Raven Industries

[Guest]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/tech-company-opening-facility-1.5798151 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/tech-company-opening-facility-1.5798151 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/tech-company-opening-facility-1.5798151

[Tucker]

With OneEarth Farms and that type I think we've seen the limit of acres a corporate farm can expand to. I'd trust the idiots behind the wheel running my 18 combines before I'd trust DOT to run them. You want them to run with robots? Great. Give me my $500k/quarter and have at it. I'll be in Hawaii if you want me. Sounds like a solution looking for a problem.

disclaimer: I don't run 18 combines. I run 2.

[blackpowder]

Not in my career, but consider we are a very small market in the world.
I bet over 95% of world farm machinery is operated by two feet and a heartbeat employees.
Increased automation always coming.

[Guest]

glad i'm near "going" lol (tm chuck)
but good to see they picked Sask!

[bucket]

Millions unemployed and the best solution is autonomous farming....

So even more interesting news to this....driverless trucks means CN will reduce the number of people controlling trains...

[Sodbuster]

So is Norbert involved in any way anymore since Raven took over his project.

[bucket]

So is Norbert involved in any way anymore since Raven took over his project.

My guess is he is enjoying the 5 million Ralph gave him just before he sold out.

[Guest]

but, but,but,........
if its coming, and i think it is , its still a little something for Sask, no ?

[farmaholic]

We drive past (one of?) their testing field when we go to Regina on Highway 48.

Interesting to see.

I wonder how long it will take for them to become widely adopted, if ever.

You would need alot of them the size they are now. 24-7 or not....guys with 60+foot drills are doing that already.

Good luck, what harm could it do?

Quote from article.... "The company has also partnered with Economic Development Regina as a part of the Investment Partnership Program" ......enter bucket!

[Rareearth]

They should merger acquisition Clean Seed seeder planter what ever it is.
They are very slow in developing it not a retail product, tough business.

[WiltonRanch]

This discussion looks akin to a bunch of people in the horse and buggy days discussing new fangled automobiles and tractors.

[farmaholic]

This discussion looks akin to a bunch of people in the horse and buggy days discussing new fangled automobiles and tractors.

Not all technology or marrying different technologies together necessarily make it to mainstream acceptance.

I see these things being useful in orchards, and large scale vegetable fields. Valuable commodities, not cheap mass produced commodities.

Just my opinion.

[woodland]

This discussion looks akin to a bunch of people in the horse and buggy days discussing new fangled automobiles and tractors.

Till they can identify a washout, fallen tree, wet spot, shrapnel that fell off the last equipment through the field I think we will have someone keeping the seat warm ready to press the clutch pedal. Maybe in paradise where flat, square fields without drainage issues and not surrounded by trees it’ll work perfectly.

Not all technology is great or required. Then again I’m a fan of the KISS theory 😉

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Not in my career, but consider we are a very small market in the world.
I bet over 95% of world farm machinery is operated by two feet and a heartbeat employees.
Increased automation always coming.

It's even worse than that ( or better depending on your perspective). Most farmers of the world (by quantity, if not by acres) are using equipment that is human powered, as in scythes, hoes, sticks pitchforks.
The disconnect that we in the first world see a need for such technology really makes you wonder.

[WiltonRanch]

I hate to dismiss new tech and look like a Neanderthal Luddite but I just do not see an advantage to what they envision for autonomous equipment. The logistics of moving multiple units would negate the advantage over a single large unit. Sure, maybe an orchard, vegetable patch, etc it would work fine. One of our members on this forum has done painstaking work developing his own autonomous system and even he says you can’t rule out the human element. I’d love to send out a couple 20’ units in my rolly cut up fields and drink beer on the headlands but what I have now and what can get done for the cost is efficient in my books.