Farm Tiller

Take a few seconds a tick of a mental list of people who you think might be keen to embrace new technologies. Your list might include university students, trendy urban dwellers and a few other select groups. The odds are good for most of you one group did not make the list, and that group is farmers. If they were not on your list then you may want to give them a second look. According to new research that was sponsored by Case IH the modern farmer is embracing technology in a big way. The research showed that certain highly targeted technology is being used, or will be in the near future. For example 27% of farmers are getting ready to use a Variable-rate fertilizer application system for the first time and only two percent less were getting ready to use an auto seeder.

For those of you who are less than familiar with this technology a variable-rate fertilizer application system uses a set of sensors that keep tabs, on a regular basis, on the amount of key nutrients in the soil. When a level goes to low the system adds more to the soil. If a level is too high the system will stop putting that in until the soil needs it again. This allows crops to get the ideal mix of the things it needs without farmers having to do constant manual checks. An auto seeder is used to help distribute seeds over a wide and even range. Think of it as an industrial version of the spreader you use for seeding your lawn. 

 While that may not sound to thrilling to people outside of the industry, it has the potential to increase the efficency of farms, thereby increasing their crop yields. 

Source: Iowa Farmer Today
Image Source: Morgue File