Nebraska Farmers embracing new technology

Irrigation pipe - Courtesy of Matt Sherman, Three Pillars Media

For an occupation that literally feeds the entire planet, farmers and ranchers occasionally find themselves typecast in unwarranted (and uninformed) fashions. All too often, people living in the city assume those dwelling in rural areas are inextricably trapped in the 1800s and that the technological wonders of the 21st century have passed them by – marked improvements in crop yield, food safety and produce quality over the past few decades notwithstanding.

Perhaps, these ignorant stereotypers assume, a handful of younger agronomists break with years of tradition and embrace the newest high tech gadgets, but for the most part, computers and agriculture must be mutually exclusive.

Rather than list everything wrong with such a conjecture, it may be easier to catalog the few accuracies it contains. Yes, the majority of farmers and ranchers incorporating technology into their small businesses are part of a younger sect. But it’s not an isolated incident.

And even the images evoked from the term “younger” tend to be inaccurate.

“Long before we’d see this in the population as a whole, a lot of younger, progressive farmers and ranchers in the area were using all sorts of technology,” said Ed Bennett, KRVN operations manager. “Of course, by young, I mean 50 and younger. If you’re half a century old, people call you young in the farmer community because it’s an older demographic compared to almost any other business. So, the 50 and younger group is pretty darn tech savvy.”

In addition to keeping farmers and ranchers informed about market trends by way of its rural radio network, KRVN also creates web sites for them to advertise any wares — from property to farm equipment to virile bulls — they happen to be auctioning. The auction pages are collated by date on the KRVN front page, as well.

“We find farmers and ranchers are using the Internet a lot for commercial aspects – information is so vital to this business in particular, that we’re more in tune with technology than most people think,” Bennett said. “A lot of ranchers have their own web sites.”

Another aspect that’s become integral to agricultural, Bennett added, is the text message, allowing farmers and ranchers to keep up-to-date on market fluctuations. And Angela Knuth, co-owner of Knuth Farms in northeastern Nebraska, uses her phone for more than just getting information. Thanks to Knuth Farm’s remote irrigation management system, she can alter irrigation schedules in any field by using her cell.

Photo courtesy of Matt Sherman, Three Pillars Media

In addition to the RIM, Knuth Farms boasts an impressive array of cutting edge farm tech. There’s the global positioning and geographical information systems, which team up to keep tabs on specific zones within an individual field; the real-time weather stations that monitor soil moisture, relative humidity, wind speed and direction and solar radiation, and then upload it to the Internet for instant access; and  crop modeling software in place to track plant growth.

“I think the non-farming community might be surprised at the level of sophistication technology has gotten to in farming,” Knuth said. “We keep hearing from industry experts in the magazines this trend will lead to the non-techie farmer losing ground and eventually selling out to the operation that benefited from technology advances.”

Plus, the widespread adaptation of technology could be what allows small family farms to compete with their massive corporate counterparts. As the grass roots movement toward buying local produce gains more and more momentum, high tech farms will be positioned to both supply and authenticate the organic commodities demanded.

“This ‘locally grown’ market is growing, and so is the idea of knowing the origin of your food,” Knuth said. “Technology will play a role in this scenario as tracking a commodity from farm to fork, as they say, becomes more commonplace.”