2025, Business, crops, Farming Update, History, Nature, Science, Technology, The Future, Theatre, Weather

Straight Screens in Curved Holes

47 Comments

This week’s farming update from Ben

Guess it’s winter on the farm. I even wore a T-shirt under my sleeveless shirt one day.  

I don’t think the chickens have come out of the pen all week. They peer out the door, but none of them has much interest in actually going outside. I picked up one chicken that was still living out in the pole barn and carried her back with the rest. And the garage chicken has moved down with the rest. For body heat I presume. Found 4 of the 7 chicks. It’s unfortunate it worked out the way it did for them. I’d have liked them to get a little bigger, or the weather to stay a little warmer, or momma to take a little more care of them a little longer. Any of those options would have served them better.

I got the starter put back on my 630 tractor and it started right up. I can’t get over how quiet it is now. Evidently having a hole and crack in the exhaust manifold is like a hole in your muffler. It’s surprisingly loud. And repairing it was very educational and gave me a great feeling of accomplishment. My dad would be so pleased. That thing has been cracked and loud for as long as I can remember. For a tractor from 1959, it’s getting some much needed attention.

I’m still working on some cosmetic repairs. I have new screens for the front grill and I picked up a cheap spot welder to repair part of the hood. Welding class from 12th grade comes through again!

Dad must have run into something to dent it and break off all the welds on one side. And now I need to figure out how to fit this straight piece of corrugated screen into the slots and curves on the corners.

img_5124
I know it bends, it is just a matter of fitting it all together.

I worked on it for a while one night and decided this was something to ponder and come back too. The dogs all run into the shop and get a drink, and I played ball with Luna while Bailey gets in my face. Humphrey likes having a warm place to lie down and he’s happy. But the others get bored after a bit and Bailey pee’s on the floor and out they go. Kelly lets them back into the house. Out in the shop is my happy place. Have I mentioned that? As I closed the toolbox and turned off the lights, I thought to myself, this has been 35 years in the making. We took over the farm when we got married, 35 and a half years ago. And I’ve been collecting or buying tools and gaining experience since then. If I had it sooner, I wouldn’t appreciate this so  much. Or I’d want something bigger.

=====================

At the college I’m getting ready for Holiday Concerts next week. My friend Paul is designing again, so it’s fun to have him back in the shop.

I added a few more LED lights over the stage. Just some plain LED wash lights. They don’t move or wiggle, they just change colors. Over the stage are pipes called ‘battens’ and they’re all counter weighted so they’re balanced as they come up and down. Called “flying in or out”. Our stage has 19 battens. Three are for lighting (called ‘Electrics 1,2 and 3′ front to back). Several are curtains, and some are open to hang scenery. The counterweight is achieved using metal bricks that weigh about 15.5 pounds. We add or subtract them to balance whatever is hanging. When I added the lights to the 1st Electric, I had to add 8 more bricks. This is the main lighting batten. I counted 58 bricks. 899 pounds. This batten is rated for 1000 lbs.

img_5107
These are the counter weight bricks. The yellow brick is empty base weight.
img_5108-1
The First Electric and it’s 23 various lights.

*********************************************

I read an article in a farm magazine recently about the next generation of autonomous farm equipment. The technology is out of testing and is available for sale.

A little background: As with all technology, this has been coming for a few years. First it was the GPS mapping. Then row sensors so machinery could follow the rows by themselves. Then the machinery started to incorporate the equipment and technology to put all this together and the tractor could follow a line through the field. Then it was automated so that the tractor could raise and lower an implement, slow down at the ends, and all the driver had to do was make the corner, find the next line and hit ‘Go’. From there, multiple implements or tractors could talk to each other. The tractor could pull up next to the combine, and the combine would take control of the tractor and unload at a constant speed. So simply removing the driver really wasn’t that big of a leap, it was kind of the next logical step. That said, I’m not sure I’m ready for a driverless car yet.

 This information is from an article in Successful Farming Magazine from November of 2025, called ‘How Farmers Are Using Autonomous Equipment to Do More with Less’. It cites labor shortages, changing weather conditions meaning smaller productivity windows, or maybe just not having enough time in the day to get it all done. Some of the jobs open to autonomy are planting, spreading fertilizer, tillage, or pulling grain carts.

Wanna know what it costs?

There are two big companies: John Deere and AGCO. John Deere doesn’t list prices.

AGCO: 

Capabilities: grain cart duties and tillage; planned for 2026 

Compatibility: AGCO and PTx’s OutRun system is compatible with 2014 or newer John Deere 8R tractors. Compatibility with Fendt tractors is to begin in 2026.

OutRun for tillage has a $54,000 one-time hardware cost and a $9,000 annual recurring payment; OutRun for grain cart has a $55,000 one-time hardware cost and a $15,000 annual recurring payment. 

If using the same tractor and base OutRun Intelligence kit for both grain cart and tillage, it has a $65,900 one-time hardware cost and a $15,000 annual recurring payment.

Carbon Robotics: 

Capabilities: tillage, mulching, mowing, and LaserWeeder

Compatibility: Carbon ATK is compatible with John Deere 6R, 8R, 8RT, and 8RX model tractors. Installation takes under a day, with no permanent modifications. Carbon ATK is a $60,000 one-time add-on kit that Carbon comes out and installs.

John Deere: 

No price listed

Sabanto: 

Capabilities: mowing and seeding

Compatibility: The Sabanto autonomous kit is compatible with 2015–2024 Kubota M5 Series tractors; 2015–2024 John Deere 5E, 5M, and 6E Series tractors; and Fendt 700 Vario tractors. The kit costs $70,000, and is available on cab and open-station models. 

https://www.agriculture.com/how-farmers-are-using-autonomous-equipment-to-do-more-with-less-11838003

[Whistle]

First off, I don’t even have a tractor new enough to put this on. Second, [Looking at my bank account]… Nope, there is nothing to say here.

