Farmers embrace tech

This story appeared in the spring 2026 edition of Roots magazine, a collaborative agriculture publication by the Sandusky Register, Norwalk Reflector, Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, Findlay Courier and Fostoria Review-Times. Modern agriculture is in the middle of a technological transformation. What was once driven mainly by seasonal guesstimations and manual labor is increasingly powered by data management and information systems. That's not to say hard work is excluded from the modern farming equation, but technology has directed the focus of the hands that manage the land. Drone use increases From GPS-guided tractors to artificial intelligence and drone-based crop spraying, farmers today are managing their fields with a level of accuracy that would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago. These advances are not simply about convenience — they are reshaping productivity, sustainability, and profitability across all sectors of agriculture. One of the most cutting-edge technologies in agriculture is the use of drones. Small flying machines controlled from the ground can be used to spot areas in fields that are over- or under-watered, can be used in place of traditional crop dusting and can even locate lost animals, according to Zach Allgyre, owner of A+ Drone Services. With traditional crop dusting, a small plane is loaded with the treatment to be applied to the fields. That plane then needs to take off nearby and is piloted by a human. Crop dusting is only as accurate as the person behind the controls. Also, the treatment can drift a considerable distance depending on weather conditions. Using drones for crop dusting has several advantages. First and foremost is the maintenance and upkeep. Drones are smaller and, without the need for a pilot, can use less fuel and hold more treatment for their own size and weight. Another advantage is the downforce from the props on a drone. The same force that keeps the drone aloft also forces the treatment, whether herbicide, insecticide, fertilizer or other, directly down to the intended area. Drones can also be used to locate animals. Local law enforcement has used drones affixed with forward-looking infrared cameras to find people hiding in wooded areas. The same tech can be used to locate cattle or other animals that have wandered from their pens or fenced-in areas. Allgyre said he has also been called out to assist deer hunters in locating their game. Depending on the hunter's skill and random chance, one shot does not always drop an animal immediately. When that happens, it can mean hours of tracking a wounded beast to collect it. A drone equipped with FLIR can greatly reduce the time it takes to find the wounded animal and end its suffering. Nothing runs like... a GPS? For many years, farmers relied on generational instincts and a manually driven tractor, whether a John Deere, Ford or Oliver. Over time, and with the need to squeeze every cent out of every acre of arable land, more technological tools have come to the marketplace to make that possible. 1967 was a banner year for innovation with the introduction of the first mass-produced automatic transmission tractor, the International Harvester 656. Fast-forward several decades and today's tractors are equipped with GPS. With this technology, the computer attached to tractors knows exactly where it is. GPS-equipped planters can ensure that rows of crops are planted precisely, without overlapping and thus wasting seed. During both planting and harvesting, GPS-equipped tractors save fuel costs, as the machines are not going over the same area multiple times, even if it is just a slight overlap. Computers also help manage fuel economy while the machines are operating, increasing and decreasing power as needed. Before agricultural machines even end up at farms, computers streamline the process of designing and manufacturing them. Much of the savings at this stage go to manufacturers, but end users also enjoy more fuel-efficient machines that work quicker, smarter and longer. To infinity and beyond According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than half of America's workforce was involved in agriculture in 1870. By the end of World War II, that number dropped to 17%. By 2021, most areas east of the Mississippi River had less than 5% of their workforce involved in agriculture. One driving force in this decline is technological: tech has made it easier for individuals to farm larger areas. However, there are also fewer people available to replace those who reach retirement than ever before. In 1950, there were approximately 25 live births per 1,000 people in the U.S. Today, that number is less than half, with about 12 live births per 1,000. Using artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles is one way in which agriculture could possibly reinvent itself. AI can help determine the best crops to plant based on location and the specific land the stakeholder owns. Autonomous vehicles are seen as a way to essentially bring on extra workers during planting and harvesting. With "follow me" technology, one vehicle will follow the path or an adjacent path to another vehicle. This is also known as supervised autonomy. In 2022, John Deere announced plans for a fully autonomous tractor without a driver in the cab. The company is currently offering a package for its 8R 410 model that makes the machine fully autonomous. As technology continues to evolve, America's next generation of farmers will embrace it and use all the tools available to make sure this country has a stable, self-supportive food supply chain.