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Samuel Gander

Mr. Dunham

English 102

April 25, 2012

Farming on a Whole 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 (A. D. Newman)

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 task such as watering soil in the absence of rain. The number of people-hours

required to water soil manually on several thousand acers of land might result in business

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 weather 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

sensor to analyze the condition of crops in the field and determine whether pests or diseases are

affecting the crops. If sensor detect pests and/or diseases. Computer sends a notification to the

appropriate individual to take corrective action. In cases, according to

1
Barton states that many automated home irrigation systems also are programmable and
use rain sensors (Barton)
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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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Work Cited

Barton, Blake. "Computers in Agriculture." Agriculture Today and Tomorrow feb 2012: 53-86.

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

Newman, Albert D.,and Carmen W. Ruiz. The Agricultural Industry Today. New York: Alabama
Press, 2012.