by Chas Bonner
Technology and agriculture are normally not thought of in the same breath. However, today technology is not only important and heavily used by farmers, those without it are in serious danger of obsolescence.
In-depth maps are available in all parts of the US. These illustrate not only rural land, but penetrate all the way to soil types, water ownership and availability, cropping patterns and histories, land boundaries and encroachments, as well as many other uses.
Today, agricultural equipment has computers and drives that can automatically change fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide applications based upon GPS/GIS systems in the equipment. The systems utilize maps that outline the needs of the farm down to 5 square yard increments.
Not only are GIS mapping systems of critical importance, electromagnetic radiation of farmland can be reflected to satellites that can then tell the farmer what needs his soils have, what is moisture loss, and what kind of growth can be expected. This technology is still in its infancy, but is quickly becoming more mainstream.
Because productivity gains from the use of fertilizer are slowing, more focus has been applied to biotechnology in recent years. Genetically modified seeds and plants are increasing yields of many crops dramatically. With reduced arable land in the world and more people to feed, productivity must continue to increase, and at a faster rate.
Dave Dodds, our “master” of IT at Scythe & Spade, with the help of industry leaders and subject matter experts, has spent six years building our proprietary GIS system, called FarmBase™, which contains all such information, and has been an indispensable tool for us in managing farm properties.
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