North Dakota Ag Mag - Technology
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Fall 2015 Technology is the practical application of science. In agriculture, you’ll find technology on the farm, in research laboratories, in factories where equipment is designed and manufactured, in processing plants where food and fiber products are made, and in stores where products are sold to you. Technology helps farmers and ranchers produce more food at less cost and better quality. North Dakota Ag in the Classroom In this photo from an UAV, how many young corn plants are in the 1 meter X 2 meeter rectangle? _______ UAVs in Agriculture Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are a new technology in agriculture. UAVs, sometimes called drones, are flown by remote control since they don’t have a human pilot. Special cameras and sensors on UAVs can help farmers and ranchers in many ways. They can: n Show what part of a crop field might need more fertilizer or might have a disease n Tell which beef steer in the feedlot has a raised temperature and might be sick n Find cattle that may be separated from the rest of the herd in a pasture n Use global positioning systems (GPS) to gather data about crops and livestock Circle the area where it looks like a plant didn’t grow in a row. Check the possible reason: o The planter didn’t drop a seed. o The seed didn’t germinate. o The planter planted the seed too deep. o Insects ate the small plant. What two things are needed for most seeds to germinate? _______________________________ _________________________________________ John Nowatski, NDSU
Transcript of North Dakota Ag Mag - Technology
Fall 2015
Technology is the practical application of science. In agriculture, you’ll find technology on the farm, in research laboratories, in factories where equipment is designed and manufactured, in processing plants where food and fiber products are made, and in stores where products are sold to you.
Technology helps farmers and ranchers produce more food at less cost and better quality.
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In this photo from an UAV, how many young corn plants are in the 1 meter X 2 meeter rectangle? _______
UAVs in AgricultureUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are a new technology in agriculture. UAVs, sometimes called drones, are flown by remote control since they don’t have a human pilot.
Special cameras and sensors on UAVs can help farmers and ranchers in many ways. They can:
n Show what part of a crop field might need more fertilizer or might have a disease
nTell which beef steer in the feedlot has a raised temperature and might be sick
nFind cattle that may be separated from the rest of the herd in a pasture
nUse global positioning systems (GPS) to gather data about crops and livestock
Circle the area where it looks like a plant didn’t grow in a row. Check the possible reason:o The planter didn’t drop a seed.o The seed didn’t germinate.o The planter planted the seed too deep.o Insects ate the small plant.
What two things are needed for most seeds to germinate? ________________________________________________________________________John Nowatski, NDSU
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If a farmer planted 5 acres per hour with a horse-drawn planter in 1900, how many acres did he plant in an 8-hour day? _______
Today’s farmer can plant 50 acres per hour with a tractor and seeder. How many acres can he plant in an 8-hour day? _______
How many more acres can the farmer plant in a day now compared with 1900? _______
From Hand Tools to Big MachinesWhen people started farming, they did everything by hand. But today, farmers rely on the help of machinesName each hand tool and machine. Choose from: truck, scythe, plow, wagon, planter, horse-drawn plow, combine, hand planter. Then draw a line from the hand method photo to the photo of the machine used today.
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Name That ToolName these simple tools. They are all parts of machines today. They make lifting, pulling and moving things easier. Choose from: axle, gear, incline plane, lever, pulley, screw, wedge.
Technology Then to NowNumber these tools in order from earliest (1) to present (6).
_____ small tractor
_____ horse-drawn plow
_____ unmanned aerial vehicle
_____ walking cultivator
_____ four-wheel drive tractor
_____ hoe
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Technology in AgricultureCircle the correct word to accurately complete each sentence.
1. Today (satellites or satelights) and computers help farmers and ranchers grow crops and livestock more efficiently and take better care of the land.
2. Photos are taken of their (feilds or fields) and pastures from space.
3. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) identify the exact (coordinates or coordinants) – latitude and longitude – of the photo.
4. The photos can show where some of the plants are more yellow so may need more (nitrogen or nitrojen) fertilizer.
5. The farmer can apply fertilizer only to that area to save money and protect the (environment or enviroment).
6. Computers use GPS so the tractor can plant (strait or straight) rows, avoid placing fertilizer or pesticides where not needed, and even steer and turn itself.
