Flat Aggie Visits John Deere

Dear Miss Allard’s class,

 

I am having so much fun in Iowa!! I have been to Atlantic, Iowa and Des Moines, Iowa as I travel around with my new friend, Stacey Pellett. She works for John Deere – the big tractor company. Her job is to teach the people that work with her about farming and agriculture, kind of like we are doing in our class!

 

Did you know that John Deere has created something called “Machine Sync” where tractors and combines can actually talk to each other? I took a picture next to a large poster that shows you a little about Machine Sync. Basically, when the combine is picking the corn or soybeans in the field, it can tell the tractor and grain cart to come closer or move farther away so that the grain coming out of the combine lands in the cart instead of the ground. Grain (Corn, soybeans and wheat) is very expensive they tell me, so it is important that we don’t spill any of it. 

 

 

I also got to sit with some of the people who are making these products. It’s kind of like video games… all of these things are made on the computer, so it was fun to watch them “code”. That means they are writing stories in computer language that make the tractors and combines do what they want them to do.

 

Not a lot of farming is happening here right now. It’s very cold (this morning the temperature was -1◦ F!!!). Brrrr… tomorrow it is supposed to snow between 10 and 12 inches. But, planting season isn’t too far away, so hopefully I will be able to show you some of my adventures in the field sometime soon.

 

I miss all of you and can’t wait to see you at the end of the year.

 

Love,

Flat Aggie

What do you think about this technology?  If you farm, do you use it?