This article originally appeared in the January 23, 2012 edition of the High Plains Journal. Find the full article here.
All of us in food production often throw out the term “precision agriculture,” yet I am not sure we know exactly what we speak of. Yes, of course it does include the eye in the sky steering our equipment but it is much bigger and deeper than that. My first trip of 2012 was to a Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed dairy meeting in the Wisconsin Dells, and one presentation hit me like a ton of bricks.
The presenter stated that the time of day you feed your cows could influence milk production by 20 percent. Yes, one particular dairy herd had a reduction in daily milk production by 20 percent on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. Why? Simply because the weekend feeder was feeding the cows two hours earlier than the guy who fed during the week. Who would ever guess that a cow could be that regimented that messing with her precision would affect her production so much? Furthermore, who would ever guess that we could identify the problem and pin-point that simple solution? That is just the tip of iceberg when it comes to today’s “precision agriculture.”
Come to think of it, I believe this is a story that we need to share far and wide and use it to “brand” farmers today. It speaks to the overall efficiency that has been achieved in today’s conversion of natural resources into human consumable products.
Take the time to read the full article for some great information.
