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> Why don't we build pre-computerized tractors? Because unlike regular passenger cars the automation in tractors is essential for high yields. A farm that uses
by nexuist 5y ago
> Why don't we build pre-computerized tractors?
Because unlike regular passenger cars the automation in tractors is essential for high yields. A farm that uses high tech tractors is going to beat out a farm with traditional tractors every single time. The days of the old boomer farmer are long gone; anyone who has managed to avoid getting swallowed by the conglomerates by this point has a pretty cutting edge setup that would make some startups blush. Drones, IoT, ML, etc. have been penetrating agriculture since the 2010s.
I think a better strategy would be to build open source tractor software for open source tractor hardware; some kind of "Linux for farms" coalition. It is very hard finding software people who intersect with agriculture people though which is what makes this a difficult undertaking.
- xvilka 5y agoThere is AgStack Foundation[1], an offshoot of Linux Foundation. I have zero idea how successfull it is, though. [1] https://agstack.org/ https://agstack.org/
- nexuist 5y agoAwesome! Thank you for the link. It's great that people are already doing something for this field.
- Glawen 5y agoAs I've heard from people in the agro business, the equipments are already communicating on a standard Isobus (non open source), allowing to use differents equipment together. What would open source bring? You always need a hardware anyway, and the conditions are rough, a RPI would not survive. And for farmers locked in JD awful customer service, well they have plenty of choices beside JD, except they are not all American.