Sure, John Deere’s plow helped farmers plant the prairie, and Cyrus McCormick’s reaper enabled the harvest. But you won’t believe what inventors, engineers and venture capitalists are dreaming up today to solve agriculture’s biggest problems. Think: water scarcity, human labor shortages, cloud-based data programs, crop scouting drones, veggie-picking robots, autonomous machines, and personnel management. It’s all here, or coming soon to a farm near you.

It’s fascinating stuff, but let’s be clear: robotics and automation won’t simply step in to pinch hit for humans – at least, not all of them. Agriculture still needs a robust labor force and a workable government migrant worker policy to support them.

We tracked down a handful of the gadgets and gizmos coming your way. Many of them have been recognized by Forbes in their recent top 25 most innovative ag tech startup list. Check it out!