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360 virtual farm reality

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) says consumers will soon be able to experience modern farming through virtual reality.

CEO Randy Krotz tells Brownfield the first virtual reality video they’ve created takes consumers inside an Illinois hog barn for a 360 experience and will be debuted at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival in Florida.  “You’re basically getting the full 360 degree view of the farrowing house of a hog facility, as an example.  If you look up, you see everything.  If you look down, you see everything.  And then we have it narrated which is really telling people what they’re looking at as they view this video.”

He says they plan on creating realities that include all livestock species as well as crop farming.  “This spring we’re going to try to shoot crop planting, so we’re going to try to do corn and soybeans, we’ll probably capture wheat harvest in the summer, and then we’re going to go out west and get vegetable crops and specialty crops.”

Krotz says the 360 virtual experiences will also be incorporated into their Discovery Education curriculum to accurately teach students about food production.

AUDIO: Interview with Randy Krotz