MACOMB (WGEM) – For the 25 members of the Western Illinois University (WIU) Ag Mech Club, putting together the student-led Ag Mech Farm Expo is no easy feat.
According to Owen Bull, Ag Mech Club president, it requires long hours and patience recruiting vendors for the event.
“The work that you don’t see put into it, is insane,” Bull said.
But the fruit of club’s labor is well worth it: a glimpse into the future of agriculture.
“What you can expect coming here… is to see some of the newest technologies within agriculture,” Bull explained.
One of those technologies will require observers to look up.
Sprayer drones first arrived on the agriculture scene a few years ago, but have evolved at a rapid pace. Newer models can carry up to 40 gallons of fungicide and spray roughly 20 acres of crop autonomously.
“We program in the field boundaries, so once you have your field boundary, then you put your spray parameters in,” said Blake McGrew, lead technician at Drone Aerotech, adding, “Once you have all that in, all I’m actually doing is telling that thing to take off again”
Even with the massive leaps automated farm technology has made in recent years, it’s still advancing.
“It’s just moving at a rapid rate. It’s kind of hard to believe from where we just started just a few years ago,” McGrew noted. “With autonomous technology just getting better and better, it’s just going to, provide more efficiency on the farm, with fewer people.”
For Bull, the future of farming equipment looks nearly unrecognizable compared to his past experience in the field.
“The farm I grew up on, we had a (John Deere) 4020 tractor, which is an older one… Learning how to run that thing, on a small farm operation, and then you go to see what they have nowadays… It’s really insane to see, just the difference of technology,” Bull said.
Opinions may differ on the future of ag tech, but many attendees were intrigued by the equipment on display.
“I’ve seen a lot of people take a lot of pictures. They’ve been really impressed with the show, and not only with the show, but with the new technology they see,” Bull said. “I’ve seen people get group pictures in front of the tractors outside, or the drones in here, or just the cool stuff.”
The Ag Mech Farm Expo continues Sunday, Feb. 8 in WIU’s Western Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Presentations begin at 11 a.m. in the Hall of Fame Room.
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