Go hard – rain is coming

GPS satellite systems are going to be non-operational for the next three days…Just kidding, but I bet I caught your attention. It’s amazing how crop agriculture has come to depend on GPS. In just a few short years, there has been a mass conversion of seeding and spraying systems. First it was just light bars to tell you where to drive. Now, it’s rare for anyone to be seeding or spraying without a full auto steer system. The systems are not trouble-free, but they’ve become better with time. The efficiency gains are amazing. Large savings are being realized on input costs with the reduced overlap. Operators can log longer field hours with reduced fatigue. Night work has become more feasible. As you drive around, you’ll see field after field seeded in perfectly straight rows. An entire generation of new farmers is not developing the skill of doing freehand field passes. It is scary to think of what would happen if navigational guidance was ever lost for an extended period of time during the busy seeding season. We could muddle through with the seeders, but most of the sprayers would be totally lost. All systems will be full steam ahead in the next few days with most areas of the province expected to see wet weather by the weekend. I’m Kevin Hursh.