High tech found down on the farm

Agriculture is one of Nevada’s most significant industries, annually generating more than half a billion dollars and over $100 million in exports, according to state statistics. Critical to the growth of this key Silver State industry, farmers and ranchers, are embracing the use of technology to manage farm operations more efficiently, increase production and utilize resources, while protecting the environment.

In Yerington, the Snyder family has been exploring, innovating and adopting new agricultural techniques for generations. There have been Snyders farming and ranching along the Walker River in Nevada’s fertile Mason Valley since 1862 when ancestor Charles Snyder came to the Valley from Pennsylvania to homestead what today is designated a Nevada Centennial Ranch.

The fifth generation of this close-knit family is now 10 strong. Working along side her dad, Eddie (90 years young and still at his desk daily), sister Lucy Rechel has spent more than 20 years running the Snyder Livestock Company, a custom feeding operation for prime breeding stock her dad launched in the ‘60s.

Brother John Snyder serves as the in-house IT expert, the guy tasked with maintaining all the critical computer hardware and software systems that do everything from controlling irrigation, and keeping track of crop inputs to measuring and tracking the daily feed consumption in thousands of cattle.

The Snyder’s operation is an example of how the U.S. cattle industry is leading the way on a global level, because of technological advances, according to Dave Stix Jr. of Fernley, president of the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association. “We are putting out a better product that people can afford because of improvements in genetics, disease prevention and nutrition,” he said.

Snyder Livestock annually manages up to 6000 head of bulls and heifers with a humane, low-stress philosophy where everyone working with the cattle has been Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) trained and certified. That means the cattle are raised under strong guidelines that blend technology with good science, agricultural and husbandry best practices, effective record keeping and protection of herd. “Everything we do is aimed at producing healthier, happier cattle for our customers and the consumer,” Rechel said.

Technology plays a primary role in feeding such huge numbers of cattle. Rechel works with a professional bovine nutritionist who calculates the rations necessary for each animal to achieve the most desirable, balanced weight/muscle. Those ration mixes, which are blended with computerized equipment to ensure accurate measurements, may contain high fiber grasses, hay, and a variety of grains including oats and corn.

Starting in 2006, Rechel says they started managing every step in the feeding process using electronic ear ID tags and sophisticated computer monitoring. An electronic feed measurement system tracks the consumption of each animal “to the mouthful” and weight is regularly evaluated to identify feed efficiency numbers and test bloodlines to determine which produces maximum growth.

The Snyders say the custom feeding program is the most economically sound method to meet the ongoing worldwide demand for beef, especially when access to water and grasslands is diminishing. By tracking which cattle grow better on less feed, producers can make more informed decisions on genetic selection, to deliver the best quality meat at affordable prices. “Cattle grow more slowly on grass and the method is mostly suitable for expensive niche markets,” she said about the expanding grass-fed trend. “While even grain fed cattle spend about 60 percent of their life on grass, Americans love the taste of grain fed beef, which is why the demand is so high — the fat makes it more flavorful and juicer. What we’re producing is totally wholesome, totally healthy and totally safe.”

Computer controlled equipment is not just enhancing the family’s cattle business, according to Snyder. Ag tech is making their crop production more efficient and cost effective on hundreds of acres of onions, as well as garlic, alfalfa, oat hay. A new venture is growing fruits and other vegetables for local markets in hoop houses.

Technology is used for regulation of temperatures in the onion shed and automating processes to manage the flow during packaging operations.

“We use a sophisticated optical sorter which takes pictures of each onion to identify by color and size, which then feeds into our automatic bagging and boxing equipment,” he said. Hand-held devices help with workforce management as well, especially during hectic harvest seasons. “We can gather information in the field and it’s fed directly into our payroll system.”

Farmers and ranchers have to be pretty resourceful, so Snyder has developed software systems that are specific to the needs of the family business. Several years ago he created a program which tracks every chemical that gets used in the fields and also monitors all their water usage — highly critical data during a drought. Although he’s now replaced it, he also used his IT know-how to build software that streamlined and tracked the shipping the process for more than 500,000 bags and boxes of onions traveling to U.S. wholesale and retail operations each year.

But he says the biggest advantage of new technology for today’s farmer and rancher is the power of the Internet. “There’s a wealth of knowledge online, a way to gain from other’s experience,“ he said. “It (the Internet) is pretty amazing for solving problems, like finding the right part to fix an older, specialized piece of equipment. We have to utilize every tool we can to be more competitive.”