WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022 THE AUTONOMOUS TRACTOR - PART II

 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2022 THE AUTONOMOUS TRACTOR - PART II

(for Dwayne and Lynette) 

Yesterday, I wrote about the new autonomous tractor from John Deere - able to do farming activities without human intervention.  

Dialogue between Farmer John and Tractor John:

Farmer John:  “Okay Tractor John.  Today I want you to go to the Arizona field.  I want you to cultivate the crops there, if there are weeds, spray them, check on the bugs and pests, do the soil moisture analysis.  I expect a complete report by noon.”

Tractor John: “Okay boss”.  

***

Tractor John rolls out of his well-protected stall in Farmer John’s barn.  (After all, you wouldn’t be leaving a million-dollar machine out in the open).  

Tractor John has to drive about a quarter of a mile on a county road, so his computer system checks the traffic from a satellite and determines that in five minutes it will be pretty clear.  With his blinkers flashing, he moves out of the farmyard onto the road.  One car comes up behind him, Tractor John checks the satellite traffic and flashes “Okay to pass carefully now” on a rear-facing screen and the car goes around.  The computer interfaces with the gate control and unlocks the gate and opens it for the tractor.  The Arizona field is to the southwest of the farmyard (thus the name).  

For the next three hours, Tractor John goes methodically through the field - tilling the soil so the moisture can reach the roots of the corn plants, plus doing the analysis that Farmer John wants.

When the job is done, Tractor John texts Farmer John “Job in Arizona field is done - returning home.”

***

Farmer John meanwhile is in school - teaching agriculture at the Aurora Nebraska school.  At his lunch hour, he reviews the report from Tractor John - and sees some early corn borer problems but the soil moisture and other analyses are very good.

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My theme is Change - and a quick look at Luddites:

From Wikipedia:

‘The Luddites were a secret oath-based organization of English textile workers in the 19th century, a radical faction that destroyed textile machinery. They protested against manufacturers who used machines in what they called "a fraudulent and deceitful manner" to get around standard labor practices. Luddites feared that the time spent learning the skills of their craft would go to waste, as machines would replace their role in the industry.

Many Luddites were owners of workshops that had closed because factories could sell the same products for less. But when workshop owners set out to find a job at a factory, it was very hard to find one because producing things in factories required fewer workers than producing those same things in a workshop. This left many people unemployed and angry.

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One of the traditions in American agriculture is the “Family Farm”.  As you drive around the midwest, you might see proud signs “100 Year Family Farm”.  County and State Fairs honor the long-time families running the same ground as great-great-grandpa did when he emigrated from Europe over 100 years ago.  Father to son, son to daughter, daughter (and husband) to the next son.

But, there are those in the new generation who don’t want to farm, don’t want to get up on cold mornings to feed and water the animals.  They don’t want to milk the cows.  They want to work in a city, take vacations, see Hawaii, and come home at 5:30 and relax.  The average farmer is 55 years old (and aging).  

Farming is like gambling - you buy the seed, you buy the implements (like autonomous tractors), and you plant.  You hope for gentle rains, for sunny days, and for a great harvest.  Some years there are hail storms that can wipe out a field.  Or with a good year and a great harvest - there is an abundance of corn (or whatever crop) and the prices go down.

Like the old Tennessee Ernie Ford song “You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt”.  The farm kids are going off to college and becoming computer programmers, security experts, accountants, and more.  (“How you gonna keep them down on the farm, after they’ve seen Paree” (or seen Omaha or Sioux Falls). 

*****

Are the “Luddites” going to rise up and destroy the autonomous tractors?  Are they going to defend their family farm?  

Maybe the family “enterprise” kicks in - with some still running the farm, and cousin Cindy working in Minneapolis, cousin Jose working in Des Moines, and Uncle Mohammed working in Austin - on the board of directors.  Or maybe (gasp), an investment group out of China buys the land and hires a team to run it (with autonomous tractors and more).  

“The times they are a-changing” - in agriculture and in other parts of the world.  

Can you fight against those changes?  Can you destroy the “enemy” (like the Luddites tried)? 

Or, can you embrace change and try to stay ahead and competitive?  

More tomorrow!!!

Karen White

January 12, 2022