Iowa Farmer Today

The Agriculture Council of America called upon 7th to 12th grade students to submit an original essay of 450 words on the importance of U.S. agriculture. This year’s theme was “American Agriculture in 2025.”

This year’s national winner is LaTasha Cote of Briar, Mo. LaTasha will receive a prize of $1,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. to be recognized at the National Ag Day Luncheon at the National Press Club on March 15. At the luncheon, LaTasha will read her essay to industry representatives, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, media and other friends in a celebration of agriculture.

State winners, including Iowan Brooke Alumbaugh of Linden, were also selected in the contest and will receive a prize of $100.

In hands of youth, agriculture will continue trend of growth

By LaTasha Cote, national winner, Briar, Missouri

The alarm sounds off at about 8:00; a young man reaches over to turn it off. He gets up, jumps in the shower, eats his breakfast, and then heads out the door toward his milk barn.

There is no rush to get to the cows because they have already been milked. He begins to check the computer system to see the amount of milk produced from the third milking of the day.

Immediately, a very precise chart pops up and gives the percentage of milk given per second, the amount of butterfat, and accurately tells the farmer the exact weight of the milk.

Wait, where’s the reality check? Well, there isn’t one.

This is only one example of how far the industry, in all farms, has come since the year of 2007.

It is the year 2025, and the local farm is still alive and well, only there have been some changes made on how farms are run, and the amount of stress on the farmer has been minimized greatly.

Since the past, the agriculture industry has made huge medical and environmental changes. Starting with the fact that the industry has found the answer to preventing what used to be a fatal disease, mad cow, but not anymore.

Agriculture has also found ways to transfer pig organs to humans; oddly the process that used to be so complex, now it isn’t much of a process at all. Agriculture has also found the answer to the high cost of fuel and feed.

It used to be a problem that the everyday person worried constantly about; now it is merely a thing of the past.

Since recent studies on ethanol production and the availability to produce it come from corn stalks instead of the ear of corn has helped tremendously in feed production and costs.

Although we have come such a long way since 2007, we still face problems every day.

It has been said that we are running out of room to farm, even since the confinement of beef cattle, goats and horses. Though scientists have said that they are getting closer to remedying ways to grow life on the moon, the population crisis is still overwhelming.

I have high hopes on the future of agriculture. It is only the year 2025 and we are well on our way to finding faster and easier ways to farm and statistics say that the number of agriculture majors is at a steady increase.

Knowing that our future is in the hands of our youth, I am confident that we will continue to grow as an industry and a nation at large.

Potential for U.S. agriculture unlimited with many advances

By Brooke Alumbaugh, Iowa winner, Linden, Iowa

Picture this: Tractors with no drivers, run by satellite precision as they rumble up and down the field planting corn or other crops; animals fed by robotics with sensors that monitor their every need; crops grown for specific purposes, including pharmaceutical needs; animals genetically engineered to provide exactly what consumers want.

This might be a snapshot view of what we can expect American agriculture to look like in the year 2025.

While the above scenario is already on the drawing board, it’s difficult to fathom what agriculture will look like in the future, based on the rapid changes the industry has witnessed in the last 10 years.

What might have been considered science fiction in the 1950s is reality today, thanks to rapid advances in science and technology.

Machinery companies have done an excellent job of plowing a good percentage of resources back into research and development. As a result, modern tractors are equipped with automatic steering and global positioning systems.

Tractors my grandparents used to farm barely resemble these newcomers, with attention to operator comfort and convenience, fuel efficiency and power.

One of the biggest challenges facing agriculture today is a diminishing labor force. As a result, agriculture in 2025 will likely be highly mechanized.

New dairies will be equipped with robotics to milk cows and automated electronic feeding systems with sensors for individual animals will replace hand-feeding. Smithfield Foods has already announced its intention to replace gestation crates with open pens over the next 10 years, and the company has been testing electronic feeding systems.

Biotechnology is making “pharmafoods” a reality as well. Imagine being able to control, if not cure, certain diseases by genetically inserting genes that make diabetes or heart disease obsolete.

It’s not only possible, but probable. Scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and at universities across the country are already working on genetic engineering to benefit the human race.

High-lysine corn, high-oil soybeans and low-cholesterol pork are other examples of how biotechnology is benefiting agriculture and the general public right now and many more “high-tech” advances are in the pipeline.

In addition, advanced monitoring systems that implement new tracking tools will provide the protection and assurance for food safety and security.

The crops grown today will have multiple uses in 2025. Consider the soaring success of ethanol: Who would have imagined we’d see such rapid growth in and support for the ethanol industry?

Other uses will likely be identified and developed as well, including building supplies, packaging materials and biodegradable products.

With all these exciting advances on the horizon, the potential for American agriculture is unlimited. One can only imagine the possibilities, and hence, benefits for future generations.