Archive for June 13th, 2008
Electronic world serves farmers well
Crops this year are just about as valuable as they ever have been. Corn, soybeans and wheat are at or close to record prices. But that is only half of the story. For farmers the challenge has just started in that they have to be able to deliver a good crop to the elevator in order to receive the contracted price. Part of how they are doing this is through modern communications technology.
This time of year when these crops are just starting to grow nicely, a formidable opponent also starts make their presence known. The opponent I am talking about is crop insects. All manner of these pests are starting to infest fields and left unchecked or even discovered too late can significantly effect yield and in some cases completely devastate a crop.
At AGRIS Co-operative this is the first year we have actually placed time sensitive bulletins of pest reports from across our trading area in southwest Ontario on our website. Bean leaf beetles and army worms according to reports are the most active at the moment. Scouting reports are being sent directly to me for posting on our website. Text messaging and e-mails are then being immediately sent to farmers, quite often right to their cell phones or Blackberrys advising them of exact location and the type of these pests. The specific field location, the type of pest found, the surrounding crops and the time of day are all noted by our crop specialists who are assisting farmers in selecting the correct crop protection product and application rates to effectively fight these crop pests.
Controlling of many of these insects quite often depends a great deal on early detection. Left unchecked even for a few days, they could literally wipe out a whole crop. Farmers still have a huge challenge in front of them fighting these pests, but electronic communications are giving them an advantage like never before.
