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BCS 1

September 08, 2022

Farming on a Whole New Level

Although people have worked in agriculture for more than 10,000 years,

advances in technology assist with maintaining and protecting land, crops, and

animals. The demand to keep food prices affordable encourages those working

in the agriculture industry to operate as efficiently as possible (Newman and

Ruiz 33-47).

Almost all people and companies in this industry have many acres of

land they must maintain, and it is not always feasible for farmers to take

frequent trips around the property to perform basic tasks such as watering soil

in the absence of rain. The number of people-hours required to water soil

manually on several thousand acres of land might result in businesses

spending thousands of dollars in labor and utility costs. If the irrigation

process is automated, sensors detect how much rain has fallen recently, as

well as whether the soil is in need of watering. The sensors then send this data

to a computer that processes it and decides when and how much to water. 1

In addition to keeping the soil moist and reducing maintenance costs,

computers also can utilize sensors to analyze the condition of crops in the field

and determine whether pests or diseases are affecting the crops. If sensors

detect pests and/or diseases, computers send a notification to the appropriate

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Barton states that many automated home irrigation systems also are

programmable and use rain sensors (67-73).

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individual to take corrective action. In some cases, according to Brewster, the

discovery of pests might trigger a pesticide to discharge in the affected area

automatically (Agriculture: Expanding and Growing).

Many farmers use technology on a daily basis to regulate soil moisture

and to keep their crops pest free. With technology, farming can be much more

convenient and efficient.

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Works Cited

Barton, Blake. "Computers in Agriculture." Agriculture Today and Tomorrow

February 2012.

Brewster, Letty. Agriculture: Expanding and Growing. 3 January 2012. 9

February 2012.

Newman, Albert D., and Carmen W. Ruiz. The Agricultural Industry Today. New

York: Alabama Press, 2012.