7. Unmanned (arial or aerial) vehicles now can do many of the same things satellites have done but more accurately and cheaper.
8. For example, a UAV can fly over a beef cattle feedlot and identify a steer that has a high (temperture or temperature).
9. The sick animal can be (seperated or separated) from the others.
10. A (veternarian or veterinarian) can treat the sick animal.
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Plant TechnologyPlant BreedingScientists improve plants through plant breeding. They take pollen from one plant and put it on the stigma of another plant. The seed that the pollinated plant produces is a combination of the two plants.
For example, a scientist might cross or take the pollen from one wheat plant that is short but doesn’t produce much grain with a wheat plant that produces a lot of grain but falls over in the rain because it’s too tall. By crossing the two plants, the scientist hopes to develop a wheat plant that produces a lot of grain but is short so it doesn’t bend over as easily.
Plant PartsLabel the parts of the plant using these words: sepal, stamen, style, anther, stem, pistil, filament, stigma, ovary, petal.
Plant CellsLabel the parts of the plant cell using these letters: (A) nucleus, (B) cell wall, (C) endoplasmic reticulum, (D) chromosomes, (E) lysosome, (F) peroxisome, (G) filaments, (H) golgi, (I) mitochondrion, (J) cytoplasm, (K) chloroplasts, (L) vacuole
BiotechnologyBiotechnology provides new ways to improve plants. For example, scientists can take a gene (small portion of the DNA or chromosomes) from the cell of one plant and place it into the cell of another plant. DNA affects characteristics such as how tall a plant is, the color of its leaves and the size of the fruit.
By using biotechnology, scientists can select the DNA that affects only the desired traits that will improve the plant. The new plant doesn’t have the undesirable characteristics that may come from transferring all the genes using conventional crossbreeding.
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?Technology for Food SafetyIrradiated Meat Irradiation is similar to microwaving, but it doesn’t raise the food’s temperature and cook it. Irradiation reduces the number of harmful pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause foodborne illness.
Electronic Cattle Tags Electronic tags record where each animal was raised and how it was cared for.Freshness Indicators Food packages soon may come with freshness indicators that change color as the food gets older and becomes unsafe to eat.Electronic Noses North Dakota State University faculty are researching machines that can smell food. Odor is a main indicator of food spoilage, and these electronic sniffers will be able to determine whether food is safe to eat more accurately than a human nose.
Embryo Transfer
Animal TechnologyBetter LivestockFarmers want livestock to be stronger and healthier so they produce more meat, milk and eggs. They select the best male and female animals to have babies because these baby animals will grow up to look and produce like their mothers and fathers.
One way to obtain more baby animals is to use embryo transfer technology. Scientists help the female animal produce extra embryos and then remove the extra embryos and put each embryo into a different female, which will give birth to a baby animal.
If a prize-winning cow produces one calf per year, how many calves will she have in 5 years? _____
If 10 embryos from the prize-winning cow are transferred to 10 other cows each year, how many calves from the prize-winning cow will there be in 5 years? _____
Cloning is another new technology that can improve livestock. It means making an exact copy by reproducing an animal from one of its own cells.
Circle the clone of this sheep.
More MilkBefore milking machines were invented in 1894, a farmer could milk 6 cows per hour by hand. How long would the milking take if the farmer had 15 cows? _____
Farmers now can milk a cow in about 5 minutes with a milking machine. If a farmer has 6 milking machines going at once, how many cows can be milked in one hour? _____
Natural Breeding
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Career CornerNathan Pesta Owner/Senior Project Engineer DeHaan, Grabs and Associates Mandan, N.D.
Architects, landscapers and others develop environments that are safe and enjoyable for people. Professionals like Nathan Pesta design environments for livestock. Nathan enjoys this work because he loves the challenge of helping farmers build their dream farms.
