As farmers cope with drought and high operating costs, they are willing to look most anywhere for help, even outer space.
A growing number of farmers in Middle Georgia are using Global Positioning System technology to improve efficiency in almost every aspect of agriculture.
Four years ago, Trey Dunaway and his dad equipped their tractors with a GPS system, primarily to aid in planting and harvesting on their 1,900-acre operation in Pulaski County. At that time, Dunaway said, he knew of only one other farmer in the area using GPS.
Now he estimates 30 to 40 farmers in Pulaski County and the surrounding area are using the system, which relies on a satellite signal from space.
"It's really exploded in the last two or three years," Dunaway said as he gave The Telegraph a demonstration of the system last week.
The system has a myriad of uses, aiding farmers in plowing, planting, fertilizing, spraying and harvesting.
Installation of the system costs more than $20,000 per tractor, but Dunaway figures the money he and his dad invested to equip two tractors was recouped in about two years from increased efficiency.
A satellite receiver on the cab roof feeds the signal to a computer in the cab that is connected to the tractor's controls. The satellite, in conjunction with a radio tower that improves the accuracy, steers the tractor to within a half-inch of its intended track.
