As of Nov. 9th drought conditions won’t take much space as they are essentially unchanged for the state and the cooler conditions, even with little to no moisture won’t change this much. The six to ten-day outlook (Nov. 17 to 21) indicates normal temperatures and below normal precipitation (30% to 40% chance). The eight to 14-day outlook (Nov. 19 to 25) indicates above normal temperatures (30% to 40%) and below normal precipitation with the same probabilities. If the weather forecast is correct, we finally have had our first killing frost and first real freeze in this area period. Later than typically expected but this seems to be becoming the new norm.
Tractors, combines, swathers, self-propelled sprayers and other modern farm machinery with a motor are modern marvels of technology. They are high tech, highly computerized pieces of equipment. Besides GPS, autosteer, and other computerized technology, they are also highly technical in how they meet pollution standards for diesel engines with extremely sophisticated programs to minimize pollution while providing needed horsepower. A far cry from motorized farm machinery of even 35 to 40 years ago. The people fixing this equipment are no longer called mechanics but are technicians and a laptop is a key tool in the tool box. They are reliable but still need repaired. And there is the rub making its way through the courts.
In order to meet EPA emission standards and comply with the law, the programming for engines is quite specific. It’s more than using DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) but programming the engine to perform within specifications to meet emission standards. The financial penalties for an engine that has been tampered with are substantial and basically apply whether the manufacturer’s technician tampered or someone else did, say a non-dealer mechanic or the farmer. To avoid this problem, the programming is proprietary information and the owner of the machine doesn’t have access to it. Trying to not take sides, the essence of the complaint from the farmer is that they pay often hundreds of thousands of dollars for a tractor or combine yet you don’t have access to (own) the software controlling it. A farmer doesn’t really own the equipment even though they paid for it. They are in court for the “right to prepare.”
Manufacturers, in this case John Deere, are saying to comply with EPA regulations and farmer safety, producers can’t have access to this information. Deere in this instance has come to a sort of truce by saying this year they would make things like software guides more available along with diagnostic tools and specialized equipment. So far the other side is saying John Deere hasn’t kept up their side of the bargain. As you can guess, this isn’t going to be over anytime soon and will likely end up in at least one or more court cases. So we still aren’t quite sure who owns that tractor.
Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, or martinv@bartonccc.edu.
