When you turn your homestead into a business, there’s a lot of change to get your head around. Over time, you’ll need to get used to members of staff in and out of your lands. You’ll also need to adjust to your home as a business, rather than a place you come to relax. That means adjusting to being on call 24/7 and using technology.
And, as though that isn’t enough, many homesteaders now face the decision of whether to introduce technology. While most businesses met this reality years ago, the rural nature of homestead life has made it easier to stick with tradition. Some tech-based developments are now in regular use. For the most part, though, homesteaders still do things using methods which have been in the field for years.
Sadly, that may no longer be the way to go. The world is moving fast, and old methods struggle to keep up. As such, you may reach a point where you face the reality of making use of technology or falling behind. But, it isn’t all bad news. In fact, those tech upgrades could do a lot to make your life easier. Let’s look at the three primary benefits.
3 Benefits Of Using Technology On Your Homestead
Better organization
There are no two ways around it; technology makes for better organization. You could even say this is the more the case for homesteaders than others. After all, with so much mud around, old organization methods of pen and paper aren’t always practical. How many times have people come to you with illegible findings?
By taking along iPads which use Google Sheets and other options, your staff can remove this risk by entering results on the ground. It’s immediate and clean. What’s more, you can target programs to your particular area. Oil pumping homesteads can focus on oil production software like Greasebook, while farmers can focus on options such as FarmGRAZE. Once you’ve given these a try, it’s unlikely you’ll even remember the old methods or why you loved them.
Ease of communication
If you own large amounts of land, using technology could also make a huge difference to communication. As it stands, a lot of your time management is likely spent traipsing around after one person or another. If everyone uses programs such as Whatsapp, you’ll be able to call each other free of charge as long as you all have internet.
Forget walking twenty minutes to ask how things are going. You can call someone at the click of a button and then get on with what you’re doing. You’d be amazing how much more productive your days would soon become. Many homesteaders use two-way radios to communicate around the homestead.
Less waste
And, of course, it’s worth mentioning that using technology means less waste. And, when your land is your living, that has to be a good thing. There is nothing wrong with paper and pen in an office but when you are keeping track of items and animals on the farm, using technology is the way to go.
Information can be recorded and pictures can be saved with the waste of physical paper being used and destroyed. Less paper means less waste. There are no worries about mud and fingerprints all over your records when using technology.
Many homesteaders use traditional or old-fashioned methods of doing things. That’s okay. But when it comes to keeping records and communicating, using technology is the way to go. It can save the homesteader time, money and provide less waste too. What technology do you use on your homestead? Tell me about it in the comments below.
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