T__langan
Guest
I thought of that when I was posting above. I tend to think, in this day and age, there just might be enough farm kids with computer backrounds that just might be the ticket for a position like this - kids who like technology, yet want to work with farm equipment and just might be willing to do this job for $25 - $30 grand. Most of this computer stuff all works the same - and most of the time, if a problem occurs, it's simply a matter of finding the problem and replacing a component. The "right guy" would not need to know programming - just troubleshooting and setup. Comprehensive knowledge of computer operations would be needed however, and the typical wrench turner doesn't like messing with computers and electronics. I think it might be easier than you think to find people like this. I do agree with you that AGCO wants to run with the big dogs in this area, but hasn't learned how to pee on the big bushes yet! 
They just recently got someone to put together a decent website for the corporation - but are still lacking compared to the red and green sites. Marketing and technology are the two areas that AGCO really needs to step it up in order to really compete - the equipment can compete, but farmers need to be informed of this and have the support to make it work right so the end buyer can feel confident that they can make this stuff go. Perhaps a different direction that AGCO could pursue, if dealers are unwilling or unable to staff a tech person would be to put tutorials right on the internet. Videos explaining troubleshooting and operation of Fieldstar, for example, available anytime day or night. Don't want to drive back home, log onto the net to figure something out with FieldstarIJ Right now, you may have a point. But in a year or two, I can pretty much guarantee that most new cell phones will have a full-fledged web browser built right into them. The iPhone is there already and everyone else will implement this into their new phones in order to compete. Problem with FieldstarIJ Grab your phone, click on the bookmark to AGCO's tutorials, and away you go. Take it one step further and incorporate something right into Fieldstar to log into AGCO's servers via cell phone signals to troubleshoot automatically. Something like this has potential to tell you when something is wrong and how to fix it before you even knew there was a problem! The possibilities are endless - they just need someone pushing to get to that point. Several months ago, I was searching around the U.S. Patent site and Deere had already filed a patent on a system for combines that would track machine operation. When a problem occurs, the system would diagnose, determine the solution, and would automatically order parts via a satellite system. Imagine having your Tattletale beeper go off - and your combine already figured out the problem and ordered the parts for you before you brought it to a screeching halt. A lot of farmers probably wouldn't want something like this at this point, but I think they are gearing up for the day when most combine operators are "drivers" and not "operators". BTO could then hire low paid employees (illegalsIJ) to run equipment, sit back in their offices, and let the system work. The money saved on labor would probably more than offset the cost of parts getting ordered that may not be needed if an experienced, but highly paid person were operating the machine. The trend is definitely going in that direction - autosteer, automatic adjustments of combine settings, automatic adjustment of ground speed based on crop flow through the machine, etc are all pointing toward the day that the only requirement for the person in the cab is a pulse (and low expectations for income lOl!!).
They just recently got someone to put together a decent website for the corporation - but are still lacking compared to the red and green sites. Marketing and technology are the two areas that AGCO really needs to step it up in order to really compete - the equipment can compete, but farmers need to be informed of this and have the support to make it work right so the end buyer can feel confident that they can make this stuff go. Perhaps a different direction that AGCO could pursue, if dealers are unwilling or unable to staff a tech person would be to put tutorials right on the internet. Videos explaining troubleshooting and operation of Fieldstar, for example, available anytime day or night. Don't want to drive back home, log onto the net to figure something out with FieldstarIJ Right now, you may have a point. But in a year or two, I can pretty much guarantee that most new cell phones will have a full-fledged web browser built right into them. The iPhone is there already and everyone else will implement this into their new phones in order to compete. Problem with FieldstarIJ Grab your phone, click on the bookmark to AGCO's tutorials, and away you go. Take it one step further and incorporate something right into Fieldstar to log into AGCO's servers via cell phone signals to troubleshoot automatically. Something like this has potential to tell you when something is wrong and how to fix it before you even knew there was a problem! The possibilities are endless - they just need someone pushing to get to that point. Several months ago, I was searching around the U.S. Patent site and Deere had already filed a patent on a system for combines that would track machine operation. When a problem occurs, the system would diagnose, determine the solution, and would automatically order parts via a satellite system. Imagine having your Tattletale beeper go off - and your combine already figured out the problem and ordered the parts for you before you brought it to a screeching halt. A lot of farmers probably wouldn't want something like this at this point, but I think they are gearing up for the day when most combine operators are "drivers" and not "operators". BTO could then hire low paid employees (illegalsIJ) to run equipment, sit back in their offices, and let the system work. The money saved on labor would probably more than offset the cost of parts getting ordered that may not be needed if an experienced, but highly paid person were operating the machine. The trend is definitely going in that direction - autosteer, automatic adjustments of combine settings, automatic adjustment of ground speed based on crop flow through the machine, etc are all pointing toward the day that the only requirement for the person in the cab is a pulse (and low expectations for income lOl!!).