Shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com March 12, 2013 • Page 10 Missouri Valley Shopper AG GUIDE 2013 Challenges facing farmers today and tomorrow Though farming was once big business in the United States, by 2012 less than 1 percent of Americans were professional farmers. Many challenges face today's farmers, many of which are largely unknown to the general public. Many people have an outdated view of a farm as a small, family-owned and operated parcel of land where livestock is raised in open pens and crops are hand-harvested when ripe. The reality is that modernday farms have had to overhaul operations to meet demand and remain competitively priced while adapting to the everchanging ways technology infiltrates all parts of life. Each of these factors present obstacles for today's farmers. Technology Rural farming communities are expected to make an effort to integrate modern technology into an industry that has been around for centuries. But such a transition in rural areas, where communications systems may not be From Garages to Shops See us for all your Farm Needs. as up-to-date as those in urban areas, is not always so easy. According to the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council, a shift from a resourcebased to an informationbased economy, compounded by the rapid introduction and expansion of new technology in the workplace, has altered farm operation and the skills in demand. Older 2004 FREIGHTLINER 430 HP Detroit - 10 Speed Transmission Air Ride Suspension - 446,000 miles $29,500 1998 DAKOTA GRAIN TRAILER 24’ Long - Spring Suspension Roll Tarp 2007 INTL. 4300 210 HP Diesel - 5 Speed Automatic 26’ Van Body $16,000 2009 DAKOTA GRAIN TRAILER 41’ Long - Spring Suspension Roll Tarp $24,000 $7,500 trucktrailerinc.com TRUCK TRAILER SALES & SERVICE, INC. East Hwy. 50, Yankton, SD • 605-665-7952 ? CHALLENGES, Page 11 Yankton, SD Hwy. 50 665-3762 (800)952-2424 jpravecek@fredhaar.com Freeman, SD Wagner, SD Hwy. 81 Hwy. 46 925-4241 384-4580 (800)251-6912 (888)384-4580 admin@fredhaar.com alhaar@fredhaar.com Mead Lumber • 2409 Broadway, Yankton • 605-665-9651 www.deerequipment.com