The following will be something I have felt and seen (or not felt and seen?) What phenomenal shifts in agriculture have occurred since my birth in 1942.
I recall pigs and chickens were an integral part of every homestead. Chickens were “free range” and the pigs were permitted fenced lots. Change occurred across America; chickens and piglets are grown to their breeders’ designed end weight largely in buildings thought to be best for the species end use, delicious food.
Crops to have changed with “the times.” Bovine roamed grassy soils of all descriptions from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Until feed grain production enticed farmers to shift away from sustainable grasslands. The change resulted in much erosion — visible from any windshield — seems not to have had an impact on producers, earlier called “the original environmentalist.”
Visible to all passing through Highland Township on U.S. Highway 34, is another change in the application of how society uses the wind. My earlier relatives used windmills to pump groundwater contained in wells to supply water for the family and the farm animals. Change happened; SIRWA now offers water to any style of faucet.
Doting the horizon, easily on clear nights, red lights blink to warn of the tall towers of a wind turbine. I can recall the use of one such tower meant to warn of KSIB’s beaming a radio signal. Change happened again: How many people now use the SIRIUS signal for radio reception from space?
Less noticeable is the change coming in how we “fuel” our automobiles. To re-energize them we can just plug them in. The change away from renewables is underway. How now to use the excess of grain on hand, temporary though it may be?
Covering the fragile soil with a mechanism, not “new,” but redesigned to capture sunlight and directly convert to electrical impulses. The solar farm of the future is upon us all. Look no further than the roofs of homes and businesses. Change your stock holdings in photovoltaic cells and buy the technology using cadmium telluride.