21St Century Farming on a Grand Scale
American farms today are big agribusinesses using technological breakthroughs in satellite imagery, hybrid seeds, improved fertilizers and pesticides, and bigger equipment and implements, to produce more food for more people with fewer farms.
Today there are fewer American farmers, but farm yields are higher than ever before.
With ultra-powerful tractors and other farm equipment, plus modern farming technology and techniques, farmers are now producing more product on less acreage in far fewer hours. For example, look how the effort and acreage needed to produce of 100 bushels of corn has changed:
€ 1850: 75-90 labor-hours on 2-1/2 acres
€ 1945: 10-14 labor-hours on 2 acres
€ 1987: 2-3/4 labor-hours on 1-1/8 acre
Each farm supplied food for 9.8 Americans in 1930. By 1990, that ratio had skyrocketed to one farm supplying food for every 100 Americans.
Technical and equipment advances have improved farming efficiency and productivity to the point that a single person can farm 740 acres. Compare that to 1890, when the maximum amount one person could farm was 27.5 acres.
And just how much has the number of farmers in this country shrunk? In 1790, farmers made up 90% of America's laborers, when the total population of the country was less than four million people. Two hundred years later in 1990, farmers were only 2.6% of the labor force. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today only 1 % of the 285 million people in the U.S. are farmers.
Farming changed little from the ancient times to the 1700s.
In the late 1700s, Americans farmed much as their ancestors had for thousands of years. Farm life, hard as it was, created an independent, never-give-up, hardy and determined people, able to face the challenges of growing both a new nation and the food for its citizens.
Oddly enough, the first cast iron plow, patented in 1797 was not well-received by farmers. Rumors spread that the new invention stimulated weed growth and actually €poisoned€ the soil.
A blacksmith named John Deere designed a steel plow in 1937. Another skilled blacksmith named William Parlin began making plows around 1842, going from farm to farm and selling the plows from his wagon. John Deere's factory was manufacturing 10,000 plows every year by 1855.
The most amazing change in the way farm work was done came with the invention of the tractor. A single farmer, relying on a 50 horsepower engine, could now work 50 acres in one day. And the more powerful tractors allowed the development of other labor-saving farm implements, letting the farmer plow, harrow, and sow the crop all at the same time.
U.S. consumers spend $547 billion for food produced by American farms and ranches.
Now many farmers take advantage of computer technology and use sophisticated satellite data to track and hone their farming practices and crop planning for maximum profitability. There are computers on 83% of all farms, according to agriculture facts collected by North Carolina State University.
Well-equipped larger farm operations are certainly taking the lead in today's market. Only 2.3% of American farms supply 50% of all farming products. But smaller to mid-sized farming operations are thinking outside the box, finding profitable niche markets like organic produce, out-of-season fruits grown in greenhouse for local markets, designer feeds, mushrooms, and other specialty items to stay competitive and profitable.
Bigger farms and larger output is made possible by using bigger and better equipment and farming techniques.
In order to stay productive on such a large scale, some farmers are sometimes using more equipment€" and larger equipment€" than ever before. The problems is that bigger farms require bigger buildings to house expensive, unwieldy farm machinery and equipment, offices, livestock, and crop storage.
The solution is prefabricated metal agricultural buildings.
A century ago a simple wood-framed barn was usually sufficient for the average farmer. Trees were abundant. Most farmers could build their own barns. A barn for your horse and milk cow was about all you needed. But successful farming today means immense, modern equipment- and immense, modern buildings- so metal buildings make more sense.
Pre-engineered steel buildings deliver the wide open space called for by today's mighty farm machinery. Steel is strong enough to support the frame without any interfering interior columns. Tall ridge heights and extra-wide doorframes and overhead doors make guiding cumbersome machinery about simple.
Metal buildings are a sound investment for the farm.
Farmers were some of the first customers for metal buildings.
Easy to erect, simple to maintain, strong, and long-lasting metal buildings found the American farmer to be an early ally in their quest for a piece of the agricultural building market.