It is kinda cool! I can see the advantage for some farmers. Kelly suggested I could have the tractor doing fieldwork while I was at the college. Yep. Suppose Bailey would still get in the tractor without me? From the video’s of the systems I’ve seen, the operator is monitoring it from his phone or tablet. Inside the tractor you set the field and boundaries. Then once you’re out of the tractor, depending on which system  you’re using, either you start it remotely and the tractor honks and the lights flash and it uses all the exterior cameras to make sure you’re not around, and off it goes.

If it “sees” something not right, it will stop and alert the operator, who can view the cameras and decide the best course of action.

Crazy stuff.

JOKE DAY! SHARE A JOKE:

Q: WE WERE SO POOR—

A: THAT FOR BREAKFAST WE HAD ORDINARY K.

47 thoughts on “Straight Screens in Curved Holes”

  1. like the joke
    my autonomous contribution wish wold be waterinf and nutrient data to maximize each plant location . since the laws changed regarding putting the firewall on maintance (mcdonalds flurry machines were down 40 percent of the time the law said you can fix your own i would think that would cover the yearly fee.

    where do trans people go on vacation?

    transylvania

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  2. Autonomous farm equipment? … What could go wrong?
    The world is getting so strange.

    Another question – is a batten also the name of the weights found in double hung windows? And is there where the term “batten down the hatches” comes from, or is that nautical?

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. To the best of my knowledge, the counterweights in old-fashioned double-hung windows are just called sash weights.

      A batten is a long square length of wood. In the context of a window I would expect it would occur as a reinforcement on a shutter. It appears in a nautical context as “batten down the hatches” because the hatches are nautical. Battens are also used as an exterior treatment, as in board and batten, where the battens are applied vertically in a regular pattern.

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply

    1. I update my cell phone and Apple is doing its best to make me use Apple Pay on it, which I am not going to do.
      No jokes come to mind. I am not in a joke-hearing environment.
      Oh, and WP refuses to let me sign in here.
      Clyde the ghost

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  5. Oh, I googled “I’m so poor jokes”. I know some jokes, but didn’t know any about money.

    DID YOU HEAR THE JOKE ABOUT THE SIDEWALK?

    ITS ALL OVER TOWN.

    I CANT BELIEVE THE STATIONARY STORE MOVED.

    (Think about it)

    I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED TO HEAR THEYRE NOT MAKING 12” RULERS ANY LONGER.

    (another to think about)

    Those last two I like to say to Kelly just before getting out of an elevator. Nobody says anything. Someday I’m gonna get a laugh just as the door is closing.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  6. A phrase we never used in the ‘60s: “I lost my phone.”

    Best I can do. I come from a family of people who are all, consistently, way too serious. It’s genetics and how I was raised. I’d love to be a ray of sunshine. But I’m not.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. Thanks, Jacque. She’s does NOT like her food with the medicine mixed into it. It takes her hours to eat it but I leave it for her and she keeps going back to it. Eventually she gets it all. Three doses down; two to go. She’s been doing her business more often outside, unless it’s very cold. She still does it inside if I fail to get her out on time. I’ve been trying for every 2-3 hours. She’s better with #1 than #2, but there is improvement with both. Frequency of stools has slowed down.

        Unfortunately, sleep is still a problem. I would like to continue the crate training, and I know I should, but I need to sleep. All she does is cover the crate with feces and howl and yelp all night, making it impossible – torture for both of us. I have a pen ordered. I will encourage the crate training again – it needs to happen, but for now we’re taking baby steps. Going for walks outside is very beneficial for both of us, and she does her job and is praised.

        I’m feeling a little sad about not going to my lakehome. I hope I have the courage to do it over Christmas. I am questioning my own sanity over getting a brand new puppy as winter sets in and I already had such a busy month planned. My friend Gary said, “Are you NUTS?”

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

  7. Interesting how many non-joke-remembers (?) we have here. Me included. The biggest joke I can think of… but far from the funniest… is #47.

    He makes me laugh until I cry. But the laughing ends quickly.

    Chris in Owatonna

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. The nickname of every John Deere tractor, no matter the view, is “Johnny Popper.” The very old 2 cylinder John Deere tractors made a distinctive popping sound that spawned the nickname.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

    2. I see what you mean. But no, I’ve never named machinery or cars. I do give them female personalities and will say “Thank you ladies”, but never had a name.

      The 630 is one of those 2 cylinders.
      But only sounds like that when running at low idle. When running faster, it still has that rhythm but faster.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. When my daughter was born, we lived in a city in Taiwan where having a car was unnecessary. The next year, we were on Sabbatical in the USA, where a car was needed. As she became more verbal, I named the car, Lah-dee-dah.
        Flash forward. For the next several years, I named all of our cars. When someone inquired about it, I offhandedly commented that, while I was in college, I had a car named “Bitch”.
        I spent lots of repair hours with that one.

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

        1. OK.
          A man loses his father and cannot attend the funeral but requests the funeral home director to give his dad the best.
          Done. Expensive but paid.
          A month later a bill for $50 comes for the funeral.
          Paid.
          Next month another bill for $50 funeral expenses comes. Paid.
          Next month again another bill for $50.
          “Why are there monthly bills for my Dad’s funeral?”
          “You wanted the best so I rented him a tux.”
          Chet Atkins delivered that at PHC Joke Show.
          Damn I miss that!

          Liked by 7 people

Leave a reply to Chris Norbury Cancel reply