Jason KoeblerMay 12, 2024

Scoop: Solar storm is causing farmers' tractor GPS systems to go haywire. Many have shut down planting altogether during a critical period. A Deere dealer said accuracy is "extremely compromised"

https://www.404media.co/solar-storm-knocks-out-tractor-gps-systems-during-peak-planting-season/

Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season

The accuracy of some critical GPS navigation systems used in modern farming have been "extremely compromised," a John Deere dealership told customers Saturday.

404 Media
Show threadJason KoeblerMay 12, 2024
This is a reminder of how much modern tractors rely on satellite and internet connections. Many farmers can't or won't plant right now bc tractors have been highly automated to increase yield. Rows are planted so tightly together that humans can't navigate them w/o killing crops
Show threadJason KoeblerMay 12, 2024
One farmer called it a "shitshow." Another: "All the tractors are sitting at the ends of the field right now shut down because of the solar storm." Another said their systems that are normally centimeter-accurate were off by 3-6 feet and tractor kept "wandering off" and had to be constantly corrected.
Show threadJason KoeblerMay 12, 2024
This, from a John Deere dealer, is wild. They warn that affected tractors operated during this time will likely have made maps that are wrong, which will be wrong throughout the growing system, and which are wrong in an inconsistent way
Show threadTony HillMay 12, 2024
@jasonkoebler a) A deer dealer? No loss from my pov.
b) planted so tightly together - exploiting the soil untill it becomes unusable. Growth, growth, growth. The sacred cow.
Show threadGeorge Liquor, AmericanMay 12, 2024
@TonyHill @jasonkoebler These centimeter-accurate planting/harvesting technologies are not just greed in action. People have to eat, and there are a whole lot of us.
Show thread✨buff dog himbo✨May 12, 2024

@liquor_american @TonyHill @jasonkoebler interesting, until we consider that the compounding effects of soil compaction (from use of heavy machinery), monocropping, & use of synthetic fertilizers is FUCKING the earth & putting a cap on future farming efficacy anyway.

Yeah, people have to eat, that's why we should be asking ourselves if the modern approach to farming & distrubution (large factory farming, subsidies for large farms & small farms becoming scarce) is actually working to that end.

Show threadCarmenSD11235
@itsmeholland @liquor_american @TonyHill @jasonkoebler especially with more fertile farmland being turned subdivisions and malls.
May 12, 2024 at 9:56pmWeb
Show threadUlrikeMay 13, 2024
@CarmenSD11235 @itsmeholland @liquor_american @TonyHill @jasonkoebler
How much of the most fertile farmland is being turned into homes and malls? How many acres of farmland does it take to grow enough calories for the entire population of earth, and how many acres of farmland exist?