Technology and older farmers

[larryanderson]

I know it probably wont happen same as making a new 4020 or 4440.As I get older it seems things on all the newer equiptment and tractors get more complicated and of course more expensive.I know on some of the compacts due to Toyotas competition they are making cheaper models to compete price wise.I like to set my 3 pt manually,not have to let tractor idle for 2 hours to reset itself,not have to call in codes that aren't listed in manual,have a planter that just plants instead of having cellinoids and computers tell it tf course I also want a small flip phone that I can call and receive only,no games,camera,face time,computer just the basic.I think I might be the only one in our county still planting at over 70 as the rest have been put in the fieldcultivator or out to pasture.I have said when its not fun I will quit buy I still think its fun even with break even prices but why does everything have to be designed for kids that cant afford it.

 

[Tx Jim]

Amen buddy I'll 2nd your statement. I hate my new phone. I'd almost like to go back to a bag phone as it didn't have dropped calls similar to the phone I have now plus bag phone wasn't always asking to update.

 

[Richard in Bee]

The manufacturers would tell you that much of the electronics are due to government emissions regulations.

 

[chuck2015]

(quoted from post at 05:13:45 06/05/16) I know it probably wont happen same as making a new 4020 or 4440.As I get older it seems things on all the newer equiptment and tractors get more complicated and of course more expensive.I know on some of the compacts due to Toyotas competition they are making cheaper models to compete price wise.I like to set my 3 pt manually,not have to let tractor idle for 2 hours to reset itself,not have to call in codes that aren't listed in manual,have a planter that just plants instead of having cellinoids and computers tell it tf course I also want a small flip phone that I can call and receive only,no games,camera,face time,computer just the basic.I think I might be the only one in our county still planting at over 70 as the rest have been put in the fieldcultivator or out to pasture.I have said when its not fun I will quit buy I still think its fun even with break even prices but why does everything have to be designed for kids that cant afford it.

I am with you on this...its all too complicated these days for the jobs at hand. Its my belief that the downfall of man will be because of computers.

 

[larryanderson]

I would say you are probably right Richard.My trucks earlier than 2007 12.7 Detroit and pickups with Cummins get almost 1/3 better mileage .My tractor with DEF probably pollutes less than using graphite in my new planter.Chips ,program deletes,precision planter add ons are making a profitable business .Instead of early retirement so they can add a mind that knows nothing except electronics and computers keep someone that has some common sense.I know I am not the only one that feels this way.JD has called me on occasion to ask my opinion and when I tell them they say that is the first time anyone has thought like that and everyone loves the newer easier to run machines.That is one of the reasons newer low houred equiptment is sitting unsold on lots.

 

[newgenjdcollector]

I think they are trying to streamline everything so any dummy can get in, push a few buttons and farm. Heck, even cars parallel park themselves so you don't even need that skill anymore. Our whole way of existences is migrating away from people who are knowledgeable about things to people with no knowledge or skills. Is this by design?? I am probably between your generation and the kid button pushers but I appeciate things that are simple like 4020s or 4440s. I truly believe that we are using technology that we haven't really caught up to because there is no way we have mastered what we have now. Perhaps this is all one big experiment anyhow. Let the guys who already know how to farm get it all to work so 20 years from now when they are gone, the button pushers can do it from their smart phones at home. If the machine breaks, it should be smart enugh to call for repairs right? I don't see any fun it that but it seems like the course we are on.

 

[ozarks]

(reply to post at 05:13:45 06/05/16)

Comments are right on the money, Larry--when our new Peterbilts break down, they are in the shop for a week--nobody can diagnose the new electronics in a timely manner and repair--plus they don't seem to care how long you are broke down--I like the older stuff much better--plus the fact that they don WANT us working on our own stuff--I'll take the old mechanical stuff any day--and you can make it run just as clean and get better economy--common sense in most areas is a thing of the past

 

[jd adict]

Excellent topic Larry
And I think there is a place for both technology and simplicity
For example I use an OLD 8 row corn planter modified for minimum or no till planting
I also use the old original monitor
But above it is the gps and auto steer that I can't be without now that I have used it
I get out of the tractor after an 18 hour day and wonder why but the day is over
Yur not tired, stressed and u get to look at what yur suppose to not steering the tractor all day
Also and most important if it wasn't for technology we would not be communicating with one another on this excellent site and sharing pix and information
My motto for anything is let's keep it SIMPLE
I will now try to download some pix from my complicated phone share with u all
Hope it works

 

[David G]

Those are the straightest rows I have ever seen.

I am not good at straight rows, ADHD, I end up looking around and rows show it.

 

[tim s]

I think in 3-4 years if it turns out that the over-loaded with electronics equipment is brought back to the "normal" older fashion dependable units with manual controls... it will make todays equipment, that is dead in the water setting around with bad sensors, un-sellable..and that is the down side of these amazing, electronic nightmares,,there they set shining like a new nickle and can't function because of a tiny broken wire or a hidden failed sensor that no one can find, as a few perfect planting days go by..I have seen days when a 494 planter could get more done than a 16 row unit ,,kinda like a modern day version of the Tortoise and the Hare....

 

[jd_adict]

david, that is the technology Im talking about that I cant be without. Then tractor is driving itself with the use of satilites orbiting the earth. its old us military tech.
once you have been spoiled with it you cant be without it. just like being with out your cell phone.
but if you notice I also have the planter markers down, just incase there is a glich in the gps.
They make new corn planters without row markers because they dont need them, but Im still old school.
In the larger 100 acre fields its not uncommon to get a half or 3/4 hour sleep every once and a while as the tractor drives itself.

