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What Teens Say...
Name: Remington Zacher
Essay Theme: Cultivating New Technologies |
State: North Dakota
School: Parshall High School |
Agriculture Thrives on
Technology |
Wouldn't it be a blast to farm in space? This idea has been
tossed around and the technology to do so is being pursued,
but I think it would be smart to perfect technology on Earth
first.
When you think about farming, most people think of a farmer
working in the field, when in fact, farming is far from "just"
that. My dad claims, "Working in the field is the best
part of my job," and as a 12 year old who is just starting
to farm, I think fieldwork is great.
Farmers today must farm many acres in order to survive. Some
of them hire help, but others would rather do fieldwork themselves.
In order for farmers to stay in the field, they must be able
to run their equipment efficiently, minimize office work, and
use technology to keep their business profitable.
Some of the technology used today includes global positioning
systems (GPS). This technology aids farmers so they won't overlap-saving
them time, money, and effort. Since the development of GPS,
farmers can measure the bushels they produce per acre, which
aids them in site-specific farming. A nice addition to this
system would be technology that could measure the quality of
the grain being harvested. If farmers could use laptop computers
linked to satellites that obtain grain prices from area elevators,
farmers would be able to market their grain as they harvest
it.
Another system that could work hand-in-hand with GPS is an on-the-go
soil-sampling system. Farmers could sample their soil as they
do fieldwork, in the exact same location every year. Advanced
Technology would allow the farmer to analyze nutrients available,
determine what needs to be added for the next year's crop, and
know what chemical residues were left in the soil.
It would also help farmers if technology could help determine
which crops would be most profitable on certain pieces of land.
As farmland comes up for sale or rent it would be helpful to
know the highest price they would dare bid in order to keep
farming profitable.
Weather is another unpredictable factor that hurts farmers.
I realize weathermen are doing what they can and that cloud
modification is conducted in some areas, but technology needs
to be perfected to help farmers prepare for good and bad weather.
When I'm a senior in high school, politicians will be trying
to convince me to stay in North Dakota, and my father will probably
want me to farm. However, technology has made many other jobs
more attractive. When choosing a career, most people want to
know their salary; for example, if teachers knew that they could
lose money after years of teaching, would they still want to
teach? Certainly technology will be developed so farming becomes
an attractive occupation for many generations. My grandmother
calls farming "a million dollar business that's run off
the kitchen table." I call that a need for technology!
References:
| Bata, Patricia. 2002. Personal communication. |
| Zacher, Chris. 2002. Personal communication. |
This essay was part of a 2003 essay contest sponsored by
Council for Agricultural Science & Technology.
Click here to see how essays were
selected.
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