Future of Farming

Ran across this article about where farming is going using digital technology. Found it interesting. Hope you do!
Future of farming

So what does technology integration look like for small farms? As I try to expand and get ahead I wonder. Micro managing seems to be the key to making every bit of profit margin that can be made. But what areas and what technologies actually pay off on a small scale?

New technology has always been a part of profitable farming in the USA. The following paragraph is the one that got my attention.

In the past, “a farmer with 1,000 acres could make a good living,” Mr. Tom said. “I’m not sure that’s going to last.”

Now-a-days a 2000+ head dairy farm or a 10,000+ head hog farm often processes more waste than any city in the surrounding county.

If I was a gambling man, I would bet that LOW TECH is going to be the only way a small producer is going to make money. It is all too trendy to think that you have to have the newest and cutting edge to make a buck and it just is not true. All you need is something you invested 50 cents to buy that someone is willing to pay you a $1.50 to acquire. It is no more difficult than that. Toys and gadgets won't make you a better businessman. The best PC you will ever invest in is between your ears.

It all depends on how or what you define as waste.

I agree.

Agree.

I was thinking sewage.

I agree with you.

High tech needs high end management to make it work. Plus people think everything is going to be just rosy and its not. Too many wild cards like a social and economic collapse or war can change everything over night.

I say all of this old iron we are sending to China is going to come back to us just like the iron we sent to Japan did Dec 7 1941

The writing is on the wall, LARGE high tech corporations will take over farming. You are just wishful thinking that small low tech equipment can produce the volume required at market price.

My feeling on the subject is that if you want to play with the big boys you're going to have to be tech laden, however if you are satisfied with making a living you can probably do quite well low-tech. I read somewhere that a study in Ohio (I believe) found that the Amish made almost the same profit on a per acre basis as the average non Amish farm. It will depend on your desires. Me personally, I'd rather farm small and by myself than big and deal with all the crap of hired help and the other non-ending BS.

I entirely agree. I'm trying to figure out if any of this tech. would enable me to spend .75 to make 1.25 instead of .50 to make 1.00. Or maybe to spend .40 to make the 1.00.

I agree. Just want to add a lot of scrap metal also went to Turkey. Today, they have quite a large military. They are our NATO ally, but they sure do not act iike they are.

technology always gets cheaper!!the first guidance systems were very expensive, like $50,000. I thought no one would buy them or need them,but they did .now the price is more reasonable and I have 2 Trimble 750'S and because of my neck could NOT do without.
so I am saying low tech does not mean no tech each individual will have to pick and choose what he / she needs or can afford

also In our area most of the bigger farms have some yield drag, as they are not near as timly as the small guys.

I have been both big and small. and prefer lower tech smaller scale Paul

I agree with you David. Niches are fine but they need a niche market. Most small farms will go the way of small mainstreet stores- they will either run out of working capital or there won't be anyone to take on the responsibilities of being a sole owner/operator when the current owner retires. The newer machinery has amazing capacity and is easier to operate than the older stuff. Don't get me wrong, I still run old machinery and fix away on it to save money, but anytime we buy something bigger or newer we wonder why we didn't do it sooner.... The reason why most farms operate the way they do is because there are no alternatives that make economic sense. And once a proven business model is formed, it is pretty easy to scale it up to a very large operation. That is why I agree that farms will keep getting bigger. I don't necessarily like that idea or all the negative consequences that follow it, but that is how a commodity-driven business is.

I know of 2 smaller operators that gave up in the last 5 years. Farms that they had rented for years either got rented to somebody else for more money, or they got bought out by the bigger farmers. I tried some hobby farming, as did a couple other guys I know. None of us do now. It got too expensive, a lot of work no profit.

Its funny how things go, Years ago if something broke down you could figure it out and fix it and get back up and running. Now days you have to call the dealer and wait for them to get time to come to the field to plug there computer in to find the problem.

I am a hands on person and I do understand the need to modernize but man sometimes I think they have gone to far. Just for fun last spring me and a friend got to talking about planters and he said that unless you have a modern planter you will only get 1/2 the yield. It ------ me off and I told him to prove it. He had a 20 acre field close to me so I told him you plant 1/2 with your planter and I will plant the other 1/2 with my 40 year old planter and we will see if the fall if he was right or not. He agreed and we did it, His new Kinze 15" rows vs. my AC 600 20" row planter same population. Well they grew good for the year and at harvest it told the tail. Ware I planted with my 40+ year old planter had 4 bu an acre more yield than his new planter with all the goodies on it. He bought my dinner for it and said he learned something that day.

Please don't get me wrong here as I do see the need for modern teck in farming. The yield monitor that prints out a diagram of a fields yields that can be given to the guy that spreads fert so he can add more or cut down the amount across the field for better yields. GPS for the sprayer and much more. The bad is when a mouse stops a $350.000 combine dead in its tracks just by chewing on a wire and frying a computer.

I thing for sure in the future of farming no matter how much technology you get or have and how new the equipment you have is it all comes down to one thing, A Human Brain to make all the decision to make it all work. You just cant beat the "OLD GUT FEELING". Bandit

The bankers will decide. In my neck of the woods the banks are reluctant to lend money to farms that resist new technology. I'm old enough that I will keep my old equipment and stay small by todays standards. I can make a decent living without getting the banks involved. If I was 30 years younger the story would be different.