|
Castleford Man Wrote the Code for Tracking Feed Rations on His BlackBerry. [The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho]
(Times-News (Twin Falls, ID) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 12--CASTLEFORD --Five years ago, cell phone service was sketchy at best on Mike Bulkley's farm in Castleford. Today, he's rarely seen without his BlackBerry.
Whether he's zipping around on a four-wheeler or feeding heifers, he's got his cell phone handy. He checks the latest grain prices throughout the day and keeps an eye on weather reports.
"I don't have much time to spend in the office, so this kind of becomes my office," said Bulkley, holding up his phone.
In an effort to increase efficiency, Bulkley even wrote a computer code that allows his BlackBerry to communicate directly with his home computer.
A little background on his operations:Bulkley owns a replacement heifer ranch, meaning he raises cows for other farmers until they're old enough to be milked.
Heifers are constantly coming and going from J.B.M. Farms, and the daily feed orders change with each transfer. Bulkley has long kept track of feed rations on a spreadsheet on his home computer.
He decided his life would be a lot easier if he could update the spreadsheets using his BlackBerry rather than making notes to himself on paper throughout the day and updating the file at night.
With a can-do spirit typical of farmers, Bulkley decided he would figure out a way to do just that, even if tech whizes he spoke with initially told him it was impossible.
"Ihad to study it and do it because I knew this would be valuable to me,"he said.
Bulkley read books about writing computer codes. He studied almost every night one winter and half of the next before he wrote a code that allowed him to communicate with his computer by cell phone.
Now, his feed program runs more smoothly than ever.
"The computer picks it up in my email, updates the spreadsheet, and automatically prints out the sheets for (my employee who feeds the cows) the next morning,"Bulkley said. "It's really simplified the process."
Mike Irish, owner of Irish Farms in Buhl, and Mark Henslee, owner of Salmon Falls Land and Livestock, are two other Magic Valley farmers using recent technology.
Both use tractors equipped with the Global Positioning System, which allow the operator to swivel around in the chair and monitor equipment while the tractor steers itself in a straight line.
"We can plant at night if we need to," Henslee said. "We can plant 24 hours a day now."
Using a tractor with GPScuts down on operator fatigue.
"This is a big step for this area,"Irish said of the technology. "It's a survival technique for us now, to become more efficient. We can't do it the old-fashioned way anymore. We have to make everything count."
And to think, Bulkley mused, a mere five years ago he had to drive down the road, over a canal, if he wanted to place a cell phone call.
___
(c)2012 The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho)
Visit The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho) at magicvalley.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
TMCnet LOGIN
Webinars
