Harvest efficiency is essential when it’s time to get the crop in, but combine wheel slip on wet or uneven terrain or inconsistent speed adjustments can cost growers time and money.
John Deere’s ground speed cameras can compensate for this by detecting the crop 28 feet ahead of the combine to constantly measure crop height and volume. At the same time, pre-harvest satellite images are working with the real-time image to generate a predictive field map. As the combine picks up the downed crop, it slows down or speeds up to a pre-set speed that the grower has chosen from the cab.
As Tucker Bentley of John Deere says in this interview at Agri-Trade in Red Deer, Alta., “you don’t do anything, the combine does it all for you.”
Bentley describes the predictive ground speed automation as the difference between cruise control in a car and adaptive cruise control. The combine speeds up and slows down for the grower without the need to control it, he says.
When it comes to the possible savings with using the technology, Bentley says that a potential of one per cent loss over 3,000 acres can add up to a lot of money, and by using these cameras growers are able to maintain peak productivity throughout the day.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
