Driverless, automated farming equipment is nothing new
for the agricultural giant John Deere, but recently they have been focusing
their efforts and resources on mastering the technology to better improve
efficiency. It is said that the Internet of Things (a concept of connecting any
device to each other and/or the internet) can help improve food production by
up to 70% (Forbes). Farmers are looking to apply this concept to their tractors
and other farming equipment to help maximize their output.
I agree with this articles claim that the future of
farming is one of precision farming. I was unaware of the technicalities of
farming and how much room there is to improve efficiency. John Deere uses the
satellite receiver, StarFire 3000, which uses signals from 56 different
satellites. This allows for the GPS to know the tractors position with an error
margin of 2.5cm at the highest setting. This becomes extremely important when a
tractor is pulling an implement that could be up to 20 meters long through a
field and attempting not to overlap its tracks. Now that GPS’ can determine the
tractors location down to 2.5cm, the chances of overlapping are slim and
efficiency is increased. Farmers can also allow for multiple tractors to be
working in the field simultaneously now, reaching optimal output during the
given hours of the day. But not only are the tractors able to communicate with
each other, but the land will be able to too. Sensors implanted into the land
can measure exactly how much certain elements like potassium, nitrogen, and
phosphate are taken off the land. This allows farmers to be able to accurately
replenish their land, thus farming more sustainably and prolonging the future
of farming.
One thing I think that this article overlooked is the
effect that this automation will have on the economy of the United States. As
of January 2015, approximately 983,000 people were employed by farms, but January
2016 those numbers had dropped to 906,000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics). With
the Internet of Things already present in farming and its popularity slowly
increasing, I think that these numbers accurately reflect what will happen when
this concept takes a hold of farming. Sure, food production and farming
efficiency will increase, but its effect on the labor rates of the United
States is unknown. Also, the article
acknowledges the safety implications of this technology. As of now, there are
no precautions in place for these automated vehicles to stop, and the chances
of a cow accidentally wandering through the path of a tractor are relatively
great.
Overall, I do support the article and its claims for
the potential optimized efficiency of farming through the Internet of Things,
but there are certainly a handful of other factors that need to be further
investigated before this technology can seize the industry.
Scroxton, Alex. "How John Deere Uses Connectivity to
Make Farms More Efficient." Computer Weekly. TechTarget, Feb. 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
Morgan, Jacob. "A Simple Explanation of "The
Internet of Things"" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 13 May 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
The Employment Situation- January 2016 (2016): n. pag. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Government, 5 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
The Internet has become an essential part of our everyday lives and you find it just about everywhere. It is no surprise that automated farming equipment is becoming more popular and more efficient. This could increase output significantly, cutting down costs and making a farmer’s job much easier. I think one of the most important parts of this new technology is that one person would now be able to run multiple tractors at a time. I think this new technology is a great asset but I also feel like there could be a lot of problems with this new and upcoming technology. First of all and most importantly so many farmers would lose their jobs because one person could singlehandedly run this whole system if they chose to do so. As well, there could be malfunctions with the equipment. What if the tractor goes off on the wrong course? Or what if you can’t get the tractor to start or stop now your whole income could be at stake. Although there is a lot of room for error I think that this technology will significantly improve the efficiency and output for farmers.
ReplyDelete