technology. good or not..

Today in ag class we were talking about farming and tractors and about how they are so hi tech. I made a comment that when your tractor can drive itself it is not real farming. I have a friend that says the same thing that I say. I was wandering what your opinion was on the matter.

they are throw away tractors! I like My d17, dont need a scaner for it ether.

I remember sitting on a tractor with only a heat-houser pulling a great, big 4-16" plow during cold fall days.  I've also gone back to the farm and spent a couple of days in a 475 hp 4WD tractor with a guidance system.  I loved the warm, quiet cab and the guidance system.  If anything, it gave me more time to look around at the fields, nature, and what was happening behind me.  It also made it possible for this 65+ year old man to stay in the field for 12 hours and not be beat.  I could even still hear when the tractor was shut off.

The fact that I got as much tillage done in an hour vs a day with the 4 bottom plow wasn't bad either.

certainly the guidance system is a great invention, but given all else being equal.  i would take an 8000 series Allis in the field any day.  for a 30 year old tractor, they're as comfortable and modern as any new tractor.  besides the guidance, what more do they have to offer. 

Once more, tell me what more you could ask for in a chore tractor than a D17 IV.  Live hydraulics/PTO, power stearing, 56 hp and the power director.  If they made them brand new today, they would sell.  the only way to improve is a cab and radio.  that's a big streatch for 50 years.

I forgot one major advantage of today's guidance systems.  They virtually eliminate overlap which wastes both fuel and chemicals--------both expensive items.

I had started a program using a computer aided vision system for auto guidance with Honeywell shortly after the 8000's were introduced (this was in the days before GPS).  They thought they could do it using some technology from some of their military work.  Unfortunately, the military clamped a secrecy order on it and wouldn't let us pursue it.

plus...ya'll know what "dust" does to electronics!! and where does a tractor/combine run in?

Every generation has said that about the new technology.  It's not farming if you aren't behind a horse, can't be farming if in a cab, etc.  I'll take air conditioning and auto steer any day.  We haven't moved up to auto steer yet, but it's the next step.  Electronics do last in an ag tractor, many 10 year old tractors out there running with mega hours.  A few will lose a computer or have wiring problems, but that will happen with anything.

We run John Deere tractors with the deere guidance (RTK with ITEC pro), also added air clutches to the planter.  With this combination we save a lot of seed and time by the end of the day (enough to pay for itself in a hurry).

Yep take me back to the good ole days.  The team of horses I drove had auto steer that was nice when mowing hay.  Another great thing was the air conditioning, especially early in the morning when you got them into a hard up hill pull and they started to loose compression.  Oh and then we had the high tech toilet that had two holes and you never even had to flush it.

I'll agree we need the technoligy (did I spell that right?) to increase our production. I just wander about everybody forgetting how we got here though, and the way a computor is outdated so quickly what about restoring a piece in 30 to 40 years as an antique, will we be able to do it and preserve this history. Thats my fear.

I agree with a little bit of everything that has been said.  I will tell you this, I love farming, even though I was forced into a city job.  I would do it in  a heartbeat, if the startup costs weren't so high.  I remember the days on the old 190, or the 19 cuttin stalks, or pulling the planter, and we were farming around 600 acres then, and autosteer would have been a blessing, cause my rows were never straight, and the cultivator blight was a bit of a problem, so from the technology point of view, I say bring it on, it would have saved money, and made those long hours a little more tolerale, maybe would have let me catch a few costly breakdowns sooner, if I could have been paying attention to ALL of the factors, rather than 75% of my time steering and 25% of my time watching the equipment.  I am slightly biased, my degree is in electronics, so all that technology doens't pose a real threat to me, or my pocketbook.

Intersting that you use a COMPUTER on the INTERNET to ask if technology is good or not.  We live in an age of no return like it or not we need technology to sustain the lifestyle that we enjoy.   Sad part is that i see so many people still farming old school and not adopting technology only to wonder why thy can't make it financialy. Yes it cost money but it takes money to make money. If you want to farm you realy NEED to learn buisness managment as well. I had to learn it the hard way and i still can't spell. Tomorrows farms will be owned by people that spend more time in there office than in there tractor seat. Becouse you have to spend more time figuring out how to grow more with less. Its not just about surviving it's about sucseeding.

An example of where technology may not be so great is the Ford Contour Merc Mystique with a 2.5L V-6. The wire used for the engine wire looms gets brittle from the heat underhood. The insulation cracks and the wires corrode or break. Computers are very sensitive to resistance. A little unwanted extra resistance can really cause problems. Repairs can quickly exceed the value of the car...

Who cares if the rows are a little crooked? Only gonna use 'em once year... LOL

John (C-IL) wrote: Well, take a little trip to India, China or Africa and see how those farmers are doing without technology. I'll take all I can get or afford. At the end of the day the technologically savy farmer will be feeding the world and the guy that doesn't have the technology will be feeding his family and his kids will be barefoot and living a subsistance lifestyle.

Not necessarily, John. Depends on what you are farming and the scale.  If you are farming commodities or veg/fruits for processing where your net/acre is a few hundred dollars I would agree.

On the other hand, if you are producing fresh veg and fruit where your net is $1000s/acre then the need for technology isn't as great. For example, I farm 20 acres that is almost a perfect square and flat. The only thing I spray is a fish/kelp foliar feed or some humates on bare ground.  I spread manure pellets and granular lime+trace with a cone spreader. I lay out my beds with my eyeballs....on 20 acres how much more efficient am I going to be with satellite guided equipment?  How much am I going to save by not overlapping my applications?

I do just fine on the technology that larger growers are discarding to make room for the latest and greatest. For example, the 1880 foot long wheeline irrigation unit I bought for $3200 from a farmer who upgraded to a ultra high tech, computerized linear (cost=$100k). The wheeline was state of the art technology in about 1960, but it was made out of aluminum, steel and brass and those parts are as good now as they were when they were manufactured. The only parts I have had to replace are rubber which gets a little brittle after 50 years.

My 1948 G works better now than when it rolled off the  AC assembly line...for HP I have a 140hp JD 5020 made in 1967, a 1995 ford 62hp 4X4 loader tractor for utility tasks and seeding/spraying. They could all certainly be more comfortable and quieter but they still get the job done. 12 and 14 foot tools bought cheap used because they are too small for big farms.  A 10 ft chisel plow for $450, for example.

Instead of a manure spreader I graze pigs in my fields...plow in the front, manure spreader in the rear. Plus they turn a profit as opposed to a manure spreader that depreciates.

I do have some technology for seeding and harvesting that keeps labor needs to a minimum. I'll go with technology when I see that it will give me cashflow.

Everything doesn't have to be big and high tech for a farmer to be profitable.  The profits from fresh veg and pastured livestock far exceeds the profit from commodities on an acre to acre comparison. I don't need to have teams of 6 swathers and combines like the guy next to me who farms 22,000 acres of grass seed, although I do put in a lot more hours of manual labor. I don't need all the buildings and grain storage, etc of a large hog farmers and my profit/animal is much greater on lower input costs + my manure is an asset to my operation not a liability that is considered hazardous waste in need of an EPA permit.

Certainly both types of farms are necessary.  People can't live off of just corn and soybeans and wheat.  They need fresh veg, fruits and meat, too.


Edited by singingpig - 12 Apr 2011 at 10:51pm