It is no secret that many farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Thankfully, a record number of U.S. men and women are taking steps to do something about it. Buying locally grown fruits and vegetables and supporting farmers markets is more popular than ever. More restaurant owners are adopting farm-to-table models, or purchasing the vast majority of their ingredients from local farms. These are not the only groups and companies lending a hand to farmers, however. Who else is doing their part?
Gear Manufacturing Companies Lend Their Support
You barely need to skim the pages of The Grapes Of Wrath to get a pretty clear understanding that the old methods of farming (i.e. by hand) were agonizingly slow and inefficient. Even the most basic farm equipment and machinery was a complete game changer. Relatively simple tools, such as seed drills, hand-pushed broadcast spreaders, and manual tillers significantly sped up the process. As with any other business, a larger output generally leads to greater farming profits. Smaller parts, like spur gears (typically used with worm gears) and steel shafts made it all possible. These gears have a specific number of teeth for each function or task — with some teeth on the outside (often called an external gear). In the end, these small parts and gears changed the world of farming forever.
Farmers Get Tech-Savvy
There may be even brighter times ahead. Custom gears, new parts, and advanced technologies are helping farmers work as precisely and profitably as possible. New farm equipment is pretty high-tech: “The farm revolution begins with satellite and data connections and sensors that translate to information that is up-to-the-minute, on-demand and at a farmer’s fingertips via GPS monitoring and mapping systems,” USA Today writes. Seeders, planters, and tillers work in much the same way — only with accurate weighing and real-time data reporting.
Buying locally grown fruits and vegetables is always a good thing — but it takes more for farmers to truly thrive. Manual farming equipment and new, high-tech farming machinery with custom gears has revolutionized the industry, painting a hopeful and bright future.