Hi-Tech Farmer

You know I have done a number of stories over the last year about technology and how it impacts agriculture. I have talked to drone manufacturers, combine manufacturers, computer people, salespeople, corporate CEOs and presidents. All of these conversations pointing in the same direction. The future of agriculture is in great hands due to the dedication of agricultural producers who have been equipped with ever more efficient and accurate technology. With the predictions that by 2050 there are going to be billions and billions more mouths to feed, agricultural technology is not just a luxury it is a must. All of that said, wouldn't it be nice to hear something from an actual farmer who is using this technology. I was fortunate to overhear a conversation with Martin Barbre, Chairman of the National Corn Growers Association but who is also a real and viable corn farmer. Listen to a few of his comments regarding what's going on on his corn farm. "We keep track of how our nutrients in the soil are so much better so it's how we manage nutrients we manage the soil. There are just a lot of different things we do now the 20 years ago we could not do. We have better control of what we are putting in the ground as far as taking on seed populations, seed depth, checking fertilizer, we run two different fertilizers on the planter and we have electronic monitors for those plus the auto steer where the driver can pay attention to everything else and if something goes wrong he sees it immediately. He doesn't plant for an hour before he realizes something is wrong. So it has really helped us to do a better job, more efficient and more sustainable. A lot of it is the simple size of the equipment that we use and along with that if you didn't have the technology to keep track of everything you couldn't handle the bigger equipment.