On Many Farms, the Future has Already Arrived

Imagine meeting a farmer with 12,000 acres of crops who rarely spends time on his tractor. Just a few years ago that would have been unheard of. Today, it’s just another day on the farm.

According to Jeremy Jack, a farmer in Mississippi, gathering and utilizing data and technology is the only way farmers will be able to meet the challenge of feeding the world in the future. While many people agree, they are surprised to learn that such methods are being used right now on a number of farms. That’s because farming technology such as self-driving tractors don’t get a lot of media attention.

In his article To Feed Billions, Farms Are About Data as Much as Dirt, author Christopher Mims reports he also was surprised by what is happening on many farms today.

The cab of one of these self-driving tractors is now so full of screens and tablets that it has come to resemble the cockpit of a passenger jet—an accurate comparison in more ways than one, since perhaps only the airline industry can match farming in the degree to which its vehicles have become automated.

In fact, many tractor manufacturers today have thousands of software writers on staff.

 The result is that [farm equipment manufacturers] aren’t just turning out tractors, combines and trucks that can drive themselves and even each other, automatically coalescing into tight    formations as they cross a farmer’s field, like fighter jets at an air show, they are also turning out wirelessly connected sensors that map every field, as well as planting and spraying machines that can variably apply seed and nutrients to a field, as if they were 20-ton print heads for 3D printers.

While this may shock a lot of people, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If farmers are going to feed 10 billion people on perhaps less land and with fewer resources than they have now, they will need to be well prepared. And as is usually the case with farmers, they are prepared sooner rather than later.

Another Summer Ends with a Slight Decline in the Popularity of Farmers Markets

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the farmers market boom over the past decade may be slowing down – just a bit. The USDA also reports that food sales at local farm stands, markets, and other similar venues are also waning.

The USDA reported in January that food sales at farmers markets dropped one percent from 2007 to 2012 after increasing between 32 to 37 percent from 1997 to 2006. And while the number of farmers markets continues to grow, that growth has slowed down considerably in the past two years, increasing by only two percent.

Despite this trend, the number of farmers selling directly to consumers continues to rise. What’s more, this slight downturn in the popularity of farmers markets may actually be a good thing for farmers. Consumers and farmers list the following upsides to the slowing of the skyrocketing popularity of farmers markets:

  1. Farmers markets aren’t particularly cost-effective. Farmers markets offer slim profit margins, especially when you consider the work it takes to prepare for them. Plus, most farmers would rather be farming, not necessarily marketing their food.
  2. Farmers can make more money when they sell their food directly to schools, grocery stores, or co-ops. This is a win-win situation because it means people still want locally-grown food but are willing to look for it in places other than just farmers markets.
  3. Buying local at bigger stores is now an option for consumers. While everyone would love to buy fresh local food straight from the farm, times are tight. That means many consumers simply can’t afford to pay the premium prices that some farmers markets charge. Whether or not it is true, people perceive that grocery store food is cheaper. Now they are able to get local food at grocery store prices.

As is the case with everything to do with farming, ingenuity is key. Therefore, while farmers markets continue to be popular, most farmers realize that they need to sell their goods in a variety of ways. That means selling delicious, healthy foods to co-ops, big grocery store chains, schools, and, of course, to community members at the local farmers market.

Young Farmers Not Always Prepared for Ag’s Many Challenges

Farming can present a lot of obstacles. Thankfully, most farmers are adept at facing challenges head on and coming out stronger on the other side. It is important to note, however, that this skill takes years to hone.

So what about first-generation farmers who are just starting out and don’t have a strong support system? The following are some of the major challenges young, first-generation farmers list as major obstacles, along with some advice on how to best overcome these obstacles.

Challenge #1: Securing land to farm

The fact is, most farmers inherit land from their parents or grandparents. First-generation farmers, on the other hand, do not have this luxury. While new farmers may not have access to the best land or location, they should take what they can get – even if it miles away from where they had hoped to farm. After they have made some money and gained some experience they can look for greener pastures. They also should consider renting land to farm until they build up the equity to purchase land of their own.

Challenge #2: Large student loans

Young farmers who have accumulated a lot of debt may feel as if they have no other choice but to put off their agricultural dreams until their debt is paid off. Fortunately, there may be hope on the horizon in this regard. The National Coalition of Young Farmers is working to allow full-time farmers to make manageable student loan payments for 10 years, followed by forgiveness of the rest of the debt.

Challenge #3: Startup capital

Like any other new business venture, startup capital is necessary to get a new farming operation off the ground. Thankfully, the USDA and Land Grant system provide a variety of planning resources to assist beginning farmers. Several other nonprofits exist for the same purpose and provide tools and links for young farmers to purchase farmland and equipment.

Challenge #4: Lack of family support

Second and third-generation farmers are fortunate to have strong family and community support when starting out. Not only are their farms located in the center of strong farming communities, they have lots of people who are helping them succeed. A young farmer just starting out in agriculture may have no such support. Therefore, it is important for these young farmers to create their own support system. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition and other agencies and nonprofits offer immeasurable support and encouragement to young farmers. It is just a matter of doing the research and then reaching out to such groups.

