The world is one where technology is advancing at incredible rates in just about every aspect of our lives.
The idea of film in a camera is but a memory for most of us, and the fax machine more relic than business tool these days, and the list goes on longer than room in this column would allow.
In the case of agriculture it's certainly the same story, a story where technology is a major element of what farmers are dealing with.
It was interesting to sit down recently with one of the owners of a largest machinery dealership and have him talking about some of the technological advancements which have already been incorporated into modern machinery.
Much of the advancement revolves around global positioning technology. Such systems, using satellites to guide machinery across a field allow for more accurate farming.
The dealer related how even the best tractor operator will have a 10-foot overlap going down a field. That may not sound like a lot but when you factor in the costs of fertilizer, farm chemicals, those 10-feet are important.
With GP positioning in-field accuracy can be as little as a few inches.
In a demonstration of GP technology the dealer talks of how they attach a golf putter to the hitch of a tractor, and sent it down a field under computer control where it hits a golf ball off a tee. It's a highly visual indication of just what computer guidance can accomplish.
But technology goes farther.
A farmer can be operating his new combine and not think the grain is threshing clean enough. He can call the dealership where a technician can sit at their laptop and check the settings of the combine, and actually make adjustments to settings.
It is to the point the operator, while still in the cab, is basically just a passenger. As a result some tractor and combine cabs now come with a spot for the laptop computer and with wireless access a farmer can focus on things such as marketing the crop being harvest while technology does the actual in-field operation.
It is quite conceivable modern machinery could operate without anyone in the cab, but with a combine, or tractor valued in the $400,000 each range, it's a case where the operator is almost insurance.
Farm technology is going farther too.
For example it will be possible to set what is essentially a cyber fence around farm land. Tractors, combines and other motorized equipment would shut down automatically if they cross the fence. It would be a way to stop theft, or at least requiring machinery to be trucked away.
When you think about how far GP and similar technologies have come in the past half decade, it shows both how dramatic the impact has been in a short time, and makes one wonder what the years ahead will bring.
