Thursday, December 17, 2015

Farming through the generations

From horses to tractors guided by GPS technology, farming has changed a lot over the years and in our family.  As I've told you before, The Farmer is the 4th generation of his family to farm in Hancock County and both of our families can trace farming back farther than that on our family trees.  Despite all these changes in agriculture over the years, one thing has remained the same.  Family farmers are committed to producing safe, affordable, and nutritious food for their families and yours. 



Technology has played a big role in the changes on the farm over the years just like it has in all of our everyday lives.  I often think about when I headed to Purdue University as a college freshman 20 years ago.  I had never sent an email before arriving at Purdue and we had a bag phone in the car for emergencies only.  My how things have changed! 


Just like we have embraced technology in our personal lives, as farmers, we have embraced technology that ultimately allows us to do more with less.  By utilizing GPS technology, we are able to precisely apply the exact amount of crop protection and fertilizers that may be needed by a specific crop in specific location.  This has dramatically reduced the amount of crop protectants and fertilizers needed to raise our crops and just one of the many ways that technology is making a positive impacts on our farms and ultimately at the grocery store for consumers.  It is also one of the many reasons that The Farmer and I's grandpas fed 61 Americans annually in 1960 and today my husband can feed 155.  



Technology has also allowed us to provide the best care possible to our pigs.  I've talked about this numerous times in the past, but just in case you don't think about my pigs as much as I do I thought I'd give you a little refresher. 

Today we raise our pigs in climate controlled barns that allow us to not only protect our pigs from the elements such as snow, sleet, rain, and hail, but also keep the barns at around 70 degrees year round and protect the pigs from predators, such as coyotes.  I can only wish that my grandfather was still alive to see how we raise our pigs today. 



As you can see, farming has made a lot of changes over the years, but I am thankful that we have been able to learn from past generations and embrace technology to make the best decisions possible for our pigs and our crops.  Ultimately this makes it possible for my family to produce safe, affordable, and nutritious food for our family and all of yours.  I am very proud to be a part of  a family farm that is carrying on the family tradition. 


This post was sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and The Glass Barn
but the the thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  

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