Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Market Innovation vs. Government Regulation
The world's first autonomous crop planter.Will it need a commercial driver's license from the government?
1. Amazing market-based innovation that could increase farm productivity, reduce production costs, and lower costs to consumers.
WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa (Aug 10, 2011) – "Kinze Manufacturing gave the agriculture industry a glimpse into the future today with the unveiling of its precision planting technology – an autonomous planter that operates without an operator in the tractor cab. The Kinze Autonomy Project, the first of its kind in row crop production worldwide, utilizes autonomous agricultural equipment to complete many tasks on the farm with minimal direct human input.
“We are proud to offer the first truly autonomous row crop solution on this scale in the world,” said Susanne Kinzenbaw Veatch, vice president and chief marketing officer at Kinze. “Knowing how important it is to get crops into the ground during the short planting window, we’re excited to offer this system to help growers be productive and make the most of their harvest.”
The Kinze Autonomy Project is designed to reduce the need for skilled operators by taking the human element out of the tractor cab. Kinze plans to market this technology to help growers increase their productivity by allowing them to focus their time and attention elsewhere while performing cursory monitoring of the Kinze autonomous equipment.
To begin, the grower loads a field map into the global positioning system including field boundaries and any predesigned non-field areas such as waterways. After the grower takes the tractor to the field and identifies which field it is positioned in, the system generates the most efficient method to plant the field. At that point, the system then positions the tractor and planter at a designated starting point and begins planting - see video above."
2. A not-so-amazing proposed government intervention that will decrease farm productivity, increase costs of production, and raise consumer prices.
Milwaukee --"Wisconsin dairy farmer Tim Strobel has been driving a tractor for 20 years, so he's a bit puzzled that federal officials are kicking around an idea that could ultimately force him - and anyone else operating farm machinery - to get a commercial driver's license. Yes, the same kind of license that interstate truckers must have to operate their rigs.
"I am not against some training, but this is going a little bit overboard," said Strobel. It's "overreaching and unnecessary," said Karen Gefvert, Wisconsin Farm Bureau director of governmental relations.
The additional public safety gained from increased federal regulation is unclear at best, but the additional costs for farmers would come at a time when they could least afford them, Brancel said in a letter to federal officials. In one scenario, farmers hauling grain to local elevators would be treated as if they were engaged in interstate commerce because grain, in many cases, eventually leaves the state."