read about in this blog.


For a few years, our family has tended to a small slice of heaven in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The rolling hills give the land beauty, and our animals and crops help contribute to its life. Garlic is our primary crop and will be a frequent topic of this blog.



Friday, June 15, 2012

GPS farming gets a foot in the door in Western Virginia

Technology moves at different paces in different parts of the country. While the Midwestern farm-heavy states have been using GPS-pegged devices such as the autosteer for several years now, more mountainous areas, like Western Virginia, haven't been so quick to embrace the technology. Perhaps, because the autosteer is so commonly thought of as being a "flat land" tool, farmers in the western part of the state don't see it as being valuable. And with a hefty up-front cost, if a person isn't sure the investment isn't going to pay off, I can understand their hesitancy.

However, there is one family, Smith Farms, who is making the most of their newly installed autosteer -- as well as showing their peers how GPS can be beneficial (easier working conditions and more profit) to their operations.

I wrote more about it in a story for The Roanoke Times:
http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/309574



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