By BECKY MARTINEZ

bmartinez@crescent-news.com

Rapid changes in science and technology "came to roost on the farm," said Bill Rohrs, a retired Defiance County Ohio State University Extension agriculture agent.

"The wheel was invented in 3500 BC. We really didn"t do much in the way of technology except in the last century. Someone who"s about 80 years old probably saw it "all."

"I remember coming home telling my brothers I heard about this thing. It"s like radio but it has a picture with it. They thought I was nuts."

As far as technology goes, Rohrs said he believes we have been blessed.

"Family farms aren"t becoming extinct, they are just bigger. With today"s technology and equipment, they can farm more acreage and do it better. They needed to get better with bigger and they"ve done exactly that," said Rohrs.

As a youth, Rohrs remembers using a team of horses to pull equipment across the field. There was no tractor. "We got our first combine in the late "40s," he recalled.

He explained an old adage that it takes 40 years for something to happen. "This is kind of true going from horse to tractor, from open pollinated to hybrid seed corn. It took about 40 years for these things to become accepted, to become the norm."

The biggest advancement Rohrs has noticed lately is the total guidance system utilizing the Global Positioning System (GPS). With this, the machinery will move through the field with little control from the operator. "It seems like such a luxury. Really, the longer it"s around, the less expensive it becomes."

Rohrs explained the guidance system with GPS can be used to help with planting, tilling and applying pesticide. Producers avoid overlapping seed or sprays -- making the business more economical and environmentally friendly.

"The value (of something) doesn"t really become evident until years after it"s been used," he said. "Farmers can work 12 hours a day instead of being dog tired after 10 (p.m.), working in the sun, wind, dirt.

"We used to plow, work the soil up with a disk. By the time we were ready to plant we had already been across the field three times. Now, with technology, we can plant on the first trip, mostly the second trip. With the limited number of trips more gets done."

Rohrs said farmers can plant double the crop in the same time or less with fewer hands.

Advancements in seed technology is another big change in agriculture. "The varieties are very strong and very productive. Equipment is better at putting the seed where you want it uniformly. Together, those things have greatly increased yields," said Rohrs.

Then there are computers.

"Through the "70s, any agriculture information came to the agents, to the extension office. It was our job to get this out to the farmers. But with the computer, the farmers have access to the same information we get, on the same day, from the same source.

"We still deliver information, but on a different level. We are able to talk the same language right away. Producers can ask Bruce (Clevenger, current ag educator with OSU Extension, Defiance County), "So, what do you think?" Because he sees other counties he has a little more information," said Rohrs.

With the ever increasing news on ethanol and biodiesel fuels, Rohrs admitted they are tough subjects. "Where it is good for one person, it may not be good for another. Like everything else, you first have to learn how to use the technology and science to have it be a benefit. Research and development -- it"s necessary to spend a lot of time on this. What may turn out to be the big benefit may not be what was originally planned, sometimes.

"We just need to keep plugging, keep trying things until you hit on something. Something will happen. These things are good. It"s progress."

Other changes and advances have made it easier on farmers physically, therefore, they may work years longer.

"The equipment allows a farmer to farm up to an older age, the work isn"t so physically demanding. Fertilizer bags were 100 pounds when I was a kid, now they"re maybe 50 pounds. Straw bales were 100 pounds, now about 35. They are really light compared to what they were," he said, adding that with medical advances, a farmer"s health is better.

"A lot of change makes farming more desirable. Farmers aren"t happy when they need to quit farming. They love what they do."

Rohrs started at the Defiance County OSU Extension Office in 7 as the 4-H agent. When Fred Wise retired in 9, he became the agriculture agent and remained in that position until 7.

"The farmers I worked with were really good. ... Local dealers, I need to say, they, too, are very knowledgeable. They make quick decisions on a daily basis. They were fun to work with."