Agriculture in America is often misunderstood and misrepresented, which some link to this country’s overall disconnect with how food is grown. The U.S. has been losing farms and farmers for decades as the population increasingly concentrates in metropolitan areas far removed from rural America. In order to help a new generation better understand modern-day agriculture, John Deere is making it accessible to them on their own turf – via a video game.
John Deere teamed up with Blockworks, the company behind the insanely popular Minecraft game world, to create the latest version of FarmCraft, which gives players an introduction to modern agriculture through the virtual use of machines, processes, and decisions that go into farming today. It’s intended to educate young people on how food is grown as well as the importance of agriculture overall.
“John Deere places a significant focus on youth education as a means to increase the number of students interested in pursuing college degrees and careers in agriculture,” explains Lauren Willis, Global Manager Brand Licensing. “Our team sees FarmCraft as a fun and unique way to introduce the industry to a whole new generation of young people.”
Within the FarmCraft world, players will undertake and complete unique farming missions, including planting and growing crops and then harvesting them. FarmCraft provides an added educational benefit of player interaction with an automated researcher who explains the FarmCraft world and scenarios as players explore and complete activities.
For instance, a player goes to the “factory” to pick up a tractor and is told to drive it to the field. Once they reach the field, the guide explains that the ground first has to be tilled. The user then opens the “Guide to Tilling” (by John Deere, of course) and learns what tilling is and how to do it. The whole game is full of this type of random information that most people otherwise probably aren’t going to be seeking out in their regular, everyday lives.
You can check out Farmcraft in action in this fairly short intro video HERE. Learn more at the Farmcraft website HERE.
