Technology in Agriculture: Are We Ready to “Meat” the Demand?

by Nate Smith, General Manager, Top Dollar Angus, Inc.

After a short trip to the eastern front range at the beginning of this year for producer visits, my brain kept jumping from one topic discussed with producers to another.

One particular subject continued to push its way to the front of my mind. How do we as a nation, that produces roughly 26 billion pounds of beef per year, step up to match the efficiencies and size of the two other leading U.S. commodities: corn and chicken?

Then it hit me: TECHNOLOGY is the answer!

Let’s start with corn. I know it’s hard to compare a grain product to animal protein when it comes to production efficiencies. However, there are a few transferrable kernels that can be gleaned from their success.

Almost everyone knows that corn yields have gone up by two bushels per acre on a yearly average since the late 1980s. Was this done in the old fashion way by just increasing fertilizer and water applications? No. We learned increasing inputs is not always the answer, a thought our industry can be slow to embrace. Instead, we focused on plant health, nutrition and genetics. Corn producers took a gamble on new technologies, like variable rate application and GPS. Boy, did it pay off!

More accurate fertilizer and chemical application alone brought about the no-till system, a technology that saves fuel and improves soil health, reducing two major input expenses. The introduction of these tools was by no means easy.

My father was convinced that my brother and I spent more time on our cellphones than farming. Today, he watches YouTube videos about irrigation technology. Corn genetics were heavily emphasized, as well. We made growing corn safer, more efficient and more profitable. It didn’t take more ground. All it took was trust in new technologies.

Chicken has been the beef industry’s arch nemesis as a preferred protein for decades. While most of us will admit that fried chicken can be delicious, no one prefers chicken’s flavor, but they do like its cost. So, it’s cheaper because it’s inferior in most peoples’ minds, right? Wrong. It’s because the poultry industry doesn’t raise barnyard chickens anymore. They adopted new technologies.

The early years of housing chickens came with challenges. They needed climate-controlled buildings, automated feeders and disease detection and tracking. Genetic improvement has also been pursued aggressively in the broiler chicken business.

Together, these technologies along with food processing improvements – I plan to dive into that in a future article –have made chicken nuggets the “go-to” for hangry toddlers. Their price point is low, they’re consistent and safe – things every family wants.

Where does that leave the beef industry? How do we maintain our position as the preferred protein? A partial answer is to look back at what others did to grow, improve and become more efficient. For corn and chicken, technology gave producers three primary rewards: safety, profit and time. The technology did the little things that took up time and previously limited profits.

They quit chasing chickens and hauling manure. New technologies were critical to making them leaders in their sectors of agriculture.

As modern-day beef producers, we have more technology available to us today than at any time in history. Electronic ID, precision genetic tools, market information and regular consumer feedback.

I would enjoy a discussion on any new technology, so feel free to give me a shout. Technological tools offer the promise of better beef and a better future, let’s embrace them! //