Darin Grimm has a simple solution for farmers who want an economical way to get started in precision agriculture: get a netbook computer.
“The netbook and software route is way cheaper,” said Grimm, a corn and soybean grower from Morrill, Kansas.
“I think it’s a lot more flexible.”
Grimm, who does precision ag consulting when he’s not farming, has used computers in his tractors and sprayers for most of the last decade.
“We started with notebooks and then we moved to the smaller netbooks in some cases because it’s more convenient in the tractor cab,” he said.
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Working with precision ag software called Site Mate, Grimm used the netbook to draw boundaries and keep track of field work with a detailed map.
“Probably the biggest thing is you have a nice map,” he said. “If you’ve sprayed half a field and get rained out, you’ve got a real nice on-screen map of what you’ve done.”
Computers in the cab are not as commonplace in Canada, but Pam Haegeman, a geographic information systems instructor at Assinboine Community College in Brandon, said she knows a few Manitoba producers who use netbook computers.
One of those is Dan Hacault, who farms near Swan Lake, Man.
“It was a cost effective way to get started in variable rate,” said Hacault, who bought a netbook computer two years ago.
“The programming was another $600 and the cabling and everything was another couple hundred.”
He said the total bill of less than $1,500 to install variable rate and prescription map programming was far less than a complete ag precision system.
“The integrated screens for GPS and auto-steer and the whole thing, they run from $3,500 to $6,000.”
Hacault said the small computers are durable and can withstand cab vibration if properly mounted.
However, Grimm said producers who want an especially durable model should get a netbook with solid state technology.
“Basically they use a memory stick type technology as the hard drive,” he said, which make the computer more resistant to dust and jolts in the field.
Although Grimm and Hacault endorse netbooks in the cab, both have moved on to newer and more expensive precision ag technology.
Netbooks once had the advantage of a bigger and clearer screen, Grimm said, but manufacturers of precision ag equipment have improved their monitor technology.
“What’s happened now is a lot of the precision ag companies … are using really nice monitors and really nice displays,” he said.
Hacault liked his netbook setup, but admitted it’s more challenging to set up and takes more space in the cab.
“Part of the problem with the tablet PC, there’s a lot of wiring in the cab,” he said, which is why he also needed communication cards so the computer could link to the GPS signal and the rate controller.
Despite those challenges, Hacault would still recommend tablet PCs for farmers wanting to try precision ag for the first time.
He also said there are other uses for netbooks during those long days in the cab.
“I watched movies or played solitaire.”