Wood is organic, its characteristics inconsistent and hard to pin down. The physical properties of wood are conditional on many factors: species, size, shifting moisture content, age, even the seasonal differences where the tree was grown. Steel, however, as a man-made manufactured material, can be held to exacting tolerances, promising dependable quality, unwavering characteristics, consistency in shape, and reliability.
Standard sizes of steel buildings generally span up to 200' without needing interior columns. Even wider distances are possible with custom designing. Building heights up to 40' are standard. Even taller designs can be made available by custom order.
One metal building company in Texas (that ships all over North America), recently dispatched their largest project so far: a 1.1 million square foot manufacturing building bound for Mexico. Over 400 skylights were included in the order. The 255' x 500' x 42' monster structure took 30 trucks for delivery.
Standard overhead doors are available to 36' wide. Hydraulic doors and bi-fold style overhead doors may be purchased up to 60' wide, to accommodate large-scale farm machinery and equipment.
Farmers today watch their bottom line so, reasonably priced metal building kits are a practical solution for agribusinesses.
Steel farm buildings will meet or exceed the building codes of any location.
Any building you need can be built with steel. Need a place for crop or hay storage? A safe place for your tractors, trucks, trailers, cultivators, backhoes, combines, tillers, hay bailers, harvesters, and other implements? A machine shop to keep all your equipment running at top efficacy? A stable? A livestock or dairy barn? A hanger for your plane or crop-dusting operation? Office space?
The advantages of metal buildings are convincing.
Metal structures more resistant to damage from termites, earthquakes, high winds, mold, fire, lightning, and aging, than wood buildings.
Metal buildings are €green€ way to build, because steel is recycled countless times and still does not lose any of its strength or durability. All steel contains on average 68% recycled material.
Metal buildings are very energy efficient. Insulation options can be discussed at the time of order. Some companies offer upgrade insulation packages for maximum comfort (and minimum energy bills) in any climate controlled areas.
Farmers can rely on the strength and flexibility built into every prefab metal agribusiness structure.
Farms need bigger buildings to keep their essential equipment and support materials safe and secure. Built fast, built to last, a building as solid as steel; consider ordering prefab building kit for your next project.
Today there are fewer American farmers, but farm yields are higher than ever before.
With ultra-powerful tractors and other farm equipment, plus modern farming technology and techniques, farmers are now producing more product on less acreage in far fewer hours. For example, look how the effort and acreage needed to produce of 100 bushels of corn has changed:
€ 1850: 75-90 labor-hours on 2-1/2 acres
€ 1945: 10-14 labor-hours on 2 acres
€ 1987: 2-3/4 labor-hours on 1-1/8 acre
Each farm supplied food for 9.8 Americans in 1930. By 1990, that ratio had skyrocketed to one farm supplying food for every 100 Americans.
Technical and equipment advances have improved farming efficiency and productivity to the point that a single person can farm 740 acres. Compare that to 1890, when the maximum amount one person could farm was 27.5 acres.
And just how much has the number of farmers in this country shrunk? In 1790, farmers made up 90% of America's laborers, when the total population of the country was less than four million people. Two hundred years later in 1990, farmers were only 2.6% of the labor force. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), today only 1 % of the 285 million people in the U.S. are farmers.
Farming changed little from the ancient times to the 1700s.
In the late 1700s, Americans farmed much as their ancestors had for thousands of years. Farm life, hard as it was, created an independent, never-give-up, hardy and determined people, able to face the challenges of growing both a new nation and the food for its citizens.
Oddly enough, the first cast iron plow, patented in 1797 was not well-received by farmers. Rumors spread that the new invention stimulated weed growth and actually €poisoned€ the soil.
A blacksmith named John Deere designed a steel plow in 1937. Another skilled blacksmith named William Parlin began making plows around 1842, going from farm to farm and selling the plows from his wagon. John Deere's factory was manufacturing 10,000 plows every year by 1855.
The most amazing change in the way farm work was done came with the invention of the tractor. A single farmer, relying on a 50 horsepower engine, could now work 50 acres in one day. And the more powerful tractors allowed the development of other labor-saving farm implements, letting the farmer plow, harrow, and sow the crop all at the same time.
