• Learn About IL Agriculture Menu
• Learn About IL Agriculture
• What We Grow and Raise: The Illinois Supply Chain
  • What We Grow and Raise: The Illinois Supply Chain Overview
  • Family Farms & the Economy
  • The Crops We Grow
  • The Animals We Raise
  • Creating Clean Energy
  • Technological Advances
  • Agricultural Education
  • Partners Podcast
  • Bring It Home
  • The Ultimate Summer Grilling Guide
  • Game Day Grilling
  • From Farm to Freezer
  • Holiday Food for Thought
  • Grilled to Perfection
  • Pumpkins
  • Pork
  • Healthy Lunch Options
  • Charcuterie Board Ideas
• Protecting Natural Resources
• Local Food
  • Local Food Overview
  • Shop Local
    • Shop Local Overview
    • Farmers Markets
  • Cultivating Our Communities
    • Cultivating Our Communities Overview
    • Featured Food and Farm Businesses
  • Illinois Specialty Crops
  • Farmers Market Food Safety Guide
  • Starting a Farmers Market in Your Community
• Fields Apart Rooted Together

Technological Advances

Technology is now a vital part of all of our lives. Things are no different on the farm.

New technology is improving the ability to farm more sustainably. Drones can provide aerial views of fields to evaluate crop health. Precise tools help with careful fertilizer application. The use of tools like these allow farmers to reduce the inputs they need to raise a crop. Biotechnology is another important tool farmers use to produce more abundant food sustainably. Genetically modified foods are proven to be as safe and nutritious as non-genetically modified food.

GMO crops have helped farmers increase yields while decreasing pesticide applications by 8%, benefitting consumers by minimizing impacts on the environment. GMO crops allow the widespread use of non-till agriculture, decreasing soil erosion in the U.S. by at least one billion tons a year, which benefits everyone by improving water quality.

Modern crop protection products also contribute positive outcomes for consumers. U.S. farmers now produce four times as much corn and wheat as they did in the early 1990s while using the same amount of farmland.

Technology has changed and improved farming just like it has changed and improved the rest of our lives. Modern agriculture, through the use of new technologies, is sustainable agriculture.