 

[RandyB(MI)]

In answer to your very last question....because that's the market...easy , nieve and ripe for the pickin'. I'm with you on all points in your post. Even at 65...simpler the better. One doesn't have to work near as hard and long if one isn't trying to make a living for 10 or 20 other people too.

 

[MSM]

If you read the forums here, alot of the questions are due to electrical problems. A simple wiring problem,won't charge,won't start,lights won't work. This is an electrical system with about 30 feet of wiring,a few switches,a voltage regulator and a starter.Now look at a new tractor, truck, or piece of heavy equipment, hundreds of feet of wires, 50 plus sensors,potentiometers,multiple computers and ecm's, add to that the emmision controls,multiple turbochargers,fuel coolers,def tanks,pumps and heaters.
In one of my equipment magazines, it stated that 51% of new large construction equipment is rented or short term leased. And the number is going up quickly. The majority of equipment managers don't want the headache of owning a 4-5000 hour machine,knowing the dpf will have to be removed, cleaned or replaced,or wiring gets corroded,or sensors start to fail. A whole job can come to a grinding halt because a piece of machinery won't start,move or function properly. If it's rented or leased,call the dealer..fix it quick or bring me another machine. Alot of the BTO's rent or lease now for the same reason. This is why the dealers, both industrial and farm, are loaded up with low hour off lease units, hoping some unsuspecting soul will come along and buy it. Then he will have the headaches of not being able to finish planting, because a $25 sensor shut the tractor down, which will require a $125 plus/hour service call so a "technician" can hook up his laptop to find the problem,then order the part and 2 days later come back and get the machine going.
When the technology is working,it's great,when the technology starts to fail,hang on to your checkbook.

 

[tim s]

Yes,, that's what I'm talking about,, and a dealer can soon get caught up in a lot of High priced ,low hour equipment that won't sell...If and when a $150,000 piece of equipment only has a 2500 hour life cycle.... that is pricey...

 

[J. Schwiebert]

The simple flip phone is still available. I just bought one.

 

[woodbutcher]

I agree with all the tractor comments. I like my old tractors. I'd also like to know where I can get a simple flip phone. I was notified that mine will be defunct some
time in July, because it uses 2G. I ordered a Doro from Consumer Cellular but sent it back. It is simple enough, but it's like carrying half a brick in my pocket.
Butch

 

[David Snipes]

I feel the same way. I plan on keeping my older stuff running as long as possible. I still have a 40 year old dial phone in my basement and it works just fine ( a little tough with a phone menu, but then I go upstairs to the push button one).

 

[tim s]

I have T-Mobile,and they use a sim card that can be changed from phone to phone, I order a small flip phone on line and keep one on hand, it is smaller than a pack of cigarettes and works well, you can carry it without even knowing it's in your pocket.They cost about $40.

 

[Frank 41]

At my age, pushing buttons is don't my forte. From my insulin pump to jd gps there are 4 times more button pushes than necessary and that is when everything is working right. GPS is the bigest ripoff for the cost because of hardware change and no software change that is not available to you. Then the activation fee for a globe and it goes dead, you can not transfer the activation to the new globe. If I were 30 or had a 10 year kid, maybe I would be more interested. Yes, when it works it is great but with all of the satellites you should never be with out a signal. Some day all of this will be like hydraulic ends, universal. They say it is now but the wiring is endless.

This is why I got rid of the smart phone and got a flip. KISS!

 

[woodbutcher]

Thanks, Tim. That sounds like what I've been looking for.
Butch

 

[Hotflashjr]

Being a younger farmer, 34, I am still with you on a lot of those points Larry. I have buddies who stand in line for hours for the newest phone and then complain it doesn't work. My phone is 4 years old with a cracked screen and I could care less. I have two little ones at home and we do not let them use our phones or computer. We limit TV to Saturday and Sunday mornings while breakfast is being cooked, about 45 minutes. I always get told my kids seem smart for their ages. I just think that since they are not babysat by electronic devices they know more about the world and how to interact with other people.

I do have to say, I love our new orchard sprayer with electronic controls. Sure beats the old cable pull handle controls that even when well lubed and adjusted just never seemed to work right.

 

[Spitfiremk14]

Hotflashjr-

I agree with you about the TV. My father always said he was too cheap to buy a TV. I think it was one of the best things he did for us. And we never felt deprived or wished we had one either. Me and my siblings always felt we had more fun than other people.

And my kids dont have TV either.

 

[60 n B]

Like the old man tells me every year after I'm done planting, 'there's more corn in a crooked row...'

 

[2002sliverado]

I am 50 years old. I grew up and went to college when the computer programs were DOS based. I never had exposure to the Windows based programs until some years later in my job. I still have a flip phone. I plant with a 1979 4640 and a 12 row Kinze planter. The planter is set up with hydraulic population drive, but I have not used it yet. I would like to try it out and see if and how well (or poorly) it works. I don't have the acres to justify all the GPS equipment, plus the variability I have on the acres I farm is not that extreme. My planter's hydraulic drive is an add-on, so the factory drive from the transmission is in place. All I had to do was purchase the two chains for the transmissions to be able to plant with it. I do not think I would want to have a planter set up differently. When I do try out and use the variable rate hydraulic population drive, I still have the mechanical system in place to fall back on. I remember when a neighbor bought a brand new planter and was out of commission for 3 days because of all the "high tech and highly sophisticated" capabilities is had. I would like to see about getting some sort of autosteer some day, but that is down the road a long ways.