利用高科技工具，美国农民希望获取更高回报

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Farmers are increasingly using high-tech products to lower their costs, increase the amount of crops they grow and add to their profits. But they are not just using high-tech machines. They also now employ services that gather information about their farms to improve their businesses.

农民越来越多的使用高科技产品来降低成本，增加所种植农产品的产量，从而增加收入。到那时他们不仅仅是利用高科技机器，他们现在还利用专业服务来收集他们农的场信息，从而完善他们的业务。

The Finfrock family grows corn and soybeans on about 3,200 hectares in the Midwestern state of Illinois. Shelley Finfrock and her husband use technology to operate the large farm with just their son and one employee. But Ms Finfrock says technology can not control everything.

Finfrock一家在美国中西部的伊利诺州种植了大约3200公顷的玉米和大豆。Shelley Finfrock和她的丈夫，以及她的儿子和一个雇工，运用科技来运营这个大农场，但是她说，科技并不能掌控一切。

"Weather's probably the most important thing, and the most uncontrollable thing," Finfrock said.

Finfrock说：“天气可能是最重要也最无法控制的因素。”

She says weather affects every part of a farm, including the soil, animals that eat the crops and crop production. She says all these affect profit.

她说天气影响着农场的方方面面。包括土壤，蚕食农作物的害虫和农作物的产量。她称所有这些都会影响收入。

The soil in the field near the farm house looks and sounds dry. But below the surface, it has enough water to let corn seeds begin to grow. The amount of rain that falls can differ greatly from field to field on the farm.

农舍附近的一块土地上的土壤很干燥，但是在地表以下有足够的水分可以供给玉米的生长。农场里的每一块地的降雨量都有很大区别。

The Finfrocks farm in five counties, checking water levels and other conditions on such a large spread can take a lot of travel time. So for the past year, Ms Finfrock has been testing an online service called Climate Basic.

Finfrocks家的农场横跨五个县，所以在如此大的农场检查水位和其他情况，需要花费很多的出行时间。Finfrock利用一种叫做“Climate Basic”的在线服务来检测。

The service sends her a text message very early in the morning. It tells her how much rain fell on her farms in the past 24 hours. It measures to the hundredths of a centimeter. She says the service has worked so far.

这项服务每天一大早就会给她发一条讯息报告情况。它会告诉她在过去的24小时内她的农场有多少降雨量。它会精确测量到厘米的百分之一。她称，她一直使用这项服务至今。

"We have a farm from where we're sitting right now, just a mile south, and it'll say it was dry, and you got a good half inch rain [up here], and you go down there and it's dry. So it was a pretty good tool to use," Finfrock said.

Finfrock说：“在我们现在坐的地方，往南走一英里有一块地，这项在线服务会说这块地很干燥，只下了半英寸的雨，等你到那看会发现是真的很干燥。所以这真是一个很好用的工具。”

Tristan D'Orgeval works at Climate Corporation which developed the Climate Basic program.

在气象公司工作的Tristan D'Orgeval研发了这个“Climate Basic”程序。

"We are dealing every day with more than 10 million points for precipitation, updated on an hourly basis," D'Orgeval said.

D'Orgeval称：“我们每天会处理超过1000万条的降雨量条目，每个小时会更新一次。”

Mr. D'Orgeval says the company uses data from the National Weather Service and other sources.

D'Orgeval称，公司所用的数据来自国家气象局和其他资源。

"Including radar, rain gauges and satellites, to have the best picture of the rainfall on a field-per-field basis," D'Orgeval said.

D'Orgeval称：“我们利用雷达，雨量测量器和卫星，来提供每一块土地的最清晰的画面。 ”

Climate Corporation released a more complex version of its program this year called Climate Pro. It hopes the program will help farmers decide what to plant, and when to use chemicals that improve growth and kill insects. The program will even tell them how much money they might make.

该气象公司今年会发布一个关于此程序的背一个更复杂的版本，叫做“Climate Pro”。该公司希望该程序可以帮助农民决定种植什么，什么时候用化学药品来促进生长和杀灭害虫。这个程序甚至可以告诉农民他们可能需要花费多少钱。

And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. I'm Christopher Cruise.

这就是本期的美国之音慢速英语农业报道的全部内容，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。

Farmers are increasingly using high-tech products to lower their costs, increase the amount of crops they grow and add to their profits. But they are not just using high-tech machines. They also now employ services that gather information about their farms to improve their businesses.

The Finfrock family grows corn and soybeans on about 3,200 hectares in the Midwestern state of Illinois. Shelley Finfrock and her husband use technology to operate the large farm with just their son and one employee. But Ms Finfrock says technology can not control everything.

Shelley Finfrock has been testing Climate Basic to check the accuracy of its rainfall estimates and other features. (V. LaCapra/VOA)

"Weather's probably the most important thing, and the most uncontrollable thing," Finfrock said.

She says weather affects every part of a farm, including the soil, animals that eat the crops and crop production. She says all these affect profit.

The soil in the field near the farm house looks and sounds dry. But below the surface, it has enough water to let corn seeds begin to grow. The amount of rain that falls can differ greatly from field to field on the farm.

The Finfrocks farm in five counties, checking water levels and other conditions on such a large spread can take a lot of travel time. So for the past year, Ms Finfrock has been testing an online service called Climate Basic.

The service sends her a text message very early in the morning. It tells her how much rain fell on her farms in the past 24 hours. It measures to the hundredths of a centimeter. She says the service has worked so far.

"We have a farm from where we're sitting right now, just a mile south, and it'll say it was dry, and you got a good half inch rain [up here], and you go down there and it's dry. So it was a pretty good tool to use," Finfrock said.

Tristan D'Orgeval works at Climate Corporation which developed the Climate Basic program.

"We are dealing every day with more than 10 million points for precipitation, updated on an hourly basis," D'Orgeval said.

Mr. D'Orgeval says the company uses data from the National Weather Service and other sources.

"Including radar, rain gauges and satellites, to have the best picture of the rainfall on a field-per-field basis," D'Orgeval said.

Climate Corporation released a more complex version of its program this year called Climate Pro. It hopes the program will help farmers decide what to plant, and when to use chemicals that improve growth and kill insects. The program will even tell them how much money they might make.

And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. I'm Christopher Cruise.