Farmer John is a different Cat, nowadays

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Driverless cars. Actually, I’m not going to talk about them for passenger transport. But, consider what that technology can do (and already does) for agriculture.

My father's Massey Ferguson tractor (1966)
My father’s Massey Ferguson tractor (1966) (Photo credit: Finn Frode (DK))

And, that’s just the tip of the bucket. The old ideas and images we have of farmers with their tractors going up and down their field is way outdated. Nowadays, the tractors are air-conditioned and equipped with computers and a GPS (global positioning system). These babies are not cheap- they can run $ 400,000 apiece.

That GPS system makes it possible for farmers to plant about 310 acres in one day. Ok, a long day- 16 hours. (The GPS lets farmers work at night, when visibility is poor, at best. And, insures that the seeds are placed exactly where they are required.) But, still that’s pretty amazing. These auto-steer tractors can maintain their rows to within 2 cm- which makes planting so straight-forward. Because the computers also drop the seeds at exact spacing- determined by customized plans that are adjusted to the type, quality, and moisture of the fields.

It will soon be possible for all the corn farmers in the US to plant their crops in just one week- taking advantage of the weather windows that exist. (This year only 30% of our corn was planted in one week; last year, with better weather, the number was 43%- some 41 million acres.)  Before this technology was employed, we needed 8 weeks to sow all the corn to be grown in the US.

English: John Deere tractors at Werktuigendage...
English: John Deere tractors at Werktuigendagen 2009, a John Deere 7530 Premium in the foreground (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The problem is that these advances don’t guarantee a profit for the farmer. With last year’s record harvest, corn dropped in value by about 40%. Which means there’s less money for new equipment. Since farm income is down (almost 27%) to only $ 96 billion, one can expect the purchase of these advanced tractors to slow.

Changes your idea about the farmer and his equipment, right?

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