A Speedier Way to Sow Is Changing Farm Work

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Tony C Dreibus, A Speedier Way to Sow Is Changing Farm Work. Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2014.
online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304908304579566043904022508

Quote:

“Jim Walter's tractor steered itself as he sat in the cab, scanning a computer screen showing corn seeds pumping into his soil. * * * Such planting feats weren't possible even a decade ago * * * with a Global Positioning System that uses satellites to steer automatically, monitor seed rates and gather and store planting data.

"Growers last year seeded 43%, or 41 million acres, of the crop [of the entire America] in one week, easily the most since the government started keeping records. On average, farmers have planted about 12% of the crop each week since record-keeping started in 1980, according to the government.

"But now, farmers and equipment-makers alike risk becoming victims of the new technologies' successes. Last year's record US corn crop, which resulted in part from the advanced machinery, triggered a 40% decline in prices for the grain.

"Deere began with auto-steer about 15 years ago. Farmers were skeptical at first * * * Now, farmers can * * * tell planters how much seed to put in the ground * * * When Mr. Walter, the DeKalb grower, began farming 44 years ago, he had a four-row planter that would do its best to plant seed every few feet. Now he plants 24 rows with seed falling into the ground at exact intervals set and monitored by a computerized planter—intervals determined by soil type, quality and moisture. * * * GPS not only lets farmers plant at night—helping them get the job done faster—but it also ensures they're not sowing two seeds where only one is needed. Conversely, it prevents them [farmers] from leaving narrow swaths of valuable land unseeded.

"Jamie Walter, who tracked his father's planting progress on his iPad all day during the recent planting spree, said it took them the better part of two weeks to seed the 2,000 acres the family farms prior to having the precision-planting technology. 'The goal used to be 10 days,' Jamie Walter said. 'Now we can plant all our corn in five days.'


Note: "'This does just about everything but suck eggs,' Mr Walter [the farmer] said as he rode across his northern Illinois farm on a pitch-black night."

teaching grandmother to suck eggs
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_grandmother_to_suck_eggs