Everyone agrees the Boeing 747 crashes were tragic and preventable. But there are some disagreements on the root cause, which is why I am writing this article. I believe the Boeing 737 Max crashes are prelude to legal arguments that will unfold over and over in a world increasingly controlled by automation.

For the Janzen Ag Law Blog, I also spend some time looking back at the past year’s agtech developments and start to think about 2019. Here’s my list for the Ag Tech Year in Reverse: 2018.

Here are seven predictions for what we'll be talking about in 2018 in the ag tech sector.

You would have to live under a rock to not have heard about farmers’ issues with dicamba this growing season. Arkansas banned the pesticide, Missouri temporarily banned and then changed the label, and complaints are skyrocketing in Indiana and Illinois.

Dicamba drift issues are a big concern this summer, making me wonder how willing farmers will be to trust the recommendations from their ag data platforms on when it is OK to spray. An even better question is: what happens if the platform's recommendation gets it wrong, resulting in Dicamba drift and nearby crop damage?