From a Farmers Perspective

Imagine farming back in the early 1900's. A lot of farmers used horse drawn equipment and a lucky few had machinery to help with their work. Towards the middle of the century there was an increase in machinery use, but farmers still relied on farm hands to get a lot of their work done. The main focus of these farmers at the beginning was to feed their families; however, as time went on and demands changed, a select few continued in agriculture and farming to produce food for a growing world. They had a big responsibility of feeding the world. Norman Borlaug said "Civilization as it is known today could not have evolved nor can it survive without an adequate food supply."  By the year of 2050, the world’s population is expected to raise to 9.7 billion people (York, 2015). With that increase in population there will have to be an increase in food supply but since the 1970's there has been a sharp decline in farms in the United States resulting in currently only 2.1 million operating farms (USDA, 2018). So the man power on farms in the United States has changed from physical man power to mechanical and technological. The farmers that run the farms today have to be more sustainable then before. Kevin Rogers, an Arizona farmer said" Sustainability is a world not often associated with GMOs in popular press, but farmers who grow GMO crops see them as a tool for sustainable farming (Manager,2018)." GMO crops have become the solution for many famers that find they can produce double the crop on half the land. Using GMO crops that are resistant to insects and droughts have allowed them to produce crops using less pesticides and other harmful substances. This has equally helped the soils that these crops are planted in. Katie Pratt, an Illinois farmer, stated that they have greatly reduced the amount of insecticide that needs to be sprayed, and they only need to treat the weeds at one point, not several times over a growing season. Her soil has now improved (Manager, 2018). She isn't the only one that has seen these results. There are many examples of farmers that have used GMO crops and seen an increase sustainability and decrease in production cost. With this increase in GMO use and decrease in production needs, the man power behind farming has significantly decreased. Early on in farming there was a large need required to plow the field, keep the insects at bay, and control the weeds, but what is required now is the knowledge to propagate, in keeping the crops alive, and keeping the soil healthy to receive these crops. Man power in farming is in a way moving away from the fields and towards the lab where a lot of work is done to produce GMO seeds with a larger range of propagation options. Farmers are changing in the way they do their job. They work hard to produce an adequate food supply for the world in the most productive way they can. That's real man power.  

References 

Johnson, M. (2014, April 25). GMOs- From a Farmers Perspective. Retrieved June 2, 2018, from U.S.News Health: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2014/04/25/gmos-from-a-farmers-perspective

Manager, C. (2018). Why do Farmers Use GMOs?Retrieved June 2, 2018, from GMO Answers: https://gmoanswers.com/why-do-farmers-use-gmos-0

Power, C. (2015, August 9). How to Make a GMO. Retrieved June 2, 2018, from SITN: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/how-to-make-a-gmo/

Schmidt, J. (2015, December 22). A Farmers Letter to a Concern Student About GMOs. Retrieved June 2, 2018, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gmoanswers/2015/12/22/farmers-letter-to-concerned-student-about-gmos/#c566cfb25f93

The Science Inside A GMO Seed. (2017, February 1). Retrieved June 2, 2018, from Modern Ag: https://modernag.org/innovation/the-science-inside-gmo-seeds/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgMnYBRDRARIsANC2dfm6fSvCQuI31h6edG6ZH_tf4Kvb0beTeCWlzHrGuzvCk95ESaZ3lNIaAnJWEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

USDA. (2017, July 12). Recent Trends in GE Adoption. Retrieved June 2, 2018, from USDA: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx

USDA. (2018, February 7). Farming and Farm Income. Retrieved June 2, 2018, from USDA: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/farming-and-farm-income/

York, N. (2015, July 29). World Population Projected to Reach 9.7 billion by 2050. Retrieved June 2, 2018, from United Nations Department of Economics and Social affairs: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report.html