|
 |
November 1, 2011
|
Scott Fries with Allied Environmental Group (a subsidiary of Trupointe Cooperative) visited the New Bremen-New Knoxville Rotary Club to discuss how technology works in the field of agri-business. “It is amazing how dependent we’ve all become on technology,” said Fries. “Sometimes we think of agriculture as the salt of the earth, the last to adapt technology. The rate of change of the adoption of technology has run rampant over the past 15 years.” Infra-red technology, computer controls, automation, and satellite technology are all used to steer and operate farm vehicles today. These controls are not unlike the cruise control function on an automobile. Auto-guide and auto steer technologies make the farming operation much more efficient and less costly. “Farmers can get more done in the same amount of time, and actually enjoy the vocation more,” said Fries. Technology is now being used to link two or more pieces of farm machinery together to perform specific functions. Fuel consumption, performance, output can all be measured for each piece of equipment being utilized. This technology is being used for unmanned tractors and farm equipment.
Satellite imagery is used in farming to identify the different between healthy and stressed plantings. Aerial imagery is used to capture accurate images of plants, down to a 3x3cm pixel size. The resulting images are accurate and detailed enough to identify any issues with crop. This is very helpful in disease prevention and yield prediction. With a global population reaching seven billion people, farmers need to find new ways to increase efficiencies and production to feed our growing population. The evolution of technology in agriculture enables farmers to feed the world’s population. With fewer U.S.-owned satellites orbiting the earth, more of this technology is relying upon the use of satellites from other countries such as Russia and China.
Genetics and seed development technologies have enabled farmers to realize higher yields by altering the plant’s ability to withstand drought, excessive moisture, disease. Research in this field used to take weeks to create new hybrids and varieties of seeds. With today’s advanced genetics, new hybrids can be created in hours or days. “Corn yields are now reaching 200 bushels per acre,” said Fries. “But when the global population reaches nine billion in 2050, we’ll need to yield 300 bushels per acre. So, technology and genetics will be very important in helping reach that goal. It’s an exciting time in agriculture, but there is a lot of pressure from the outside with regard to the environment, genetics, and how animals are treated. Farmers are under scrutiny to treat our resources appropriately. Technology enables the agri-business community to use our limited resources properly and get the most we can from them.”
A perfect example of the benefits of genetics and technological advances would be the late planting of corn this year in Ohio due to the wet spring. Corn went into the ground about 6 weeks late on average, and the assumption was that the yields would be down as a result. “We’ve taken about 6 weeks off the production cycle,” said Fries. “Now we’re finding that we’re going to have a very good crop this year. Twenty years ago, we would have had a really serious problem.” Fries discussed the changes in price per bag of seed corn, when talking about the cost of putting out an acre of corn. “Today’s seed bags might weigh half what they used to, but they may run $300 per bag depending upon the traits you’re seeking in the corn,” said Fries. “A bag of seed corn used to cost $50 dollars. However, the yield used to be 100-110 bushels per acre where we’re seeing nearly 200 bushels per acre today.”