We are now in the next millennium. Our world has changed and has changed very quickly, but the changes that are about to come to us in the agriculture community have only touched the tip of the iceberg. Today, there are software companies that are developing programs designed specifically with us in mind. There are many accounting packages that are available that deal with the agriculture community, which have not been available in the past. Farm Works is a company that has designed a program that will enable you, the producer, to completely put your operation on the computer. You can scan maps of your farm or ranch, (specifically farm) into the program, directly from the FSA office and you will be able to then with the help of GPS (global positioning satellite) go in and pinpoint exactly what types of fertilizers should be put on the ground to get the maximum of production you desire.
There is no amount of computers in the world that is going to help us take out the risk factors that are involved in our industry. Some of those, as already discussed, can never be hedged against. For others, we must become better businessmen and women in order to survive. Learn to read and ask as many questions about new and innovative programs that are available as possible. This will become very important soon.
In our farming operation, we now have “systems” installed on our pivots that notify us on our smart phones when it has shut off. What this enables us to do is re-start it if we had a lightning storm or know it needs to be checked first thing in the morning. This is all part of working smarter, not harder.
