Expo showcases new farming technology - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Expo showcases new farming technology

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MOULTRIE, GA (WALB) -

The Sunbelt Agriculture Expo Field Day gave farmers a peek of what is to come in October when hundreds of thousands will show up Moultrie to witness crops in all their glory.

"This is a great sneak preview. You can come and see the crops in the growing stages today and see what's going to be harvested in October at the big show," said Sunbelt Agricultural Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock.

The field day showcased new technology from tractors that have better emissions to crops that were genetically mutated to withstand harsh conditions, such as a drought.

"We're always looking for ways to genetically modify those seeds to make them more drought tolerant, which again, allows us to use less water and be better environmental stewards," said Blalock.

So far this year South Georgia farmers are having a tough time battling the drought.

That's why one of the biggest attractions at today's expo was water irrigation.

One water company representative even said they're coming out with new technology to help conserve our most precious resource.

Mike Mills of Reinke Manufacturing Company says his machine changes the dynamic of irrigation.

"What we're doing is applying overhead water in a precise fashion. We're using computer technology, GPS technology and field monitoring technology. So we know where water needs to be applied, where the center pivot is and how we can adjust the center pivot so we're not applying water where it doesn't need to go," said Mills.

Mills says the new technology will save farmers money.

"Farmers are realizing more and more pressure is on to keep their input cost down. They need to be more effective and efficient with their time, so investment in this technology allows the center pivot to take over a lot of that manual maintenance and operation," said Mills.

Farmers hope technologies like this and the others on display today will help in future scenarios like the one we're currently in.

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