Trimble ‘Connected Farm’ launches in the UK
Trimble launched its “Connected Farm” concept to UK farmers. The GPS-giant is already well-known for its range of GPS guidance and steering systems, but now it’s concentrating on linking this all together to enable farmers to get the most out of the information it gathers.
Farmers will no longer have to rely on USB sticks of memory cards to transfer information between tractors, combines and sprayers to the farm office. Instead, this clever modem will automatically upload data from the machine to the farm – either over the wireless data network in the farm yard or via mobile phone signal.
Equally, information can be sent back to the tractor, meaning that if a machine is out working, the opeartor can receive maps of the next job without having to return to base. After each task, the software can be set to send data immediately, or it can all be sent at the end of the day.
The machine that enables all this is the DCM 300, a box that sits in the cab that has both wi-fi and mobile connectivity. The box itself costs £1,500, and connects to the existing Trimble GPS system fitted to the tractor. The service costs about £360 a year, and also doubles up as a vehicle tracking device.
