COVERSTORY
When technology and
farming converge
FOOD 2.0
Right: The screens in
Scott Wagner’s GPS
combine track yield
data in real time as
he harvests corn.
By Hana Medina
DEEP IN NEBRASKA’S CORN BELT, family farmer and Costco
supplier Scott Wagner is in the cab of his GPS-guided John
Deere combine, harvesting the last of his corn crop. He
keeps his hands off the wheel—the combine is driving
autonomously. It impressively straddles eight rows at a time,
removing corn from the stalks, then shucking and shelling it.
Once the storage area is full, the press of a button creates a
cascade of kernels from the combine into a separate tractor
bed being driven alongside Wagner.
“My grandfather, when he used to do it, well, he’d have
a horse and a little box, and he would [harvest] by hand and
throw it in,” says Wagner. “And then all the neighbors would
get together [with] this little machine that would shell it.”
Automatically harvesting corn isn’t all his combine is
doing. Seven different screens blink and flash as they collect
all sorts of data points, measuring the productivity of each
acre and mapping the topography of his land. These are
technologies his grandfather certainly didn’t have. The information will ultimately help Wagner operate more efficiently.
It’s the future of farming, because it has to be.
Farmers face an ever-expanding global population, labor
shortages, environmental challenges, sustainability and food
safety concerns, and, of course, the pressure to stay competitive. These issues are felt from the smallest family farm to the
largest growing operations. Many growers, however, are turning to technology to help overcome many of these obstacles.
Just as the first tractors created efficiencies in the field,
so are the new technologies emerging today. iPads, drones,
GPS systems, optical sorters, artificial intelligence, datadriven processes and much more are taking their place
alongside shovels and shears. In some cases, technology is
eliminating the traditional field altogether. The results allow
for smarter labor practices, fewer environmental impacts and
safer food-handling processes. In all cases, the introduction
of technology is helping farmers grow more with less.
Jeff Lyons, Costco’s senior vice president of fresh foods,
says agri-tech (a combination of agriculture and technology)
is important for Costco, and also for the future of the global
food supply. “Not only does the United States count on [the]
United States’ farmers, but the world does,” he says. “The
world needs food, and we’re the greatest producer in the
world on certain products. The benefit to the world is that
U.S. farmers are continually technologically advancing to
drive costs down so that they can meet the growing need.
That means investing in technology and equipment.”
The Connection met with several Costco suppliers who
are shattering traditional ideas of what it means to put food
on your table. Here’s what just four of them are doing. 
32 The Costco Connection APRIL 2018
USp32_37_Farming_R1.indd 32
3/14/18 11:53 AM
DEE-VIRG INC.
SCOTT WAGNER’S FAMILY FARM is located in Hooper,
Nebraska, about an hour outside Omaha. You must
navigate several miles of dirt roads, dodging trucks
and other farm equipment, to reach it. Wagner primarily grows conventional seed and white corn,
and some soybeans. He will soon raise chickens and
also provide feed for a Costco poultry facility being
built in Fremont, the next town over.
As a fifth-generation farmer, with a sixth coming up in the ranks, Wagner knows this land well,
and it isn’t just because his family has farmed the
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here to watch the GPS combine
in action. (See page 13 for details.)
Matt Rasmussen, an agronomist (an expert in the
science of soil management), who says that learning what nutrients are already in the soil helps
determine which corn strains to plant and where.
It also indicates how best to care for the crop once
it’s planted, and which soil nutrients need to be
replenished to keep it healthy and thriving. This way, rather than blanketing a
“ The old saying ‘If you’re standing
whole field with the same amount of
still, you’re running backwards’
water and fertilizer, the information
allows Wagner to dole out only specific
is 100 percent true in farming.”
amounts (ounces versus gallons) of what
—Scott Wagner
each acre needs to thrive. The process,
called variable rate application, is done via a GPSsame soil for 145 years. He explains that technolguided tractor. He also uses beneficial crops (rye,
ogy has given him the ability to gather detailed
turnips and radishes) to help replenish the soil
information about his 1,850 acres: 22 data points
when corn isn’t being grown. The result?
on every acre, to be exact.
Healthier food, healthier land and higher yields.
“The old saying ‘If you’re standing still,
“We are better environmentalists because of
you’re running backwards’ is 100 percent true in
technology,” says Wagner. “We are extraordifarming,” says Wagner. “The technology is
narily conscientious of the land, water and
changing so rapidly. If you are not keeping up,
resources that we use.” He adds that his crops
you are losing money. And you’re losing your
start only 30 feet from his family’s well, stressing
ability to stay on the farm.”
that conventional family farmers are personally
Data gathering isn’t limited to his GPS-guided
invested in providing safe food for consumers
harvester—in fact, that’s where the data collecand in creating thriving land for future generation ends for the season. It starts with soiltions. Farming with data is “as responsible as we
sampling an empty field. Wagner partners with
PHOTOS: COLIN CONCES PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
Scott Wagner inspects
his GPS combine in
his cornfields.
APRIL 2018 The Costco Connection 33