Talking Tractors ?

New Telemetry Systems Will Save Labor, Money Your farm equipment is already pretty smart. It can turn spray nozzles or planter clutches on and off automatically. It can tell you how much it is harvesting. It can even steer itself. Now it is learning to use a cell phone to talk to your office computer. AGCO calls its system AGCOMMAND. It will access information remotely from a piece of farm equipment---say, a tractor in a distant field---so that a farmer sitting at his office computer can know where the tractor is, what tasks it is doing and how close to being finished it is, how often it is idling, how often it is working, how often implements are on the ground and how often they are in transport mode, and when it will need service next. Farmers will be able to chart the efficiency of their equipment and apply that knowledge to use that equipment better. Sensors can alert the farm office when a spray rig’s tank is nearly empty so a manager can send a nurse truck to the field with a refill. It also could be used to alert the farm office if a tractor has entered an area where it is not supposed to go.