program, the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. They each, with county-level efforts, partner with nonprofits like SAHC to pursue conservation projects that support family farmers and protect land. Between verifying legal boundaries, conducting current conditions reports, and completing legal paperwork, the easement took some time. 'I see the beauty in that slowness, especially because these landowners are making such major decisions about their land. It takes a leap of faith, and that requires time to build trust and create a rock-solid relationship," said Jess Laggis, SAHC's Farmland Protection Director. The Ducketts learned that they could still farm on their land as they have for generations, build barns and other agricultural structures if needed. They could even reserve the right to build another home in the future if they wanted. Trust built, questions answered, the Ducketts were able to close on the conservation easement, protecting their beloved land and receiving some much-needed funds in the process. Duckett's parents, Bill and Mabel, have now passed away. But the farm remains, and the next generation — Kevin's daughter, Jessica — is poised to take over. She has already started growing grapes on the farm, working to leave her own legacy on the land. 'I would like to see my daughter and my grandkids continue to farm this place, to keep the farm going and enjoy it and be good stewards of the land," Duckett said. The Ducketts and SAHC highlight a successful model for generational farm transitions, one that centers land protection. It's an approach that has caught on — especially in Sandy Mush. 'Kevin is so modest that he probably understated their impact,' said Laggis, 'but their decision to protect the family farm was a seed that really snowballed in the community.' The Ducketts are well-known ane respected in the area. When they decided to protect their land, neighbors were watching. 'They saw them living with those easements and being satisfied with them. Having that firsthand experience, a trusted testimonial, was huge in the area. Other landowners could see that it wasn't a trick and that it can be a great thing for families," Laggis said. Since working with the Ducketts — now on multiple occasions as the family has protected additional acreage — SAHC has partnered with several other families in the area to conserve open landscapes for agriculture, creating a patchwork of protected farms over the last two decades. Some have used conservation easements to help ease generational transitions. More: Asheville land trust permanently protects 29 farmland acres: 'Feels like a time warp' SAHC is pursuing this protection-succession approach throughout their 10-county service area, which spans parts of WNC and East Tennessee. Part of their work is fueled by their participation in a national project, 'Land Transfer Navigators.' Led by American Farmland Trust and generously funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the project involves more than three dozen conservation organizations that help families navigate farm transitions. These organizations gather regularly to learn about new and time-tested succession strategies, receive funding to support their work, and offer technical and financial assistance to some farmers to achieve their farm transfer goals. 'It's a powerful project,' said Erica Goodman, director of AFT's Farms for a New Generation team. 'We are so thankful for partners like SAHC. They are committed to building trust with farmers and helping secure their land and legacy for future generations.' Laggis said she knows farmers who lost hay they had stored in barns that flooded during Helene, a lot of fence damage and downed trees, and major devastation to some operations, including a nearby dairy. "But many of the farms we work with, especially those using conservation practices in and around their pastures and fields, were OK. Helene has underscored how profoundly important it is to preserve open fields and floodplains," she said. 'Some farms in the community got washed out quite a bit,' Duckett said. 'Thankfully, we're up toward the headwaters. I did see that our stream fencing really helped us. The flood didn't wash out anything major on our land. It cut the creek bank down a little bit ... But it was nothing major compared to the impacts on others.' By working with trusted partners like Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, even more farmers can begin to take steps toward conservation and farm transition, steps that secure their land and support their families. 'I believe that the majority of farmers are excellent stewards,' said Duckett. 'They care about their land.' More: After Helene devastation, Ellaberry Llama Farm reopens in Hendersonville More: 'We're very fortunate': North Carolina's Hmong farmers regrow after Helene flooding Brooks Lamb is the Land Protection & Access Specialist at American Farmland Trust. He is also the author of Love for the Land: Lessons from Farmers Who Persist in Place. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Securing the future of a family's farm
