Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor is in reaction to an editorial written by Jennifer Kiel.  It appeared in the August issue of American Agriculturist and online April 22 at bit.ly/ag-technology. Jim Domagalski is a cash crop farmer from St. Clair County, Mich. In 2019, he was named a Michigan Master Farmer.

I read your article, “How technology is changing the ag workforce,” in the August issue of American Agriculturist and would like to make a comment or two.

First off, yes, technology has come a long way in a short period of time. 

I grew up on tractors that were built in the ‘40s and ‘50s — simple to operate and simple to repair. Now with my almost up-to-date equipment, it’s totally different. 

On the combine, there’s a large black box that’s labeled, “Don’t open the box, call your dealer.”

I’ve no idea what’s in there, but the service tech does and brings his laptop with him to diagnose the problem.

The almost-new tractor has a screen that shows the RPMs, speed, fuel level, etc., and when an issue comes up, a yellow, flashing light appears and then sends a CODE# to the display. You then go to the tractor manual, find the CODE# and read its description.

Sometimes you win, and sometimes you don’t. “Call your dealership.”

Last year, I had an issue with my GPS on the combine during wheat harvest. The functions on the monitor would not respond to my commands. I called the technician, he promptly came out to the farm and did his magic, and it seemed to respond. He didn’t even get back to his office and the monitor wouldn’t respond again.

He was called a second time, same thing. He thought he had it fixed, left and shortly after, it quit again.

The third time (now I’m getting frustrated), the same darn thing.

But this time, he gave up and admitted he didn’t know what was causing the problem and not to worry, he wouldn’t charge for the third trip. Two weeks later, I got another $300-plus bill in the mail.

I’ve spent over $1,000 on what was supposed to be a repair, on the same unit and nothing in return. That’s three trips and no results.

If this technology is supposed to be such a great thing, I’m not convinced. If the manufacturers who design, assemble and test these units to perform to their expectations and put them on the market, with some backup technicians that are to be the go-to people when an issue comes up and the technicians are stumped, then what? Replace the unit I’ve spent sizable dollars on already?  

As you may already surmised, yes, I am upset. 

On another note, I’ve spoken to a mechanic at the same dealership and he mentioned that Mr. Bill Gates had purchased 7% of this company’s stock initially, and now has 10%. He feels that if you think there’s a lot of technology in these machines now, wait, it’s going to get worse. 

Maybe these 30- or 40-year-old farmers can keep up with the changes, but the average farmer is much older than that.

Respectfully,

Jim Domagalski

St. Clair County, Mich.