“I am in charge of designing feedlots, dairies and hog farms,” Nathan said. “I start by meeting with the farmer to discuss his intentions. I then create a design on the computer. Once a design is agreed upon with the farmer, the permits are applied for with the N.D. Department of Health. After the permits are approved, I go back out to the farm to set stakes for the contractor to build the farm.”
Nathan’s designs have to, for example, make sure cattle have dry places to lie down and manure runoff doesn’t flow into creeks. He wants dairy cows to have comfortable places to eat and sleep, and for hogs to have air to breathe in their houses that isn’t dusty.
“Agricultural engineering is important because the people that I work for feed the world. I help the farmer create a comfortable environment for the animals while also protecting the earth’s water and air resources from pollution,” Nathan said.
Nathan grew up on a cattle farm near Long Prairie, Minn. He enjoyed science, math and farming so he decided to study agricultural and biosystems engineering at North Dakota State University. Geometry, trigonometry, physics and English classes prepared him for college and his career.
Livestock can thank Nathan for his work at making their environments more safe and comfortable.
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Why Technology in Agriculture is Important
U.S. Farm Productivity
Number of People Year Ag Technology Each Farmer Feeds
1850 Horse-drawn plow 4 1910 Steam tractor 7 1986 Combine 77 2015 Satellites and computers 155
Today more than 6.5 billion people live on Earth. In 50 years, there may be 9 billion people if the present rate of population growth continues. They will all need to eat every day. Technology will help make that possible.
Cell Phones on the FarmCell phones are for more than texting and playing games. Farmers and ranchers use cell phones to:n Remotely adjust how much water is being sprayed
from the irrigatorn Monitor seeding and fertilizer rates from the equipmentn See yields as the crop is being combinedn Determine how fast to drive the tractor to get the right amount
of herbicide on the fieldn See how much it rained on a field or pasture miles awayn Order a broken part immediatelyn Record livestock births, vaccinations, weights and moren Record field size and history, application dates and rates,
and moren Transfer information to different kinds of equipmentn And much more
What are some other ways you think farmers and ranchers could use their cell phones?
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Take this Ag Mag home to share with others what
you’ve learned about technology in agriculture.
Thank you to the following for providing
information for this issue of North Dakota Ag Mag:
Council for Biotechnology Information
South Dakota State University
North Dakota State University
National 4-H Council
Ag in the Classroom, Illinois Farm Bureau
The North Dakota Ag Mag is a project of the North Dakota Agriculture in the Classroom Council, which is organized through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.
N.D. Department of Agriculture 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602 Bismarck, ND 58505-0020 Voice: (701) 328-2231 Toll-free: (800) 242-7535 Fax: (701) 328-4567 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.nd.gov/nddaAg Mag Production by North Dakota State University Agriculture Communication: Becky Koch, Editor; Lon Tonneson, Writer; David Haasser, Graphic Designer
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ClassroomTeachers and other educators, to receive free copies of the Ag Mag and teachers guide, call (800) 242-7535 or email [email protected].
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Take this Ag Mag home to share with others what
you’ve learned about technology in agriculture.
Thank you to the following for providing
information for this issue of North Dakota Ag Mag:
Council for Biotechnology Information
South Dakota State University
North Dakota State University
National 4-H Council
Ag in the Classroom, Illinois Farm Bureau
The North Dakota Ag Mag is a project of the North Dakota Agriculture in the Classroom Council, which is organized through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.
N.D. Department of Agriculture600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602Bismarck, ND 58505-0020Voice: (701) 328-2231Toll-free: (800) 242-7535Fax: (701) 328-4567E-mail: [email protected]: www.nd.gov/nddaAg Mag Production by North Dakota State University Agriculture Communication: Becky Koch, Editor; Lon Tonneson, Writer; David Haasser, Graphic Designer
Teachers and other educators, to receive free copies of the Ag Mag and teachers guide, call (800) 242-7535 or email [email protected].
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This issue of AgMag is brought to you by the following sponsors:
To sponsor the next AgMag, please call Margaret Kiefer, Farm & Ranch Guide SpecialProjects, 800-530-5714 or email: [email protected]
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