聽 聽 聽 聽 In general terms farmers have been rather open to adopting new technologies.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 That adoption may not come overnight, but there are always those willing to take the plunge, going back to the first farmers to hang up their horse harness and opt for a tractor.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I am sure there were neighbours who thought them mad when they traded perfectly good horses for a smoke sputtering mechanical contraption, but in time tractors revolutionized farming.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In my time, which extends past a half century now, we have seen similar dramatic changes into farming.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We went from straw-bedded hogs kept a few head to a farm, to multi-thousand-sow units with tons of technology running feeding, monitoring, and electrical within the barn.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We went from an era where 50 per cent of farms were left fallow each year, to one where continuous cropping is near universal.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I can remember many farmers thinking early adopters of direct seeding were destined to fail.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Global positioning system tech followed something of similar pattern, as did acceptance of genetically modified canola varieties, although I would suggest the broader acceptance of both was quicker.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In my mind farmers are now much more ready to try the innovative as they work to enhance returns.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There is however a technology adoption curve, said Tracy Greier, with Farm Credit Canada. She spoke to farmers in Canora Jan. 28, and said only about 2.5 per cent are innovative, first-in adopters, with 13.5 per cent in soon after as early adopters.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The bulk follow, once the bugs have been work out thanks to the efforts of early adopters, with the last 16 per cent lagging behind the majority.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Those numbers are likely universal, whether talking direct seeding tech for farmers, of flat screen televisions for the general public.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Some people want the gadgets the day they come out, others take a wait and see, and some lag waiting for the day it finally makes sense for them to take the plunge.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I suppose I fall into the lag pool. I tend to be satisfied with something that has worked for decades. As an example the telephone.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Yes I understand the cellphone offers connectivity all the time, but I question how critical that is. I have more years behind me than ahead, and I can鈥檛 point to a single time where a cellphone would have been more than a convenience, as opposed to a must.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Certainly farmers or anyone in rural Canada has some added safety with a cellphone, if they have coverage, but聽a cellphone does not take the place of a winter survival gear in the trunk, yet how many cellphone users venture out in winter with no more than running shoes on their feet?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 So while new technology has benefits, they need to be weighed. Farmers need to understand that tech is a tool.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Too often we fall into that murky area where the tool becomes a time consuming toy, like a cellphone where you take pictures and play games, and consume time with fun apps.聽
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 That said, farmers are great at maximizing what tech can provide them, but as more and more must have gadgets arise, (do we really need a computer toothbrush to measure how we brush?), we need to be sure we are adopting out of need/benefit rather than hype and advertising.
