People often buy into emerging technology just for the sake of having the latest gadgets. Text messaging teenagers are a prime example.
Does high-speed internet in the tractor, sprayer or combine cab fall into the same category, or is it a genuine tool that can help your bottom line?
Rob Saik has been hoping for high-speed internet access in the cab for a long time.
“This allows farmers to make immediate decisions while they’re in the field,” said Saik, chief executive officer of Agri-Trend, a crop consulting company that sends data directly to the cabs of some its clients.
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Data privacy is one of the noted issues blocking adoption of digital agriculture on Canadian farms as farmers worry about where their data is going and how it’s being used by companies.
The immediacy provided by high speed internet enables farmers to deal with situations as they arise, rather than waiting until they’re back at the office.
“When you’re seeding, spraying or combining, you can see and feel the variations in your field.”
With the internet, farmers can immediately contact a crop adviser and put the field up where both can see it on their screens to examine what’s happening.
Roy Wendte of Effingham, Illinois, began collecting digital data on his family’s farm 11 years ago.
He said farmers can collect a lot of data, but unless they have the time to deal with it they aren’t able to take full advantage of tools.
His internet access in the cab is limited to smart-phone bandwidth, but he feels the ability to change plans on the go and forward that information to suppliers and buyers gives those farmers an edge over those who have to wait to return the farm office to make changes.
“Both for production and sales you have some time in the cab that has been created through precision (machinery) guidance and application technology. That is when farmers can use the data. Not at 10:30 at night when they drag themselves in from the field, or at six the next morning,” he said.
As bandwidth increases for mobile computing devices, Wendte expects more farmers will take advantage of it to improve their businesses.
“As much as you don’t want to admit it, the cab is an office and that won’t be going away,” said Wendte, while attending this summer’s Infoag precision farming conference in Springfield, Illinois.
