(You can also enter a web site URL.) Click Rewordify text and you'll instantly see an easier version, for fast understanding. Enter hard sentences (or whole chapters) into the yellow box at the top of the page. His older daughter's kidney disease was (a disease that happens along with) long-lasting high blood pressure and leg-nerve related nerve disease. Specializing enables farmers to acquire the facilities, technology, knowledge and skills needed to produce the chosen crop or animal, and produce it well.įarming has changed a lot.His elder daughter's nephritis was comorbid with chronic hypertension and sciatic neuropathy. Beef cattle farmers generally have cow-calf herds and focus on breeding, calving and weaning, or finishing operations where they raise weaned caves to market weight.
Most pig farms specialize in farrowing or finishing. If farmers raise livestock, they usually raise one type and even focus on one growth-stage. They sold much of the livestock and focused on raising pigs, corn and soybeans.įarms today are even more specialized. As they invested in tractors and better livestock facilities, they concentrated their efforts to make the most of those investments. They made a good living and fed their family off 160 acres of corn and hay, a few cows, laying hens, some pigs and my grandmother’s large garden. They raised a little of everything on their farm. When my grandparents were my age, farms looked like those in children’s books. This technology enables farmers to be more efficient and better care for their animals.ĥ.Specialization. If the power goes out, back-up generators start and the farmer is alerted with a text. Farmers can monitor a cow in labor or adjust the temperature in a barn from their smart phones.
Many livestock barns have Wi-Fi and automated feed and climate control systems. Raising livestock inside also enables farmers to utilize technology. Farmers do this to protect them from predators, extreme weather conditions, and diseases spread by animals and people.
Aside from beef cattle, livestock are usually raised inside climate-controlled barns. These technologies and others have enabled farmers to produce more with less labor.Ĥ. Tractors, planters, and combines are much larger and efficient. Improved farm equipment has probably had the most significant impact on how farmers raise crops and care for livestock. This technology gives farmers an additional tool to help increase crop yields.ģ. GE technology can improve a plant’s insect resistance, drought tolerance, herbicide tolerance, and disease resistance. Modern breeding methods include marker assisted breeding, which helps speed up the time it takes to to get the desired improvement, and genetic engineering (GE). Today, plant breeders use a mix of both traditional and modern methods to improve plants. Plant breeders have worked to improve germplasm to develop seeds with the best mix of characteristics to deliver the best yield for specific soil and weather conditions. Farmers and scientists have used plant selection and breeding techniques to improve crop yield for years. Like livestock breeding, the idea of improving plant genetics is not new. Embryo transfer is also gaining popularity in the dairy and beef cattle industries.Ģ. It is common for beef cattle and pig farmers to purchase straws of semen from male animals with superior genetics and use artificial insemination to breed females. These genetic advances can increase production while reducing environmental impacts. While the practice is not new, the technology used to improve livestock genetics and breed animals has changed dramatically in recent years.Īnimal geneticists work to identify elements within genes that can enhance animal growth, health, and ability to utilize nutrients. Early farmers selected livestock for their adaption to specific climates and bred them to improve productivity, temperament, and meat, leather, and wool quality. Humans began domesticating animals more than 10,000 years ago. Improving livestock breeds is not a new practice. Let’s take a look at the few of the ways technology has changed farming.ġ. The field of agriculture has changed just as much. Think about how much technology has improved medicine & healthcare, communications, and transportation in the last 50 years.
Farms are bigger, livestock are usually raised inside, yields are higher, less manual labor is needed, and it’s not common to see dairy cows, beef cattle, pigs, and poultry on the same farm. Farms have changed a lot in the last 50 years.