The Rural Voice, 1979-06, Page 6l
Brubacher predicts the costs of getting into
farming will rise ''the average farm will be
capitalized at a million dollars", but adds
"1 question whether the trend is toward
bigger farms. More mechanization will
continue to reduce the laborious jobs. The
major increase of the size of large tractors
is reached already. Other equipment like
combines won't increase (in size)
significantly."
Dr. Nonnecke agrees and says we'll
"have to learn to maximize the space
available." And he predicts "more
efficient use of plants in the space
allotted."
WE'LL WIPE OUT WEEDS
'We will totally wipe out weeds," the U
of G horticulture specialist predicts. "We
don't have room for weeds, every inch of
land must be for productivity."
Dr. Nonneck e thinks we'll see a change in
the way farmers look at their land and an
increase in speciality crops, like table
vegetables.
"The present farm concept is to spread
and spread and spread. What we need is
intensive farming. Better quality, better
production and good management instead
of an expensive and expansive program,
It's a real mental challenge."
"The family farm is the only farm. But it
can only be so big, not in the physical sense
but as far as your mental eye can control it,
one man or one family," Dr. Nonnecke
sums up.
Helmut Spieser, an energy management
PG. 4 THE RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1979
Ed Brubacher
specialist at Ridgetown College of
Agriculture also sees more specialized
farming in our future. "Instead of cash
crop and livestock, farmers will be sticking
to one aspect to minimize machinery."
He predicts we'll have new machinery to
allow "one cultivation and seeding for time
and fuel economy."
DAYS OF SHOVEL ARE OVER
Varna area farmer Gordon Hill also
predicts increased mechanization. "The
day of the shovel and wheelbarrow are
over", he says. "See how the
mechanization has increased in farming. It
started in poultry now it's into hogs and
going into beef. It's already in the dairy
industry."
"Farm machinery will be bigger, more
complicated and more difficult to get parts
and service. No good news , it's all bad
news," laments Mr. Hill. But then he
adds, good news to many, "the farmer
operator will be manager, businessman
and calculator, not a drudge."
Farming by satellite
won't happen
While several of the experts predict
there'll be an increased use of computers
on the farm, especially as a management
tool, Terry Daynard says a prediction by a
US expert that we'll be farming
electronically with satellites to tell the
farmer when to spray his field "will never
happen."
A recent Report on Farming story by
Harry Hanley says though that electronics
and operator comfort will be increasingly
important in tractors of the future.
"Through electronics, the tractor cab of
the future will become a true control
centre. Control panels will incorporate a
glowing array of digital monitors, rather
than the more bulky mechanical gatNes now
used," he predicts. "Many tractors will
offer close circuit televisions to monitor
implements in tow."
He says these monitors will offer
tremendous "peace of mind," allowing the
farmer to repair problems at early stages
and thus avoid costly down time.
"Barns will not be bigger," says U of G
engineering expert Ed Brubacher. "There
will be more barns on one farm because
disease will always be a factor."
Mr. Brubacher predicts barns will be
steel or concrete framed in the future
"because of diminishing wood supplies.
Right now the general layout is good, but
there will be changes. . . gradual changes
rather than abrupt."
Whether they see farms continuing to
increase in size or producing more at their
present acreage size, most of the experts
say the high cost of energy is the.number one
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