1. Finding the Right Balance:
Technology vs. Tradition
New York Farm Bureau
Young Farmers & Ranchers
Leadership Conference
March 12, 2011
By Cari B. Rincker, Esq.

2. Finding the Right Balance
• Agriculture industry has always used
technological advancements
• This isn’t your grandfather’s industry anymore
• Use the right technology according to your
needs
• Technology is necessary to feed the world
• The use of technology should not replace
traditional values

3. 6 Revolutions of Crop Production
• Mechanical – horsepower to tractor
• Hybrid Seed- from 25 bu corn (1930’s) to
140 bu corn
• Fertilizers- Ammunition plants built during
WWII were converted into factories for
making nitrogen fertilizer
• Herbicides, Insecticides, & Fungicides-
Used to control weeds, insects and
diseases that reduce crop growth
• Biotechnology- insect, herbicide & disease
resistant seeds
• Information Technology- computers, Iowa Farm
software, and satellites; precision
agriculture (PA)

4. Changes in the Livestock Industry
• Livestock operations have become
more specialized and efficient
• Economics has driven change
– Cost of land
– Labor costs
– Capital Investment
– Environmental regulations
• Computer technology has increased Photograph taken at
the amount and changed the way Marc King’s in
Big Timber, Montana
data is collected

5. Our Livestock Has Improved Over Time…

6. …So in a Sense, the Use of Technology
in Agriculture Is Traditional
• Farmland erosion has reduced by 43% in the
last 20 yrs
• In 1940, 1 farmer produced enough food for
19 people
– In 1970, 1 farmer: 73 people
– In 2010, 1 farmer: 155 people
• U.S. farmers provide 18% of the world’s food
using 10% of our farmland

7. “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
-Bob Dylan (1965)
• Generation Y currently out-numbers
Baby-Boomers
• Adoption rates for internet-based
applications such as social media are
much faster than traditional
technological adoption rates
• Shift in the exchange of information
– Mobile data traffic will increase 39 fold by
2014
– Smart phone usage in ag production is at
46% whereas the general public is at 25%

8. Younger Leadership
• Between 2007 and 2030, 80
million U.S. employees will
retire
• A 2008 Iowa State University
survey of Midwest Farm
families revealed that 42% of
farmers planned to retire
within 5 years
• There will be a shift in
leadership on our farms,
ranches, and agribusiness

9. Use of Technology Does Not Mean We
Are “Big Bad Corporate Agriculture”
• Use of technology can be viewed negatively to
consumers and/or the international
community
– In the name of “sustainability,” Haitian zealots burnt donated non-GM
seed because it came from Monsanto
• http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/200121/haitian-social-justice-groups-want-burn-aid/jeff-stier

10. We Need Technology To Feed A
Growing Population
• According to the Food and
Agriculture Organization
(“FAO”) of the United Nations,
global agriculture production
must increase 70% by 2050
while adapting to climate
change
• From 1970 to 2010, the
population of the world
doubled while farmland
acreage stayed the same

11. Educating the Public About the Use of
Technology in Agriculture
• Social media adds transparency and
approachability
• Talking to your community about agriculture
production
– Church
– School
– Grocery Store
• Elevator speech

12. It Isn’t Us vs. Them
• We are all Team Agriculture
– It isn’t Big Ag vs. Small Ag
– It isn’t Organic vs. Non-Organic
– It isn’t the Cattle Industry vs.
Corn Industry
– It isn’t the slow food/local food
movement vs. conventional
agriculture
• We need all kinds of agriculture
to meet the food demands of Photo of a Rooftop Community
growing world population Garden in Brooklyn, New York
• We aren’t in a fight against the
consumers- they are our
customers

13. No Need To Keep Up with the Joneses
• Don’t use technology for the
sake of using technology
• Use your business cap: make
sure that the technology you
choose is cost-effective
• Judicially decide what
technology to use based on
your specific operation,
budget, brand, and client
base

14. Technology Should Not Replace
Common Sense
• Technology cannot
replace knowledge
and experience
• Technology cannot
replace the 5 senses
Curt Rincker checking his turnips

15. Old Farmer Adages
• “Red Sky At Night, Sailor’s
Delight; Red Sky at Morn,
Sailor’s Be Warned”
– “Sundog in the morning,
sailor’s take warning.
Sundog at night, sailor’s
delight.”
Photo of a Rural Nebraska Sundog

16. Like My Grandpa Said…
• “Ring Around the Moon, Rain Come Soon”
– Star inside of the moon ring then it will
rain in one day
• “Thunder in January; Frost in May”
• “If it rains while the sun is shining then it will
rain the same time tomorrow.”
• “The longer it is dry the longer it will be wet.”
• Wean cattle by the moon.
• Don’t plant beans before May 1.

17. With the Use of Technology, Don’t Forget the
Values That Make This Industry Great
• Agriculture is a
community
• Family values
• Hard work
• Helping a neighbor

18. Cattle Brandings
Photo taken from a Crimm Bros. branding
near Casper, Wyoming

19. Helping Neighbors Bail Hay

20. Barn Raisings
Photo of an Amish Barn Raising in Nebraska

21. Livestock Sales
Photo taken from the Illini Elite Cattle Sale
at Rincker Simmentals in Shelbyville, Illinois

22. Livestock Shows Are a Family Affair
Photo taken at North Central American Junior
Simmental Association Regional in
Bloomington, Illinois

23. Don’t Forget Your Real Life Relationships
• With the use of social
media, don’t forget to
network with people face-
to-face
• Be an advocate for
agriculture online and in
your community
• Don’t let technology
adversely affect family-time

24. My Hope For the New Generation of
Farmers and Agri-Business People
• Let’s be proud of our heritage
yet not fear advances in
technology
• Let’s be prepared to take over
the farms and agribusinesses of
our parents and grandparents
• Let’s help educate the public on
positive attributes of technology
in agriculture
• Let’s all work together for the
betterment of the agriculture

25. Contact Me
• Send Me Mail: 11 Broadway, Suite 615, New York, NY 10004
• Call Me: (212) 427-2049 (office) or (646) 717-2659 (cellular)
• Fax Me: (212) 202-60777
• Email Me: cari@rinckerlaw.com
• Visit My Website: www.rinckerlaw.com and www.rincker.com
• Read My Food & Ag Law Blog: www.rinckerlaw.com/blog
• Tweet Me: @CariRincker @RinckerLaw
• Facebook Me: www.facebook.com/rinckerlaw and
www.facebook.com/cari.rincker
• Link to Me: http://www.linkedin.com/in/caririncker
• Skype Me: Cari.Rincker (646) 257-2105
• IM me: Cari.Rincker (GChat), CariBrett (AIM), Cari.Rincker (iChat)