U.S. consumers spend $547 billion for food produced by American farms and ranches.
Now many farmers take advantage of computer technology and use sophisticated satellite data to track and hone their farming practices and crop planning for maximum profitability. There are computers on 83% of all farms, according to agriculture facts collected by North Carolina State University.
Well-equipped larger farm operations are certainly taking the lead in today's market. Only 2.3% of American farms supply 50% of all farming products. But smaller to mid-sized farming operations are thinking outside the box, finding profitable niche markets like organic produce, out-of-season fruits grown in greenhouse for local markets, designer feeds, mushrooms, and other specialty items to stay competitive and profitable.
Bigger farms and larger output is made possible by using bigger and better equipment and farming techniques.
In order to stay productive on such a large scale, some farmers are sometimes using more equipment€" and larger equipment€" than ever before. The problems is that bigger farms require bigger buildings to house expensive, unwieldy farm machinery and equipment, offices, livestock, and crop storage.
The solution is prefabricated metal agricultural buildings.
A century ago a simple wood-framed barn was usually sufficient for the average farmer. Trees were abundant. Most farmers could build their own barns. A barn for your horse and milk cow was about all you needed. But successful farming today means immense, modern equipment- and immense, modern buildings- so metal buildings make more sense.
Pre-engineered steel buildings deliver the wide open space called for by today's mighty farm machinery. Steel is strong enough to support the frame without any interfering interior columns. Tall ridge heights and extra-wide doorframes and overhead doors make guiding cumbersome machinery about simple.
Metal buildings are a sound investment for the farm.
Farmers were some of the first customers for metal buildings.
Easy to erect, simple to maintain, strong, and long-lasting metal buildings found the American farmer to be an early ally in their quest for a piece of the agricultural building market.
Wood is organic, its characteristics inconsistent and hard to pin down. The physical properties of wood are conditional on many factors: species, size, shifting moisture content, age, even the seasonal differences where the tree was grown. Steel, however, as a man-made manufactured material, can be held to exacting tolerances, promising dependable quality, unwavering characteristics, consistency in shape, and reliability.
Standard sizes of steel buildings generally span up to 200' without needing interior columns. Even wider distances are possible with custom designing. Building heights up to 40' are standard. Even taller designs can be made available by custom order.
One metal building company in Texas (that ships all over North America), recently dispatched their largest project so far: a 1.1 million square foot manufacturing building bound for Mexico. Over 400 skylights were included in the order. The 255' x 500' x 42' monster structure took 30 trucks for delivery.
Standard overhead doors are available to 36' wide. Hydraulic doors and bi-fold style overhead doors may be purchased up to 60' wide, to accommodate large-scale farm machinery and equipment.
Farmers today watch their bottom line so, reasonably priced metal building kits are a practical solution for agribusinesses.
Steel farm buildings will meet or exceed the building codes of any location.
Any building you need can be built with steel. Need a place for crop or hay storage? A safe place for your tractors, trucks, trailers, cultivators, backhoes, combines, tillers, hay bailers, harvesters, and other implements? A machine shop to keep all your equipment running at top efficacy? A stable? A livestock or dairy barn? A hanger for your plane or crop-dusting operation? Office space?
The advantages of metal buildings are convincing.
Metal structures more resistant to damage from termites, earthquakes, high winds, mold, fire, lightning, and aging, than wood buildings.
Metal buildings are €green€ way to build, because steel is recycled countless times and still does not lose any of its strength or durability. All steel contains on average 68% recycled material.
Metal buildings are very energy efficient. Insulation options can be discussed at the time of order. Some companies offer upgrade insulation packages for maximum comfort (and minimum energy bills) in any climate controlled areas.
Farmers can rely on the strength and flexibility built into every prefab metal agribusiness structure.
Farms need bigger buildings to keep their essential equipment and support materials safe and secure. Built fast, built to last, a building as solid as steel; consider ordering prefab building kit for your next project.
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