Since steam-powered threshing machines replaced hand-swung flails into the first Industrial Revolution, farm harvesting equipment has come 聽a long way.聽
Modern hulking John Deere harvesters are jammed to the brim with 聽hydraulics and able to process a phenomenal amount of crop 鈥� advances 聽that farm labourers in the 1800s couldn鈥檛 even begin to fathom.聽
But what has really revolutionized modern farming is the GPS.聽
鈥淏asically you stuck an antenna on your tractor, you had a light bar 聽on the window and if your light wasn鈥檛 centred, you鈥檇 just turn until 聽that light comes back to centre and you follow the row all the way 聽down,鈥� Jonathan Aarts said recently, standing in the shadow of a 聽towering John Deere S660 combine harvester.
That was nearly 20 years ago. Today, it鈥檚 a matter of sitting down, 聽and turning on what equates to autopilot for farmers 鈥� the combines can 聽literally steer themselves through a field.聽
Together with his father, Lenny Aarts, Jonathan works over 3,000 聽acres of cash crops in the Wainfleet area and manages the fleet of 聽harvesters, planters and sprayers.聽
Jonathan jokingly (or not so jokingly) says he鈥檚 unsure if he could 聽steer a straight row without the help of GPS these days. 鈥淵ou get kinda 聽spoiled,鈥� he said.
Inside of the S660鈥檚 cab are screens and panels of buttons reminiscent of a plane cockpit.聽
Hundreds of sensors all over the machine constantly feed data to 聽screens in the cab, which help the operator tailor how the harvester 聽runs.
Combine operators can tweak a suite of harvesting controls on a 聽touchscreen monitor and use a computer-assisted program to help the 聽operator optimize the combine to ever changing crop and terrain 聽conditions.聽
The modern farming tech revolution may have begun with GPS but it doesn鈥檛 end there 鈥� wireless internet connectivity has also become as 聽integral for farmers.聽
Dave Podbury, a technician with Huron Tractor, and a tradesman with a 聽wealth of knowledge under his cap, recently performed an annual service 聽inspection on the Aarts鈥檚 S660.
He鈥檚 able to wirelessly 鈥減ush鈥� software updates and said occasionally, troubleshooting can even be done without leaving home.
And what鈥檚 more, Jonathan is able to manage the farm鈥檚 fleet of equipment from afar.聽
Remote access allows data like fuel levels, travel speed and GPS 聽locations, to be viewed from a computer screen or a smartphone app.聽
鈥淥ur combine monitor actually runs from an iPad,鈥� Aarts said. 聽Harvesting data like yields and moisture levels are collected and pinged 聽off to the 鈥渃loud.鈥澛�
Technology also plays a major role in planting. Fields are mapped out 聽ahead of time based off of harvesting data, which can reveal what areas 聽of a field needs extra attention.聽
An agronomist can then design a tailored 鈥減rescription map鈥� for 聽fertilizers that is uploaded to a sprayer, which can apply the chemical 聽with precision previously unheard of in modern farming. The technology 聽mitigates environmental impact and helps a farmer鈥檚 wallet.聽
The future of farming is already well on its way toward an increasing 聽reliance on automation, robotics, artificial intelligence 鈥� maybe one 聽day, the machines will run themselves.
