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access to review, analyze and make changes. The data was also available instantly to students to see what was happening during the trial. “When we do a trial, I think the misconception is that we’re hoping to see major differences,” he explained. “In this trial, we wanted to help students understand how a change in speed might affect yield. We found there wasn’t much difference in yields compared to planter speed.” Getting out to the field, students had the opportunity to participate in corn harvest and again see the process of working with autonomous concepts. A new John Deere S780 combine was used, equipped with precision programs CombineAdvisor, ActiveYield and Gen4 Yield Data. Precision agriculture-enabled equipment takes more effort to set up and adjust to ensure proper functionality in the field, something RDO’s precision ag team offers ahead of each phase in the crop cycle. Students were invited to participate in this set up prior to corn harvest. Then, they had the opportunity to “be” in the combine cab during harvest – virtually, via iPad, through the machine’s connection via remote display access. “There’s something special about harvest,” Jacob said with a smile. “The students were engaged, they asked questions, they got into the combine to check out the precision features. That’s the kind of stuff they can read about in books but it’s so much more seeing it in person.” In addition to machines on the ground, the RDO team used UAVs to fly the Land Lab’s acres and create maps used to build prescriptions for planting, 40
MAY 2019
spraying and harvesting, and monitor the crop throughout the season. Entering year two, the team has a lot planned, including more student field days and workshops, more field trial with John Deere equipment, and even hosting events at the Land Lab for team members, customers and partners. Connections, Colleagues and Collaboration Even with every available technology, AI and autonomous opportunity, Jacob, Joel and Tony agree: the profession of farming thrives because of people. “We can write programs for machines to work a certain way – but a person needs to write that program, just like a person needs to look at data, analyze it and make the right decisions for his or her unique operation,” Tony said. “Edge computing is the next big development in autonomous equipment, giving machines more ability to sense and make decisions. But there’s still that perspective only a person can have of truly seeing what’s happening in the field, watching the weather shift before their eyes and combining knowledge and instinct to make the right decisions,” Joel said. “The connections between people are just as important as the connections to the land; it’s why I’m in the business. It’s all about the people,” Jacob said. Follow along all season with the Land Lab at RDOequipment.com/landlab. Visit RDOequipment.com to learn more about technology and equipment, or to find your place at RDO Equipment Co. by exploring career opportunities.
THE FUTURE OF AUTONOMOUS FARMING
TONY’S VISION “My idea of the autonomous farm of the future is on a smaller level than I think what most imagine. I see a large piece of land, with smaller machines operating within that piece; a small tractor or maybe a four-row planter. Those autonomous machines never leave the boundary of that field. There’s a “home” base in the corner, where all the machines live and go back to recharge, then they go back and keep working on their own.”
JACOB’S VISION “I see the future of autonomous farming as man and machine working together. I feel like everything perceived about autonomous eliminates the human element. Agriculture is very people-to-people, it’s people who are passionate and people who are all-in. It’s funny, even if you’re not in it, you’re surrounded by it. You probably have a connection to it. My hope is 25 years from now, we read an article like this and can be proud of how involved we still are. Our devices and the data flowing in is helping us make better decisions, the right decisions. But we’re not just watching it all from those devices, we’re still as tied to the land as we ever were.”
JOEL’S VISION “I believe as we move towards a fully-autonomous farm, one where the fields are being managed by driverless machines, the human element becomes more crucial. Machines will need a plan and program to operate effectively. An agronomist will still need to provide insight into the soil and other unique variables that differ from field to field. A team will be needed to monitor the machines and make sure they’re operating properly. And people will still need to manage, review and analyze data to make the best decisions.”