 |
Dr.
Shelby Fleischer sets up a pheromone
trap for migrating corn earworm
moths.
Howard
P. Nuemberger—Information
and Communication Technologies,
College of Agricultural Sciences |
As an Amish farmer in Somerset County,
Pennsylvania, Levi Hostetter abides by
the traditions of his faith: he has no
electricity in house, he travels by horse
and buggy, and he wears dark-colored,
traditional attire. Yet, when Penn State
Cooperative Extension educator Tom Ford
demonstrated for him the real-time, Internet-based
tracking program called PestWatch, developed
by Penn State Entomology Professor Dr.
Shelby Fleischer, Hostetter did more than
take notice. He proceeded to build pheromone
traps, as outlined in the program, for
migrating corn earworm moths and now regularly
shares his findings with extension educators,
so others can better protect their sweet
corn crop.
Hostetter is one of the growing number
of farmers Penn State is helping use technology
to extend their growing season, improve
their yield and manage their resources
more efficiently.
"All kinds of applications for technology
have existed," said Dr. Jack Watson,
associate director of Penn State Cooperative
Extension and state program leader. "What
we can do is to take that technology and
help individual farmers integrate it into
their operation to make it more successful."
Bringing that success, not just to the
big farms, but also to farmers like Hostetter
who aren't "wired," has been
part of Penn State Cooperative Extension
educators' ongoing outreach effort.
"Approximately 20 extension educators
get the numbers on the migrating pests
out to the farmers in innovative, creative
ways, such as distributing the information
at produce auctions and grower's meetings,"
Fleischer said. "However, technology
plays an increasingly important role in
disseminating information. This project
has been a collaborative effort with many
people, including those in the College
of Agricultural Sciences and the Environment
Institute in the College of Earth and
Mineral Sciences."
Agricultural
Center to Provide Expertise
Protecting farming is big business in
Pennsylvania. According to the United
States Department of Agriculture, in 2002
there were 59,000 farms in Pennsylvania,
which contributed a healthy $4.6 billion
to the economy. In recognition of this
economic engine, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture selected Pennsylvania as one
of 10 states to get a portion of a $10
million grant to establish their own Agricultural
Innovation Center.
Pennsylvania's center will combine three
physical locations in Blair, Cumberland
and Lebanon counties with a network of
experts throughout the state. Penn State
Cooperative Extension educators will provide
the expertise and staffing.
"We believe that if we surround promising
agricultural value-added businesses with
the appropriate resources, they will succeed,"
said Dr. Michelle Rodgers, regional director
of Cooperative Extension and Outreach
in the Capital Region. "The center
brings those resources together—from
business development and management to
education and technology services—to
make sure producer-entrepreneurs are doing
the right things at the right stage in
their businesses."
For example, one such effort involved
assisting a producer to develop specific
marketing strategies for his feta cheese
products. This enterprise, which originally
looked to local farmer's market stands
for its sales, increased profitability
when the entrepreneur learned to use Internet
marketing strategies to approach and make
sales to buyers for upper-scale restaurants
in the Washington, D.C., area.
Precision
Agriculture
To maximize crop production, farmers are
increasingly using high-tech tools, such
as the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Popularized in current advertising as
a savior for guiding lost drivers to their
destinations, GPS can also improve the
quality, quantity and safety of the food
on our tables as a part of the world of
precision agriculture.
As a tractor moves across the fields,
GPS computer-based technology helps farmers
map their fields for nutrient deficiencies,
pest infestations and soil conditions.
The farmer is then able to precisely deliver
customized applications of fertilizers,
herbicides and pesticides, based on their
farm production and crop information.
The result is a tremendous cost savings,
less impact on the environment and improved
crop performance.
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences
EDUGATOR, a John Deere all-terrain vehicle
with GPS and an onboard laptop computer,
provides farmers with a hands-on opportunity
to see how technology can improve their
bottom line.
"The impact is to minimize the application
of chemicals used on the fields, which
can result in tremendous cost savings
and increase profitability," said
Dr. Ted Alter, associate vice president
for Outreach and director of Cooperative
Extension. "We would not have the
quantity and quality of safe food without
sophisticated operations such as this."
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is
another resource. Penn State trains local
governments on how to implement the technology,
which can be used to map 911 emergency
systems, utility grids, water resources
and treatment systems in a central database.
"GIS technology can give municipal
and state officials the big picture in
a literal sense," explained Dr. Rick
Day, associate professor of soil science
and environmental systems. And that information
can help empower the public, including
farmers, with the data it provides.
Technologies
that Transform
Examples of new technologies investigated
at Penn State abound. Consider robotic
milking machines, satellite-guided tractors,
devices that reduce the odors from mushroom
operations, weather-forecasting services,
instantaneous identification of plant
pathogens and even a system that uses
methane (from decomposing manure) to generate
electricity.
In the 47 years that Dr. Herb Cole has
been on the faculty in Penn State's College
of Agricultural Sciences, he has seen
a major shift in production processes
and systems. He sees current technology
research and outreach as ways to help
"keep farmers profitable and make
them better neighbors by improving the
air and water quality."
That's good news for the Pennsylvania
economy, farmers and their families and
everyone else who likes to enjoy a fresh
glass of milk, a ripe tomato or an ear
of perfect sweet corn.
