The Prairie Star, MT
02/15/06
Auto steer technology cuts waste, saves
time
By DONNA FARRIS, For The Prairie Star
Few farmers would want to turn back the clock to the days before air-conditioned
tractor cabs and cellular phones. In the future, will farmers look back and wonder
how they got along before automatic guidance systems?
“I don't think there's anybody who wouldn't want it once they have it,” said Darrell
Hellie, sales representative with Pedersen Machine Inc., a John Deere
dealership at Beresford, S.D., in talking about automatic steering, the latest in
precision farming technology that goes hand-in-hand with global positioning.
Yet farmers need to see benefits in line with the cost before investing in
technology, said Mark Hanna, Iowa State University Extension agricultural
engineer. High price tags are still keeping many farmers out of this market.
“Like a lot of electronic technology, it's rapidly developing all the time,” Hanna
said.
Automatic steering technology can cost as little as a few thousand dollars or as
much as $50,000 or more.
“Lots of folks would like to get $35,000 to $50,000 technology packaged in
something that would be $3,000 to $5,000,” Hanna said.
To the extent that manufacturers can lower the cost over time, “it's going to widen
the market,” Hanna said.
“Is there enough development to make this cost-effective for everyone? Not yet,
or everyone would have it at this point in time,” he said.
When farmers make major purchase decisions, they must ask themselves what
they stand to gain, Hanna said.
“You never know exactly what the payback is going to be, but it will help you
decide whether you're a prime candidate for something like this or not,” he said.
Among prime candidates for automatic steering are operators of large farms and
farmers who run strip-tilling operations.
Automatic steering systems excel at accurate planting on strip-tilled fields.
Farmers can till strips in the fall, and at the same time program their system to
plant in the exact location, often within an inch of where the farmer wants the
seed.
Farmers who use self-propelled sprayers can also benefit by saving on chemical
overlap.
“That can make it pretty cost-effective,” Hanna said.
In fields where soil compaction is an issue, automatic steering can help farmers
better control traffic patterns and coordinate wheel tracks with all vehicles that
travel the fields - whether it be the planter, sprayer, combine or tractor.
Automatic steering has some benefits that a farmer can't necessarily put a price
on, such as operator fatigue, Hanna said.
“Using these systems, I think people can make more effective use of their time
and probably spend more time in the field with same degree of safety if not
more.”
Also, the equipment operator might not need the same skill level in terms of
driving and steering the equipment, Hanna said.
Farm equipment dealers say interest is growing in automatic steering systems.
While only large farmers are considering the most expensive set-ups, more are
looking into more affordable options.
Hellie said there are different types of guidance and steering systems available,
from those that are built into the steering mechanism of a new tractor to kits that
can be added to an older tractor.
John Deere's GreenStar AutoTrac hands-free steering system is an option on
new tractors, sprayers and combines, while the AutoTrac Universal Steering Kit
is designed to set older tractors up with automatic guidance.
“It can be added to almost anything anymore,” Hellie said.
The average farmer steering on his own overlaps 10 percent in field passthroughs, Hellie said. That overlap can be reduced to little or nothing with
automatic steering.
“He's saving fuel, time, hours on the tractor, wear and tear on equipment and
chemicals,” Hellie said. “For the larger farmer, it will pay for itself in three or four
years.”
Also, farmers can spend more time in the field and take advantage of planting
opportunities, Hellie said.
“It takes the fatigue out of farming,” he said.
Hellie said the price for precision farming technology has come down on John
Deere equipment, making it a smaller part of the total investment than what it
once was.
“It's going to get more popular as time goes on,” he said.
Reed Jensen who farms 10 miles south of Beresford purchased a John Deere
8420 track tractor with AutoTrac last fall.
Jensen said he purchased the system to more accurately plant in his modified
strip-tillage operation.
Steering the tractor to get the seed in the right spot is no longer a planting worry,
Jensen said.
“It takes a lot of stress off you,” he said.
Jensen has been farming since 1977. He makes technological updates only if the
numbers look positive.
“I don't want to keep up with technology just for the sake of doing it. If I can see a
cost benefit that will make it work for me, then I'll try it,” Jensen said.
Dave Vander Ploeg of Northwest Implement, a Case IH dealer in Orange City,
Iowa, said the more expensive steering systems are plumbed into the hydraulic
lines of the vehicle's power steering. Case IH's system is called AFS (Advanced
Farming Systems) AccuGuide Autoguidance.
More farmers are going with the less expensive EZ-Steer�assisted steering
system, that can be installed on most agricultural vehicles with only one wrench
in less than 30 minutes, and can be moved from vehicle to vehicle.
Vander Ploeg said the more expensive systems can run $30,000 on up. These
are accurate within an inch and can be cost-effective for large farmers who can
spread the cost over a number of acres.
Vander Ploeg said customers who have purchased steering systems have only
good things to say.
“Once they've used them I don't think they'd go back. I think it's going to be a
coming thing,” he said.