Several farmers reported disrupted operations after the solar storms compromised their GPS systems and messed up the accuracy of the real-time kinematic (RTK) systems.
Solar storms have been popular these days in the U.S. due to the unique Northern Lights that have been showing for the last two nights.
(Photo : JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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Solar Storms Disrupt Agricultural Automated Operations
Solar storms have reportedly shut down some GPS systems which resulted in being offline temporarily. Farmers who use tractors from John Deere and other brands are relying on RTK for positional accuracy in planting and fertilizing.
Reports have shown that the compromised systems have affected the deadline of farmers, especially in the corn sector where the planting schedule is already tight.
In addition, there have been "drastic shifts in the field and even some heading changes" even for farmers who continued operations despite outages. The automated tractors won't be able to detect planted rows as long as the GPS systems are compromised.
Earth Experiences Worst Solar Storms in Two Decades
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the recent solar storms are some of the worst to have hit the planet in a span of two decades. Fortunately, the space phenomenon is expected to subside soon.
Regardless, the timing of the solar storms could not have gotten any better for farmers as it coincides with the critical time for corn crops. Experts and advocates argued that if the crops are not planted by May 15, it could have huge repercussions for the farmers.
Using the tractors with inaccurate GPS would only put the crops at risk of being destroyed. The manual human effort of driving the tractors is also not enough as they "can't steer fast enough or well enough" to perfectly align between the rows.
The NOAA reported that "severe to extreme" solar storms of G4 are still expected to occur. The public is instructed to keep informed on the effects of the geomagnetic storm.
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