Local farms go high-tech

Computers are everywhere, in cars and phones — even in combines, greenhouses and poultry houses.

Like other industries, local farms are using computers to improve efficiency, reduce waste and save labor. Andy Wilson farms corn, soybeans and small grains in the New House area and is using new technology in his family's operation. Many of their tractors, spreaders and combines are GPS-guided with auto-steer features.

"We have to drive the first round, around the outside of the field, then the auto-steer function can take over and the tractor pretty much drives itself," Wilson said.

Amazingly, auto-steer is accurate to within a few inches, and helps prevent overlaps in planting or spraying, as well as operator fatigue. The Wilsons also use new technology in other aspects of their operation, especially soil sampling. Instead of taking one soil sample per field, the Wilsons sample every two acres. They use mapping software on their iPhone to navigate and record each soil sample point. Based on the results from each sample, a computerized system in the spreader truck applies only the needed rate of fertilizer or lime, preventing over-application and saving money on fertilizer.

Wilson said new software and technology lowers the input costs associated with farming and pay for themselves in the long run. He hopes a new aerial photography service provided by the Southern States Cooperative will provide similar benefits. The cooperative contracts with a pilot to fly over fields and take infrared photos. The infrared photos can help identify weak spots in the fields where crops may not be growing as well. Aerial monitoring of crops is becoming more common, with some farmers even using drones to monitor crop growth.

High-tech tomatoes

On a much smaller scale than the Wilsons, John Carroll, of Fallston, grows tomatoes in a 3,584-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse. Hydroponics is a system of growing plants without typical potting soil. Instead, roots grow directly in a nutrient-rich perlite mixture. Carroll is able to grow more than an acre's worth of tomatoes in a tenth of the space — in part because of a computer system. The system controls the water, fertilizer, heat, air and humidity.

"The computer takes all the guesswork out — it's set it and forget it," Carroll said.

The computer-regulated irrigation system waters the tomatoes every 20 minutes, providing a brief 1-minute trickle of water and nutrients to the roots. Depending on the temperature and humidity, the fans and cooling system come on automatically. Carroll said the computer saves a lot of labor.

"Most people with greenhouses have to hand-water," Carroll said, "I would have to hand-water six or seven times a day, but this system completely eliminates that."

Page 2 of 2 - Water use is also much lower because the water is delivered more efficiently and recycled. Carroll said growing the same amount of tomatoes in field production requires 90 percent more water.

Carroll said the technology isn't new. In fact, farmers in the northeastern United States have been using hydroponic greenhouses for decades because of the shorter growing season. In the South, hydroponic systems are slowly becoming more common for growing produce during the offseason, when field producers don't have tomatoes. Carroll sells tomatoes during the fall, winter and spring at various farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants.

Poultry apps

Like the computer system in Carroll's greenhouse, nearly all poultry houses have a computer system that helps monitor temperatures and water use. Near Mooresboro, Gene Pyron raises broiler chickens for Case Farms. Each one of his poultry houses is equipped with sensors to monitor and track changes in temperatures, water use, air pressure and feed use.

Pyron said that system saves time and labor because he doesn't have to spend as much time manually setting sensors and thermostats on fans.

"I've got a laptop in my house to control that," Pyron said. "It's linked to the computer system in the chicken houses, so I can check if anything isn't normal."

Through an app on his smartphone, Pyron can also monitor the status of his houses remotely.

The poultry houses also have another new technology: radiant heating units to keep chicks warm. Pyron said the new system does a better job distributing heat within the houses, which helps produce a faster, more uniform growth rate for the chicks.

"The system is supposed to be more energy-efficient, as well," he said, "But so far, it seems about the same in propane use."

Although some new technologies may not fully fulfill their claims, Pryon, Wilson and Carroll all try to research and keep a lookout for new tools that can help their operations, as do many other Cleveland County farmers.

So remember, if you see a strange flying object over a field, it may not be a UFO, but rather just a Cleveland County farmer checking up on crops.

Source: Local farms go high-tech