Learning about farming is one thing, but actually experiencing, firsthand what it really means to farm is another. Our school, Kilbreda College recognised this and took us to Echuca, Victoria where we got to meet, talk and help several different farmers. We thought this study trip would be an excellent time to ask some of the questions needed to complete this blog and the farmers were very open, willing and most important of all, excited to answer our questions.
Some of the farmers that we interviewed hadn’t even finished high school thirty years ago yet they all seemed to point out that in the last ten years alone, the technological advances in the farming industry have been huge. One of the biggest changes was with the introduction of the Global Positioning System or GPS. These devices have not only helped in positioning themselves but also in tracking their livestock, crops and machinery, but it doesn’t stop there. At the grain and cropping farm, the farmer, Fraser, says that some of his machinery is run purely by GPS so that he can dig, sow and plant in perfect straight lines that are the right length and width.
The other key change was in keeping a data base. Instead of keeping records with a pen and paper (which is hard work) everything is computerised. At the Alpaca Farm, The farmer, Karryn told us that if you type one of her alpaca’s numbers (pinned to their ear) into her data base, it will give you all its information like:
· How old the alpaca is
· What sex the Alpaca is
· What colour the Alpaca is
· What fleece the Alpaca has
· Who the Alpaca’s parents are
But it’s not just livestock farmers who are benefiting. At the grain and cropping farm they also use this data base technology and they also sell their produce online.
At Frank’s orchard and the Kagome Farm we were made aware of two other technological advances; pesticides and genetically modified fruit. Genetically modified fruit is fruit produced from living cells that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using genetic engineering. Frank told us that most of the food that we eat actually is genetically modified and we don’t even know. Fraser at the grain and cropping farm said that a lot of grain and cotton is being genetically modified. The second advance was the use and the application of pesticides. New pesticides are being created to wipe out all sorts of unwanted visitors, and they are distributed now with new machinery, instead of applying it by hand. Machines with big arms spray pesticides precisely on to the plants. And guess what? They are also automatic and run by GPS!
At the Rotary Dairy we were introduced to a lot of other advances like automatic cup removers, automatic milking parlors, the rotary dairy itself, land forming (moving dirt so that the land is flat) and research into what to feed stock like using legumes.
Other important changes in technology have been fertilizer and also its application, plant breeding for stock feed and for human consumption, IPad’s and breeding animals for looks and production.
Things have certainly changed a lot over the last 20 years in farming with the use of technology!
Researched & written by Izzy Z, 9/54
Photos by Ellen H & Izzy, 9/54
Some of the farmers that we interviewed hadn’t even finished high school thirty years ago yet they all seemed to point out that in the last ten years alone, the technological advances in the farming industry have been huge. One of the biggest changes was with the introduction of the Global Positioning System or GPS. These devices have not only helped in positioning themselves but also in tracking their livestock, crops and machinery, but it doesn’t stop there. At the grain and cropping farm, the farmer, Fraser, says that some of his machinery is run purely by GPS so that he can dig, sow and plant in perfect straight lines that are the right length and width.
The other key change was in keeping a data base. Instead of keeping records with a pen and paper (which is hard work) everything is computerised. At the Alpaca Farm, The farmer, Karryn told us that if you type one of her alpaca’s numbers (pinned to their ear) into her data base, it will give you all its information like:
· How old the alpaca is
· What sex the Alpaca is
· What colour the Alpaca is
· What fleece the Alpaca has
· Who the Alpaca’s parents are
But it’s not just livestock farmers who are benefiting. At the grain and cropping farm they also use this data base technology and they also sell their produce online.
At Frank’s orchard and the Kagome Farm we were made aware of two other technological advances; pesticides and genetically modified fruit. Genetically modified fruit is fruit produced from living cells that have had specific changes introduced into their DNA using genetic engineering. Frank told us that most of the food that we eat actually is genetically modified and we don’t even know. Fraser at the grain and cropping farm said that a lot of grain and cotton is being genetically modified. The second advance was the use and the application of pesticides. New pesticides are being created to wipe out all sorts of unwanted visitors, and they are distributed now with new machinery, instead of applying it by hand. Machines with big arms spray pesticides precisely on to the plants. And guess what? They are also automatic and run by GPS!
At the Rotary Dairy we were introduced to a lot of other advances like automatic cup removers, automatic milking parlors, the rotary dairy itself, land forming (moving dirt so that the land is flat) and research into what to feed stock like using legumes.
Other important changes in technology have been fertilizer and also its application, plant breeding for stock feed and for human consumption, IPad’s and breeding animals for looks and production.
Things have certainly changed a lot over the last 20 years in farming with the use of technology!
Researched & written by Izzy Z, 9/54
Photos by Ellen H & Izzy, 9/54