Since the 1970s high technology farming, including new hybrids for wheat, rice, and other grains, better methods of soil conservation and irrigation, and the growing use of improved fertilizers has led to the production of more food per capita. Not only in the United States, but in which of the rest of the world. United States farmers, nevertheless, still have the advantage of superior private and government research facilities to produce and perfect new technologies. New services of technologies in the 1990s are further improving crop production. Precision farming, site-specific farming, utilizes global positioning systems (GPS) and geographical information systems (GIS) in the satellite collection and transmission of data to create yield maps during harvest. Farmers use the yield maps as they plant and fertilize their crops the following season. This increases crop production while reducing the use of both fertilizers and fuel. GPS also helps farmers observe with environmental regulations when applying fertilizers and pesticides. Biotechnology is also increasing agricultural productivity. In recent years farmers have begun producing a new, genetically engineered oil seed crop that grows from canola, to yield lauric oil, which comes from coconuts.
Since World War II modern farming methods have been spread by national and international organizations. Governments have continuing their traditional role in overseeing and influencing agriculture. Numerous countries and set up development programs and five year plans to improve agriculture, marketing and processing. Many nations have been exceptionally eager to improve their economies at least partly through their agriculture. Irrigation systems have been built by many countries, notably India, Pakistan, Israel, and Egypt. To improve their agriculture, some of these countries have borrowed money from the World Bank and wealthy countries such as the United States.
Farming has become a highly complex and competitive business. Today’s farmers must be a careful businessmen as well as a trained agriculturist. Today in society, there is now the need to understand and use economics, marketing, and several other business-related fields in addition to having a knowledge of agronomy, animal husbandry, breeding techniques, and other fields traditionally related to agriculture.
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