The 2024 Farm Progress Show is in the books and we walked an average of 16,000 steps per day to capture all the latest farm equipment and precision technology innovations in Boone, Iowa. Here are 5 of our top takeaways.
What Farmers Want: New Technology Has To Be Simple, Reliable & Affordable
New Holland hosted a technology panel discussion with Carlo Lambro, global president of New Holland agriculture, Paul Welbig, director of precision agriculture for New Holland, and one if its local customers, John from the Des Moines, Iowa area. John was asked about the top factors he considers when determining whether a technology upgrade is worth the ROI in his operation. He says it comes down to simplicity, reliability and, above all else, the pocketbook.
"There are a lot of factors that go into it, but the first one is cost," he says. "I'll liken it a little bit to the Tesla car. The world isn't quite ready for the fully autonomous self driving car, but we like the idea of maybe being able to roll down the interstate and having it take care of stops and starts for us, and let us enjoy the drive a little bit more. I think agriculture needs to follow the same pattern. As a farmer, I'm not totally ready to give up my space in the cab to a computer. But I think there are enhancements we can make along the way to take the tension out for a person like me who is not just running the combine, but it's my job to be the accountant, and it's my job to help guys working with the machinery. So, when you're sitting in that machine and thinking about all those things that are stressful, anything you can do to lower that stress is beneficial. It has to be simple, easy to use, reliable and it has to be cost effective.
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