We asked Alleghany County farmer Della Deal how she has incorporated technology on her farm:
We use many technological tools on our farm. GIS mapping and Google Earth Pro allow us to pinpoint and map locations in the field. We’ve begun experimenting with drone surveys of our fields, using color filtering, to assess tree health and harvest inventory. Automation in our nursery reduces labor costs. Like other Christmas tree and nursery stock growers, we use tractors, balers, loading elevators and other typical tools. We look forward to more technological advances in Christmas tree and nursery production.
In the office, we’ve incorporated basic best practices for what would be referred to as “mission critical” IT, focusing on redundancy and reliability. We’ve implemented off-site backups in case of disasters, something I encourage all farmers to do. We update ours every six months and keep it in a safety deposit box. We’ve integrated generators to maintain operations during power loss. We use a wireless network bridge to our loading yard to provide seamless network and internet access, and cameras that allow us to monitor the farm from the office or our phones.
About the Farmer: Della Deal and her family operate Smokey Holler Tree Farm in Alleghany County. In addition to Christmas trees, they specialize in wreaths, garland, and both field-grown and potted nursery stock.
See more: Ask a Farmer: Why Farming?
