Automation and Fuel Savings

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

With fuel prices continuing to eat into already tight margins, growers are looking for any advantage that helps stretch a tank a little further. Tim Bucher, CEO of AgTonomy, says automation can help. He says fuel savings have become an often overlooked advantage for farmers utilizing their technology.

Bucher… “ When we started, we had no idea that automation would bring fuel savings, but it makes sense now that we've gotten this feedback from customers because a human doesn't necessarily route completely efficiently, right? So computers do the optimal route plans. Computers will always lower and raise the implement at exactly the right time. We'll always set the RPMs to exactly the right speeds. And we'll always make exactly the most efficient turns. Voila, you have fuel savings on the order of 20% to 30%. And look, because of the shortage we have with skilled operators, I would say the quality of the skilled operators these days is not as great. And you can ask any grower today, do you have more accidents with your operators today? Meaning you hit a tree or something like that, right? The answer is yes. So automation can bring that additional safety and better quality of the job.”

Learn more about AgTonomy’s operations at agtonomy.com.