Geomagnetic storms a nightmare for farmers who rely on precision farming techniques

Space weather is known to cause disruptions to GPS and communications systems, and perhaps no one is feeling these headaches more than farmers this weekend. Increased solar activity over the past few days has caused glitches in the GPS navigation systems of some modern tractors made by John Deere and other brands, the report said. The technology allows farmers to plant more efficiently in ultra-tight straight lines, but they have been advised to temporarily stop using it because of possible inaccuracies that could cause havoc during harvest season.

John Deere’s tractors are connected to what’s called a real-time kinematic (RTK) system, 404 report, enabling centimeter-level precision planting.Landmark Implement, owner of some John Deere dealers, said that if farmers continue to plant with their usual accuracy, “we don’t expect the rows to be where the AutoPath lines think they are” when it comes time to tend to and harvest the crops, told 404 media.

Kevin Kenney, a farmer in Nebraska, said the timing is bad — it’s peak corn season. 404“All the tractors are parked at the end of the fields right now because of the solar storm.” Many farms have had to pause planting, while others are continuing to plant, just hoping for the best.

The geomagnetic storm we are currently experiencing is the strongest observed in the past 20 years and reached G5 levels on Friday and Saturday morning, which is considered “extreme”. It later weakened, but is expected to weaken by Sunday night, when some strong but slower-moving coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun reach Earth. That’s great, but not so great if your livelihood depends on storm-disrupted technology.