Accuracy, production, and labor costs improved with new Kinze system
Tractor works field with nobody in driver's seat
/ Kinze Manufacturing
MCBAIN, MI -- No human, no problem.
Kinze Manufacturing, a farming manufacturing company in Iowa, is working on a drone system that will plant and harvest fields with an empty driver's seat.
Is this the future of farming? There’s nobody in the drivers seat of the tractor as it lines up perfectly for grain offloading.
“The first thing that goes through my mind is are we ready for it? Are our customers ready for it? I think there's some of them out there that are, certainly, there's a lot more that aren't," said Don Ellens.
Ellens, owner of Ellens Equipment in McBain, sells Kinze equipment, and learned that drone-systems could be Kinze's next big thing. The technology uses GPS and can accurately seed fields with practically no overlap
“The savings in labor, savings in fertilizer, seed, along with that accuracy, you know in planting, and stuff like that, he's going to save money, and get better production in the same field," explains Ellens.
"It all comes right down to the bottom line -- if it's saving you money in the long run," says McBain farmer Chad Dodde.
Dodde showed me the technology that is already there. GPS systems can already drive tractors, but they still need the assistance of an operator. The auto-pilot system is accurate within inches, and improves human error.
But the question comes down to if the farmer is willing to risk the liability of not having somebody in the tractor while it's running.
Kinze has worked with a robotics company and has tested the system for two years for detecting obstacles and normal encounters it'd face in the field.
“There are some interested in it, and some are headed in that direction right now," said Dodde.
“Fewer passes across the field, more accuracy, more production, comes down to their bottom line. And if they see it saves money, they'll spend it," said Ellens.
There’s no time table on when the new Kinze Autonomy System will be in dealerships or what farmers might have to shell out to buy it.
Kinze says this new drone can run day and night, helping farmers plant their crops in the short planting season.
And the company says agriculture is all about innovation.
To see more driverless tractors in action, CLICK HERE.
