3 minute read
Strong Roots for the Future
Delaware farmers adapt to new technologies
BY DON CLIFTON
PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE is constantly facing new horizons of great change. Having been a farmer for over 45 years, I have witnessed dramatic changes, although not yet to the extent my father experienced. He was born in 1932 and he worked the ground with mules as a young boy. In his farming career, he owned and operated tractors with exponentially increasing capacity and sophistication. In his later years, he observed GPS guided equipment. From mules to self-steering tractors within one lifetime! That is remarkable.
The world population has doubled since 1974—when I turned sixteen and bought my first car, a maroon Chevy Malibu Classic. At least one girl was very impressed with that car. Nearly fifty years later, she and I still hang out together and we now own the farm where I grew up. Today, the farm can produce a lot more compared to 1974, and that’s important for a lot of reasons.
Adequately feeding eight billion people worldwide (likely nine billion in 15 years) will require all the imagination and intelligence we can muster—both human and artificial (A.I.). The technology employed in agriculture today has enabled U.S. farmers to increase average corn yields from about 30 bushels per acre in 1932 to about 175 bushels per acre today, an increase of nearly 600%.
Today, human innovation and A.I. work together to boost the production of all kinds of crops, those grown traditionally in our fields as well as crops produced indoors without soil. Additionally, producers are increasingly able to “read” their crops to determine the most efficient way to “feed” the plants and achieve optimum yields.
As reported recently in Forbes Magazine by Wendy Gonzalez, CEO of Sama, a provider A.I. data, “Just one plant can provide millions of data points on how light, water, weather, and environmental variations can impact production, taste, nutrition, disease, and waste. Over time, this can provide invaluable insights that can spur efficiency gains such as improving yield, cutting waste, enhancing nutritional value, and minimizing diminishing resources like water and arable land.”
Basically, this is like asking the plant what it needs and responding accordingly. Our person-to-person communications should be so good.
For Delaware Farm Bureau (DEFB), it is a constant challenge to monitor developments in emerging technologies. We work to ensure our members, and the broader community, are treated equitably with access to essential new tools. Agronomic and technological improvements will continue and probably accelerate at a pace we can’t anticipate, and agriculture needs to be vigilant.
A farmer’s practical experience, coupled with his or her willingness to adapt with new practices and technology, are a foundation that can be compared to a plant’s roots. The stronger the roots, the more likely the plant will produce an abundant crop.
Delaware farmers increasingly use sustainable practices to produce and support their families. Some practices are long standing while some are new and emerging, like A.I. The farmers who adapt will be the farmers of the future. DEFB will be here to support them and advocate for sound sensible public policies.
