40 Chances
Will it be enough?
“Very seasonal. It’s like every two to three years. It’s not every month.” Meredith Campbell says with a smile as she describes the income of a farmer. That means over a lifetime of work the average farmer has 40 chances to make a profit.
Meredith Campbell
Owner/Operator
Glynlyon Land and Cattle
Meredith is an owner/operator of Glynlyon Land and Cattle. She loves the community aspect of farming and ranching and the support most everyone offers each other. She also sees significant challenges for farming businesses of all kinds.
People all over the world are worried about their income from cooks to pilots, from main street to wall street, industries and incomes are very uncertain. This problem is especially impacting farm and ranch owners.
Meredith is right, unlike most jobs, farmers incomes are “very seasonal” and are more affected by variables than most industries. These variables include temperature, rainfall, politics, and more. In 2019, a cool, wet spring across much of the United States pushed planting later than normal and even prevented some acres from being planted at all. Droughts and fires in other parts of the country in 2018 impacted the crops of many farmers. Tariffs imposed to achieve political goals further impacted the ability of farmers across many states. In 2020, the sharp drop in demand for farm products caused by the closure of restaurants, schools, and businesses is now taking a toll on agricultural producers.
CNN recently reported farmers plowing their crops under to reduce supply to meet demand. Sam Accursio has destroyed rows and rows of crops, about 70 percent of the total, with hopes to save his business. As a Florida farmer Sam has found demand plunging for his squash and zucchini. Other news outlets have reported on dairy farmers unable to sell their products having to pour their milk on the ground.
While government officials promise programs to help farmers economically, they are often insufficient to close the financial gaps caused by these challenges. These programs can do little to address the stress and anxiety experienced by farmers.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show suicide rates for those working in farm, ranch, and agricultural management are double the national average at 32.2 per 100,000 workers in 2015.
Rob Macias has been a farm manager for many years. During harvests he would wake up at 3AM, work 17 to 18 hour days, every day, and return to his home each day to sleep a few hours before starting again early the next morning. Throughout the day he would race from field to field, trying to solve problem after problem. Communication was spotty and no one had a full view of what was happening across the farm operation. He rarely saw his family, knew the long hours and stress were taking a toll on his health, and like many others, wasn’t sure it was worth it to continue.
He was introduced to a technology that changed everything. The technology made it easy to see a full view of all the operations of the farm, tracking all the vehicles, tractors, and implements, productivity, and other data. No longer did Rob have to drive from place to place and radio endlessly just to try to find out what was going on. He had access to it all from his tablet, his own mission control center, with realtime data he started using to optimize operations. He used it to save time, increase yields, and to save hundreds of thousands of dollars. Most of all he was able to relieve stress and anxiety and spend more time at home with his family. “This technology changed my life,” Rob said. “I am more effective at my job. I see my family much more. I’m much happier now and enjoy what I do.”
The technology described by Rob is being adopted by farms across the country and is called Acuitus Ag.
Technology cannot solve all the problems faced by farmers, but it can give them a fighting chance to win and be profitable in many more of those 40 chances farmers get in their work. Contact Acuitus Ag for a free, no obligation demo.
Derrin Hill
CEO | Founder, RevRoad
