FARMERS EMBRACE HIGH-TECH

Neolithic people were the first to domesticate and breed wild plants and animals. Ten thousand years later farmers are still trying to perfect the field.

The pursuit now involves technology such as computers and satellites and work in the laboratory. While computer-aided agriculture was almost non-existent in Cape Girardeau County a couple of years ago, more progressive family farmers and large-scale operators have gone high-tech.

"It's on the increase," said Gerald Bryan of the University of Missouri Extension Center in Jackson. "It's gone from zero two years ago to now we've probably got 25 to 30 that are doing it to some degree. They're doing more, and they're doing it more efficiently."

Another trend isn't new to this area or the country.

"There are fewer farmers and the farmers are each farming a little larger acreages than they have in the past," said Terry Birk of the Farm Service Agency in Jackson.

Nationwide in 1935 there were 6.8 million farms averaging 155 acres. In 1992 there were just 1.9 million farms, but they averaged 467 acres.

"The cost of production is higher -- equipment especially -- so that they're having to spread that investment over a larger acreage," Bryan said. "A $150,000 tractor and a $200,000 combine have to cover a lot of acres."

Bryan said that in Cape Girardeau County most farmers will either expand or cut back to a part-time status and farm five to 100 acres while working on another farm or relying on a job in town. There isn't a lot of room in the middle.

But for those who can afford the new technology, called precision or site-specific farming, it seems the sky is the limit.

Global positioning systems (GPS) that communicate with satellites orbiting Earth aid in precisely mapping fields on a grid of usually 2 1/2 acres. The information gathered helps fertilizer trucks apply the correct amount of nutrients based on the needs of different soils and crops. That helps prevent the overapplication of fertilizer, which could contaminate groundwater.

Yield monitors on combines record the amount of grain that is released every second from a strip that is being combined. Yield maps are made using that information and GPS units. Comparing yield maps with fertilizer maps, weak spots in the field are identified and corrected by drainage work or weed control or other agricultural practices.

Scientists are manufacturing better hybrids, such as biotech hybrids of corn, that have had a gene injected into them so they will produce their own insecticide.

"This gives us more efficient production and is better for the environment," Bryan said.

Transgenic hybrids or varieties of soybeans use a gene-injection system that makes the plant tolerant of a herbicide that normally would kill it. The system will soon be available for corn, Bryan said.

Other changes are an increase in the use of irrigation in the county and a switch to conservation tilling that reduces the amount of erosion and runoff into streams.

One thing that won't change in the near future, Bryan said, is the types of crops raised in the area.

"Most farmers in this county are on a corn and soybean rotation," he said. "And a good number of times when they have soybeans they'll have wheat and double-crop back to soybeans."

On the livestock side, Bryan cited several trends in the county. The number of beef cattle is increasing while the number of swine operations and dairy farms is decreasing. But the remaining dairy farms are increasing in size.

Techniques such as artificial insemination, performance testing and selective breeding produce animals that grow faster on less feed. Better manure distribution helps protect the environment. Efforts are also being made to better manage grazing pastures.

But without people to use technology it is fruitless. Bryan says Cape Girardeau County has the right kind of farmers to keep agriculture in the area productive.

"We have a basic group of farmers here that are very conservative," he said. "They have been stewards of the soil for many generations. They don't get into buying unnecessary products and equipment just so they can have something bigger than their neighbor like a lot of farmers did a few years ago. That's kept the family farm very sustainable here. And they are very progressive as far as going ahead with new technology."