From Moon Farming to Satellite Farming

Title of the Presentation: From Moon Farming to Satellite Farming: The Past and Future of Agriculture

Some years ago I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the 100th-anniversary conference of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientist. I was asked to identify the major advancements in agriculture during the past 100 years. I accepted this assignment and then went to work on the presentation. I spent considerable time researching this topic to determine the 10 most important “causes” of the increased productivity of American agriculture.  When the audience said I had done a great job in identifying the pivotal events, I was relieved.

Since then I have made this presentation to numerous audiences ranging from the Bumpers College of Agriculture at the University of Arkansas on their 100th anniversary to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture (the oldest agricultural organization in America dating back to 1785).

At some point in time, I was asked to predict the 10 major challenges/developments that would occur in agriculture during the next 100 years. I did that and some of my predictions have already proven true (such as the rise of women in agriculture).

In this presentation, I identify the 10 major events of the past 100 years in agriculture and then offer 10 predictions concerning the future of agriculture.  Read more about this presentation in The Chautauquan Daily -see page 3)