Farm Machinery of the Future

Dr Scott Shearer of The Ohio State University spoke at my consultants' conference speculating on future farm machinery.  According to his observations, certain machinery, planters especially, may be as big as they will ever get.  Weight and drawbar durability could  be limiting.  On the other hand he had some evidence that a 1000 horsepower tractor may be on the horizon.   One of his interesting observations was that a modern tractor has the durability to last 20,000 hours or more.  At 500 hours per year we are looking at a 40 year tractor.  The problem is that technology upgrades needed to keep it useful.  Technology upgrades are definitely possible though.   Look at what the Air Force has done to keep B-52's flying. 

Several times he mentioned compaction as a concern.  I suspect that this year would be a good year to keep a sharp eye out on the combine to see where compaction has cost you yield. Controlled traffic and lighter machinery is needed to control compaction.  

He discussed the fact that precision ag companies are getting more attuned to using off the shelf electronics on their equipment.  A case in point is that Precision Planting is using Ipads as monitors and data loggers.

Un-manned machinery was mentioned as a possibility in the future.  The downside is that no one is there when something goes wrong.  He mentioned a military Gator that will follow soldiers and carry supplies.  He also said that perhaps instead of being completely unmanned, one operator might control several machines in one field.


Most of his discussion centered on existing technology that needs refinement.