From drones scouting fields to real-time data-driven decisions, the embrace of technology by U.S. agriculture is expanding, with Nebraska at the forefront. A recent USDA-NASS survey shows 77% of Nebraska's farmers and ranchers now integrate computers into their work, a jump from 74% in 2021. Moreover, 85% use smartphones, up by five points in two years.

Larry Van Tassell is a professor in Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and director of UNL’s Center for Agricultural Profitability. As a graduate student, he helped survey producers in the 1980s – just as personal computers were beginning to emerge – about their attitudes toward adapting technology to help manage their operations. He dove into the new report, contrasting today’s attitudes about tech in ag with the skepticism he found among producers 30 to 40 years ago, in a new article on our website, cap.unl.edu. He’s here to talk more about the survey, how the perception of using technology in agriculture has evolved, and the important role it plays in today’s decision-making environment.

Read more at: https://cap.unl.edu/management/technology-use-growing-nebraska-farms-and-ranches.