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Better Farming
November 2016
FarmNews First >
BetterFarming.com51
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IT
WORKS
tractors to work together under the
control of a single operator. Similarly,
Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. has
developed an autonomous grain cart
that can be brought alongside a
combine when requested.
Conclusions
Many of us have lived through
interesting times. I remember when
we did not have hydro-electric power
on the home farm. I not only milked
cows by hand but I also drove a team
of horses as part of the threshing gang
when I was a teenager.
I did get that massive IBM com-
puter programmed using Fortran to
optimize the shape of a water channel
- and passed the course.
I owned an early combine yield
monitor and GPS that allowed me to
acquire very interesting and informa-
tive yield maps. Did I envision an
auto steering system for the combine
at that time? You bet not!
I also remember my first attempts
to off-load the combine on the move.
The process required slowing the
combine a nominal amount to ensure
a constant ground speed and prevent
spillage. I used hand signals to advise
the grain buggy tractor operator to
move ahead or back so we would get
all the grain into the buggy. He, of
course, used the harvested cornrows
as his driving guide.
I envision a future where I will be
able to watch a hands-free combine
operator monitor and control a
tractor and grain buggy alongside a
combine using a computer or tablet.
By the way, I have not used my log/
log slide rule in many years. The
desktop computer and Microsoft
Excel continue to make all the
necessary calculations I need for
“what if ” scenarios and to do the
farm accounting for tax purposes.
By contrast this article was dictat-
ed, by my wife (Joan), to one comput-
er and transferred to three others via
some cloud before she could get her
iPhone out of her pocket!
BF
Ralph Winfield is a retired professional
engineer, farmer and technical writer.