Looking up at the stars has always been a part of a farmer’s life, from the beginning of farming.  The ancient farmers used to look to the stars for guidance on planting and harvesting their crops, but the modern farmer looks to the stars for a much different reason:  satellites.

When thinking about using satellites for precision farming, which has been around for more than a decade, it is only in the past few years that we see satellites and GPS becoming increasingly used as a main tool on the farm.  GPS was actually considered a fad when it was first introduced to the farming community, one thought to die out (people used to say that of the internet, so be careful who you listen to!)

Global Positioning Systems have given the farmer many advantages.  First, it allows the famer to plant, spray and till with more efficiency by reducing the overlap that occurs while in the fields.  Having Auto Steer in your tractor or combine can also help minimize fatigue on the operator.  A second advantage with using GPS is that the farmer can map the field in order to find out crop yields, which helps later when planning the planting and spraying of crops and even scraping of ditches to remove water in low lying areas.

One of the most sought after features of GPS in farming is AutoSteer, which RMtracking.com covers:

Steering the Tractor. The higher-end systems actually control the steering mechanism on the planting and fertilizing tractors.  The operator is there to insure that everything is running smoothly while monitoring the runs across the fields and the fuel consumption of the engine to make sure that the fuel does not run out.

GPS has uses for spray planes as well, as pointed out at the website MapWatch.com:

Cropduster Targeting: Insects don’t attack a field with a uniform distribution. Instead outbreaks of insect activity are concentrated in certain areas. Workers strolling the crops can use a GPS to record the locations of insect problems. The data can then be used by cropduster pilots to selectively target the problem areas instead of treating an entire field. This method results in a savings of time, fuel, insecticide and crop exposure to chemicals.

GPS is also used with livestock – if you have a huge farm, it’s nice to use GPS transmitters to keep track of where your cattle is at any given time without having to cruise out to find the pasture they’re currently grazing on.

Here’s a video showcasing some of this GPS technology – it’s pretty informative:

This is one huge way for the farmer to cut costs.  Using spreadsheets generated through data obtained by GPS on the farm, we can lower seed, chemical, and fuel costs and prevent wear & tear on equipment.  An initial investment for an AutoSteer ready tractor or combine can be paid back with money saved on equipment and inventory and money made on higher yields from your improved crops.

-Kelly Graber

Check out our lineup of AutoSteer ready tractors and combines as well as other implements to help save time and money on your farm: Titan Outlet Store Inventory