Young farmers, unlike many other entrepreneurs, don’t usually go into farming to make the big bucks. Instead, they simply want to make a living farming the land. Thankfully, there are ways to help them do just that!

 

Renting Farm Equipment May Help Offset Falling Profits

It wasn’t too long ago when the thought of renting out their biggest assets would have seemed out of the question to most farmers. But with farm profits dropping, many of these same farmers are more willing to give such rental agreements a try.

Enter FarmLink, a Kansas City, Mo., company that allows farmers to rent out their unused equipment to growers hundreds of miles away who have different peak harvest seasons.

In an article by Alan Bjerga in Bloomberg Businessweek, The Sharing Economy Comes to the Farm, FarmLink’s president for grower services, Jeff Dema, explains why this practice is becoming more popular.

It’s Airbnb for agriculture. Farmers are examining their bottom lines and wondering if $500,000 in the shed might be put to better use.

Some benefits of FarmLink’s service are that farmer cooperatives and agricultural retailers set rental terms. Further, FarmLink will transport the heavy equipment, once a huge obstacle to renting out farm equipment. FarmLink also will help with any secondary insurance that may be needed.

With commodity prices tanking and farm profits falling from a peak of $124 billion in 2013, farmers are eager for ways to squeeze more money out of their combines and other heavy equipment, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy and maintain.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says while there is a growing effort to share farm equipment, the concept is not new. Contractors, custom harvest crews, and equipment-rental services already exist to help farmers in a pinch.

Although the concept may be appealing to some farmers, not everyone will be onboard with the program. After all, as the article states, allowing strangers to rent out such expensive equipment may still be a tough sell.

The Best in Ag Apps

Ag Apps

It is rare to find a farmer these days that isn’t using a tablet or smartphone. So it should come as no surprise that the number of agricultural apps is on the rise.

Finding quality farming and agriculture apps can be a difficult task, however. This is unfortunate since there are so many quality apps out there that can make a farmer’s workload lighter.

One problem with finding quality farming apps is that it’s hard to know which agriculture apps are really useful. Thankfully, there are ways around this problem. For instance, AgWeb now has an app finder that allows users to search by category, such as markets, business, livestock, and crops.

What follows are some of the apps farmers list as their favorites. But remember, the most popular apps can change quickly – and new ones are popping up daily.

Ag PhD App Suite. This suite of apps includes a field guide, drainage calculator, planting population, a harvest loss calculator, and more.

AgWeb. This app features market news, weather, and other ag-related content. It also is interactive – allowing users to choose the specific content they are interested in.

Climate Basic. From The Climate Corporation, this app enables users to track up-to-the-minute, field-level information such as weather forecasts, soil conditions, and crop growth stage. Farmers also are able to add their own notes and field alerts.

Farm Futures. Farm Futures magazine’s app provides an overview of agriculture news and headlines, along with podcasts.

FarmLogs. Farmers can collect and log detailed information on a per-field basis with this app. Rainfall history, budgets, and inventory management are just some of the information farmers can track using FarmLogs.

Grower’s Edge. Offering a variety of functions, this app includes access to cash prices, market quotes and commentary, news, and weather.

Pioneer/Encirca View. Encirca View allows farmers to record field observations which are then georeferenced for their convenience. When used with the Encirca View website, users also are able to access aggregated data from other Encirca View users.

TractorHouse. A simple way to buy or sell a tractor. The TractorHouse app allows users to browse or list equipment by make, model, price, and location.

Excessive Regulations Hurting Many Farmers

Wendell Berry once wrote, “Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live.”

Unfortunately, many farmers say that the rules and regulations coming out of Washington today are making it tougher than ever to farm. A hundred years ago, almost one in three Americans worked on a farm. Today, less than three percent of Americans work on farms. During this same time period, the number of farms decreased from almost seven million to two million.

Of course, the decrease in farmers and farms can be attributed to a number of factors, including larger farming operations that have taken over many family farms and migration to the cities. However, many farmers say that they have grown weary of rules and regulations that seem to have little to do with farming and more to do with red tape.

According to Dwight Koops, president of Kansas-based Crop Quest, increasing regulation is one of the most frustrating trends in agriculture today.

“Immense pressure is being put on farmers to track the origin of all commodities and products grown for consumption,” Koops says. “The technology and paper trail that this will require will vastly change how and what gets accomplished on a typical farm operation in the future. The cost to producers and consumers will be a huge burden as well.”

Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation agrees. In a January speech he noted that, “As damaging as the weather or economic winds can be, farmers’ and ranchers‘ biggest challenge these days seem to come from their government.”

Stallman went on to say that while farmers and ranchers care deeply about the environment, excessive restrictions and regulatory costs will prevent them from sustaining the nation’s food supply. In short, farming and ranching will become economically unsustainable.

Many farmers say they are worried that they will be regulated out of farming. They add that complying with all the new regulations will mean that they will not be able to turn a profit. While these farmers understand that some rules and regulations are necessary, excessive regulation is running small and family farms straight out of business.