I’m very sad to have missed this field trip, because I really wanted to drive a tractor! The only experience I have driving equipment that Hoober sells is our zero turn lawn mower we own at home, and smaller tractor I use to do the barn chores. From the album online, I was able to see just how big those tractors are. From the video we watched in class, I got a taste for what precision Ag is, and I think it’s fascinating that this technology is available to us. I also think the use of drones for surveying is a great application of the technology. The only thing that scares me is just how reliant we’re becoming on technology. When I think of driving a vehicle, it’s hard to imagine the functions being almost entirely automatic. Knowing your precise location, speed, efficiency, etc. is very impressive for a computer to do, but what if something goes wrong?

An important takeaway for me is advocacy and education about this type of technology. There are immense opportunities for experts in the tech field to grasp onto and be the people who take this technology into the future. It’s extremely important that people start to become educated about where this industry is heading, and we need those innovative thinkers to help guide us in the right direction.