Technology for Small Farms
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
For small farms, staying afloat can sometimes feel like walking a tightrope – being too small to rival big operations yet too large to manage without major labor and equipment resources. Small-scale Oregon farmer Chris Jagger explains what changes he believes are necessary for small farms to be successful.
Jagger… “ I think that 10 years ago when labor availability was a lot more, um, it existed. I think that it's a real challenge. I don't think that the technology is there yet. I've, that's part of my research this last year was trying to see if there was a way that I could grow on seven to 10 acres with the few people I have, and then use, you know, some autonomous equipment and some kind of higher value equipment, like to see if there is possibilities. And I don't think the technology's there yet for our scale of farm. Um, I think the technologies are starting to be there for large farms, you know. You have, like the carbon folks, but that's not a thing that works on a small scale yet. And so that's kind of my vision actually for the future is that a seven to 10-acre owner-operator kind of operation could be done with a couple really well-paid help employees and a fleet of autonomous tractors. But it seems like we're a ways out for that.”
Jagger and his wife have been operating their farm since 2004, growing on around 7 acres.
