When will the digital revolution for contractors start?

A small contracting company nowadays has a machine park that makes many envious. Despite all the technology, many things are still kept on a notepad. Who was fertilized or how many tons of straw was loaded? The digital data revolution is starting slowly. If it is up to (tractor) manufacturers, that will change quickly.

Full liners are not only happy to offer tractors, combines, forage harvesters and GPS systems from one and the same brand. More and more often, a package of electronics is added to this. At the beginning of December, John Deere – the mother of all full liners – presented their new 'contractor tractor' with great fanfare: The 6230R and 6250R. This also includes a package of electronics (iOS apps) that should help contractors to use their new two-ton toy efficiently.

Where management software is used for your machine fleet, in the US and Russia in particular, it is used to find out where everything is located – and whether it is not being stolen – that fork is different in Europe. For example, a Dutch contractor wants to see the most efficient route to his customers, how much has been chopped where and what the fuel consumption is. This can be communicated directly with the customer in order to work transparently.

John Deere involved many contractors from all over Europe in the development of its contractor tractor. Also a lot from the Netherlands. In addition to a multifunctional lever and a good weight ratio, software was also extensively discussed. Not entirely new, as Deere already made a few things public at the 2015 Agritechnica. However, apps like MyJobsConnect are still being worked on.

Contractors face a double dilemma when exchanging the ballpoint pen for an iPad. Which system should you choose and who the hell is going to pay for it all? They have learned from the advent of GPS. Almost every customer demands that a tractor with RTK-GPS arrive to carry out sowing or planting work. Charging 5 euros more to recoup the system of 20.000 euros is not accepted. Whether that is correct is debatable. The fact is that with such an investment, that key question will surface again. In addition: If you buy a new 6R, but your machinery also includes four Fendts, three New Hollands and a Claas forage harvester, will it work? Manufacturers prefer to focus on their own brand. Systems that work sector-wide are apparently difficult to find. Especially parties that do not have electronics in-house are collaborating on this.

Years ago I visited a contractor who had had yield measurement on the combine since the mid-90s. About fifteen years before it became 'hip'. The system was never used. Why? The contractor charged a few euros extra for supplying yield cards. The customer does not care about that. 'I know myself what the good and bad places are', you will be told. No doubt it is the same with a pricey telematry system. The customer is fine with it, as long as there are no costs involved.

Is it fair to saddle the customer with it? As a dairy farmer, you don't milk an extra liter by knowing exactly how many tons of maize has been chopped. At most it will help you to better determine whether you have enough feed, but someone with seasoned farming knowledge will know that too. Yet there are contractors who invest. As soon as the chopper leaves the country, they can give the customer a printout of how long the chopping took, what the average dry matter percentage is and how many tons came off. Also where you want.

Does the customer complain that the bill is very high? Then you put figures under his nose that that chopper has burned 1.000 liters of diesel. It helps create understanding and provide transparency. That is why the knot is already being cut. Not to mention John Deere's own 'TomTom' that helps you efficiently from A to B and prevents errors, or that software seamlessly demonstrates to you as a manager that machine A works more economically than machine B.

It is the task of contractors to put the note pad aside and hang a tablet in the cabin. It is up to manufacturers to come up with software that can also work with fellow brands. In this way, everyone benefits from the digital revolution. Is that too much to ask? Time will tell.

Niels van der Boom

Niels van der Boom is a senior market specialist for arable crops at DCA Market Intelligence. He mainly makes analyses and market updates about the potato market. In columns he shares his sharp view on the arable sector and technology.

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