Dr. Issacs talked about the trip to Hoober’s from the first day of class and that we would b able to drive a tractor (some of us, myself included, for the first time ever). He told us of how they sell and specialize in precision agriculture. While there we got a tour of their facility and learned some of the history of precision and the machines using in farming. One of the newest advances in precision agriculture is drones. Drones can be used to look over the fields in a timely manner without having to walk all over the farm. The possibilities with drones could be endless as the technology for them gets better.

I grew up in a semi-rural area and I have seen my fair share of farms, but I never drove a tractor before so I was looking forward to it from the moment I was told about it. Interesting enough this wasn’t just any old tractor is was a relatively new one that was self-guiding. It used a satellite track that the driver has the tractor record and it replicates that exact track, in some tractors down to a few inches. So while driving the tractor and recording a path with a few turns we just basically flipped a switch and the tractor used the satellite map to follow our path. I was really cool thinking about seeing old rusted up tractors back home (and one at Hoober’s) and seeing how far technology has come for precision farming in the recent decades.

(Our class at the end of the day)