5 Things Farmers are All Too Familiar With

If you work in agriculture, you are vividly aware of how tiring working on a farm can be. The long summers and the hard physical labor under a hot noon sun can sap the energy right out of you, yet you also know how important it is for you to keep on working. It’s important not only for your family, but America too. Here are five other things that farmers endure.

1. 1. Viewing Crops as Money
      Many people who see a farm from an outsider’s perspective will generally look at it as a pseudo-utopia of vegetables and wheat all the fresh cow milk you can squeeze. Today’s farmers view their crops in terms of profits. They need to as well since they almost always operate at very narrow margins.

1. 1. Dealing With Farm Insurance
      While 93% of homeowners in America have basic homeowners insurance, farmers homeowner insurance is quite different. It insures the contents of a farmer’s home as well as all of the selected aspects of the farm itself. As such, farm insurance is generally a big chunk of farm expenses. Still, farmers insurance is one of the most comprehensive types of insurance since it combines the perks of home and business insurance into one set bundle.

1. 1. Pushing Through Pain
      Not all farmers are riding horses and swinging backhoes anymore, but they still put in long laborious hours to get the crops they need. Give it a go someday, it’s no picnic.

1. 1. IoT
      The Internet of Things is a term you’re more likely to hear in silicon valley circles, but it actually refers to technology that farmers use every day. IoT devices are objects that connect to the internet and interact with each other. So, if a farmer gets a notification of a cow’s behavior from sensors placed in the barn, they can adjust the heat or air circulation to better accommodate that animal from their phones. Drones and other unmanned technology plays a big role in agriculture today.

1. Specialization
   The days where you would see pigs, chickens, corn, and potatoes growing on one farm are a distant memory. Whatever the farm specializes in is generally the only thing that farm does. So a dairy farm sells only milk. A corn farm is responsible for only corn. This specialization allows farmers to optimize their technology and produce better than other diversified farms.

Times change, but farmers still provide an incredible service that keeps America on track and full of yummy food. So, as they deal with the farm insurance companies and the ever beating sun, we can sit back and be thankful