I got a laugh out of this
The first one made the news the other day.
A farmer from the Horsham district was ploughing one of his fields using a large articulated tractor fitted with the latest GPS auto steer. These things are capable of accuracy down to an inch. But, as the farmer found out, it doesn't know there was a power pole in the middle of his paddock. Took the pole clean out of the ground.
Story two involves big tractors, big implements and beer.
When farmers round here start sowing crops it's pretty full on. This farmer had been putting in 18+ hour days to get his crop in. Late at night and well into his last paddock he decided to relax a little and have a few beers while he completed the last couple of rows. But, as this farmer found out, GPS doesn't know when the driver has fallen asleep. He was woken hours later by the tractor was bouncing violently. He immediately knew he had fallen asleep when found that his tractor was up against a Gum tree, the wheels were still turning, digging big holes in the ground. As he pushed the clutch in the full extent of what had happened dawned upon him. When turned around, as far as he could see there was a 40' wide ploughed line. He looked down at the mess of fencing tangled up in the plough. Turned out he gone about 12Kms, through 2 neighbors properties. When he recounted the story to me he finished off by telling me, with a huge grin "But Jees it was a bloody straight line".
Story three.
This farmer was towing a boom spray and was traveling on a backroad on his way to the next paddock. He was unsure if he had enough chemical left so he brought the next paddock up on the spray computer to see how many hectares it was thus how muck chemical he'd need. But, as this farmer found out, trying to control a tractor at speed an operate computers is not easy. He accidentally activated the program and the auto steer. The tractor turned 90 degrees, throwing the driver into the side window and rolling the boom spay. Needless to say that nothing grew in that spot for a while.
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