Austin Brown is only 21 years old, but knows the changing landscape of the farming and agricultural industry.

During Covid-19, Brown has been working on Clay-Nob Farms, who he owns with his family.

One of the new aspects Brown has been weaving into sales has been selling product online.

“We’ve been focusing more on social media platforms and some more internet sales”, Brown said.

But it’s not just the pandemic that is allowing Brown to be creative. He believes the new USMCA agreement will allow for technology to be further incorporated into farms.

“This kind of technology has been around for generations”, Brown says. “Being able to educate others about how we can use this it’s critical to advancing production”.

The USMCA also could be a big help to areas such as Erie, that lie in the northern area of the United States.

We think it’s farmers in your particular area that are best suited to be able to tap in to the new agreement”, says Shawna Morris, Vice President of the National Milk Producers Federation.

For Brown, the hope is to take his knowledge of technology and spread it to other young farmers around the country. He has already been overseas to China to present to local colleges, and will be heading to Nebraska on Tuesday to take part in research initiatives as well.

The story was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.