Don’t let a skilled labor shortage keep you from a productive harvest
During the busy harvest season, the last thing you need is errors caused by miscommunication. . . especially when they involve the grain cart.
All too often farmers encounter:
- difficulty finding qualified grain cart drivers;
- problems communicating with the grain cart operator;
- grain cart drivers who don’t understand which part of the field to drive on;
- delays in combining due to inefficient grain cart operation; and
- the worst-case scenario. . . grain unloaded on the ground instead of into the grain cart.
CartACE™ is here to help
As farmers know, operating the grain cart is a role that requires experience and the ability to perform under pressure. While finding a body to fill the seat may not be hard, it can be difficult to find a skilled operator that does more than drive from point A to point B in the field.
Ag Leader recognized the shortage in qualified grain cart operators and answered with CartACE, a grain cart connectivity feature.
“This new feature provides assistance to the grain cart operator to make unloading-on-the-go an easier process,” says Ag Leader Product Manager Joe Holoubek.
CartACE, powered by Ag Leader’s InCommand display, simplifies the grain cart operator’s job.
“It takes a certain level of expertise to operate a grain cart,” Holoubek says. “We’re approaching this problem in a practical and economical way that we believe many of our customers could easily adopt and benefit from.
“We aim to turn what might be an average vehicle driver into a skilled grain cart operator by providing the right tools and assistance during high stress and high error-prone harvest tasks.”
How CartACE Works
“This new feature simplifies the grain cart operator’s job by sharing a live map of the combine’s progress and location from one InCommand display to the other,” Holoubek says. “This helps the grain cart operator to literally see when and where the combine needs to unload and which part of the field to drive on.”
Then the InCommand display in the grain cart automatically generates a guidance line alongside the combine.
“The operator simply presses a button to engage autosteer alongside the combine,” Holoubek explains. “While the operator is still responsible for operating the vehicle safely, he can now focus his attention on catching the grain.”
In addition, CartACE includes a live grain tank counter that shares how full the combine grain tank is with connected displays and iPads, so the driver can anticipate when and where the combine will need to empty. This not only lessens frustration, but also assists in efficiency of the entire harvest operation.
The CartACE connection
Holoubek explains that CartACE is an affordable solution to the grain cart operation challenges farmers face, using technology that’s already in the cab.
“Connecting the operation and automating some critical tasks enables operators and machines to work better together, along with providing a huge boost in productivity,” he says. “We believe this is an important step toward the future of farming that most operations can take advantage of today — without a large investment or venturing too far outside their comfort zones.”
What you need to get started with CartACE
CartACE requires InCommand displays with a DisplayCast unlock in both the combine and grain cart, AgFiniti Essentials license, matching GPS sources, and an internet connection.