Tractors: mobile offices of the future

Tech news mulled at Farmfest

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

GILFILLAN -- Before long, farm tractors will be mobile offices with GPS steering and online computers aboard.

Farmers will be able to check the latest grain and other commodity prices while cruising down their field rows, deciding where and to whom they want to sell the product they are harvesting.

Ford Motor Company is developing technology to bring on-board Internet capability to 2 million of its vehicles by 2002, 3 million by 2003 and all of its new vehicles by 2004, according to Redwood County Corn & Soybean Association President Lance Otto who farms between Redwood Falls and Wabasso.

Speaking about the the Internet and changing trends in agriculture retailing and marketing Thursday at Farmfest, Otto said his farm has been online since 1996 and that he uses it more than his telephone.

"I could tell people were getting frustrated trying to reach me by telephone," Otto said. "E-mail is better for me. I got a separate phone line for my computer so I can download large programs without tying up my telephone."

Otto also uses a digital camera to photograph and e-mail images of plants to county agents when he has questions about like whether or not he should replant and weeds he can't identify.

He was quick to point out that the emerging technology will not mean the end of local businesses.

"Computers don't fix tractors," said Otto. "But businesses will have to re-think the way they do things to be more competitive."

Ignoring the Internet is not an option for farmers that want to stay viable, according to Watonwan Farm Services General Manager Ed Bosanko.

"Traditionally, we considered ourselves a service company, with the services subsidized by the prices of commodities sold," said Bosanko. "That's going to change. We have to run down a field with a $150,000 Terragator for $4 per acre while it costs about $7 or $8 per acre to run it."

Since excessag.com appeared online, Bosanko's firm cut the profit margin on chemicals but had to charge for an agronomist to come to a farmer's field to remain profitable.

Right now, his firm is assessing what its business will be like several years into the future. If it doesn't, it won't be around by then, according to Bosanko.

He said commodity prices at local elevators or anywhere else will eventually be what is posted on the Internet.

The 24-hours a day, seven days a week, aspect of the Internet is particularly attractive to farmers. Most farmers use the Internet between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Bosanko said the Internet will have as much impact on society as the printing press.

Producers will have to be able to predict what consumers want next year and produce it now, said e-markets Vice President Scott Cavey of Ames, Iowa.

He said his firm and others like it will improve the communication of this information from producer to manufacturer including product attributes, price and delivery mechanism.

Annual Internet transactions will be $8 trillion by 2004, according to Successful Farming Technology Editor Grant Mangold.

He said wireless cable modems will soon be available for $100 per month.

Otto said he still prefers dealing with local dealers when it comes to buying machinery.

"I want somebody who will fix it fast when it breaks down, or I could lose thousands of dollars in one day," said Otto. "On the other hand, some farmers are willing to drive to neighboring states to buy machinery."

Bosanko said he sees the merging of Cargill, Dupont, Cenex and Harvest States with rooster.com as something that local stores can also take advantage of.

Cavey said it is important that consumers demand a neutral website for these firms that allows local stores access to it, which will in turn, make them more efficient.