Technology Use Growing on Nebraska Farms and Ranches

Aug 28, 2023

By Larry Van Tassell

Technology has changed the way most of us live and the way we farm. I was in graduate school in Texas during the 1980s when personal computers started to be used in agriculture. The understanding of computers and their value in management was still quite obscure at the time. As a graduate student, I assisted in a survey of Texas farmers and ranchers on their knowledge and use of financial management practices and computer use.

We found that 8% of farmers and ranchers owned a computer. When asked if they will invest in a computer if it has the potential to improve their management, 17% stated “yes” and 75% stated “no.” About one-third of respondents felt computers were not needed for management, and 28% did not feel a computer was a profitable investment. Judging by the comments several respondents wrote in the margins of their survey, it was evident most did not know how a computer could assist them in making management decisions. Some of the responses were:

“This ranch operation does not require immediate management decisions such as computers provide (a 20,000-acre cattle operation).”

“Pencils only cost 25 cents.”

“No advantage to owning a computer in a cow-calf operation with a 95% calf crop and weaning weights at 500 pounds.”

“I make my own business decisions.”

Source : unl.edu

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.