New technology is a blessing and a curse. A recent farm magazine cover showed the multiple faces of Ag technology and included an in-depth article about the future implications of new technology in agriculture. I certainly was not pictured or quoted in the article. Have you ever heard the phrase, “lead, or get out of the way?” I am a little old fashioned in many of my farming operations so I am not using many new innovations on my farm. Maybe I should get out of the way so I do not become the first farmer to be run over by an autonomous tractor.
If I live to the same age as my father and grandfather, 82, I will probably witness a radical change in how farming is accomplished. It is possible for computers to guide tillage and planting depth and seed accuracy. Computer technology can even adjust mechanical functions of our harvesters and drive our machinery. Drones/UAV’s (unmanned aerial vehicles) and sprayers can use cameras and artificial intelligence to deliver pinpoint spray accuracy of weed killers and other plant protection products. How many more farm tasks will become hands-off for direct human contact?
I doubt any of this will occur on my farm. I still yell at my I-phone for days every time it performs an overnight software update and everything works differently than before. My phone is currently giving me fits with my phone calls. I was not helping myself when I decided to clean my phone. Dirt was in the speaker and microphone ports. I now know that blowing air into them may clean them but also drives the dirt in further wreaking havoc with the phone. Callers can hear static and my faint voice in the background saying, “Can you hear me now, can you hear me now.”
Technology may someday force my retirement. In the meantime, I keep trying to learn what I think will help my farming operation the most without creating too much aggravation. I am prolific with the social media platform Facebook. My daily dog videos and posts about farm life have slowed as I use marketplace and messenger more for the selling of farm products. However, I believe that Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are the latest trends. I’ve yet to use any of those three. This makes me once again behind the times. I can take comfort in knowing I do not have an AOL email account; those are ancient. Not meaning to offend the few that still do.
This article will officially launch my website, kiefnerfarm.com. It is a work in progress. Recent articles are posted on the web page. I will need to add more material as time allows. That will be hard to do; I prefer the physical labor tasks of the farm to computer and clerical work. If I can take the time this winter to learn how to use the Go Pro camera my brother bought me two birthdays ago, I can also add some action farming videos. There is so much to learn, so little time to do it.
In closing, not only is the adoption, or lack thereof, of this technology a double-edged sword, it has come to the point where sometimes I cannot live without it. I also have times I cannot live with it. Oh, the conundrum.
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