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John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

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Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#141

Post by [deleted] »

ToValueFunfetti wrote: post #69
dghughes wrote: post #54

There is a vital need for farm equipment to be open source. I get the feeling quite a few people have no clue where their food comes from. This was going around years so the source may have been removed. "Seven per cent of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows.." what was worse is I am pretty sure I saw the study and seem to recall it also said 40% replied "don't know" so 47% of supposed adults i…

This was surprising to me, so I did a little digging. Per [1], it appears the options were that chocolate milk comes from black and white cows, brown cows, or "don't know". As far as I am personally aware, both cow choices are correct answers, and I wouldn't blame anyone for choosing "don't know" when they haven't been given an option for both. Of course it's also surprising if this was how the question was asked, an…

[deleted]

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#142

Post by kemotep »

ToValueFunfetti wrote: post #69
dghughes wrote: post #54

There is a vital need for farm equipment to be open source. I get the feeling quite a few people have no clue where their food comes from. This was going around years so the source may have been removed. "Seven per cent of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows.." what was worse is I am pretty sure I saw the study and seem to recall it also said 40% replied "don't know" so 47% of supposed adults i…

This was surprising to me, so I did a little digging. Per [1], it appears the options were that chocolate milk comes from black and white cows, brown cows, or "don't know". As far as I am personally aware, both cow choices are correct answers, and I wouldn't blame anyone for choosing "don't know" when they haven't been given an option for both. Of course it's also surprising if this was how the question was asked, an…

The correct answer could be brown cows if the diary farm that the milk that your chocolate milk brand of choice comes from uses a cow breed with predominantly brown coloring.

But saying “I don’t know” is probably the most appropriate response because they could be more colors than just black and white and brown cows, like you said. There are even orange cows that a dairy farm could be using!

But the grandparent comment is likely complaining that most people don’t know where their food comes from. And that is a fact. I get a CSA box and so I can identify where my produce comes from but the milk? I would have no idea what kind of cows it comes from. I know it’s a local farm but the color of the cows? I would have to make the trip.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#143

Post by kube-system »

tcmart14 wrote: post #139
kube-system wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Supplier lock-in is definitely a concern I agree with. But many modern farms do make a fair use of external data that does inherently require an external connection.

And I think that is fine so long as it no longer becomes a requirement of the standard function of the equipment. I should be able to buy a tractor and use it as a tractor with a reduced feature set that doesn't rely on external systems, but it can still accomplish the base set of features a tractor needs, even if not optimal. And the parts the require external data are opt-in and not required for basic functionality…

> And I think that is fine so long as it no longer becomes a requirement of the standard function of the equipment.

Sometimes it is, not arbitrarily, but as a matter of how the technology works. For example, the link I posted above.

Yes, those tractors can be manually driven like a 1980's farm tractor without guidance, but that's kind of impractical because profitably operating a farm often depends on those features.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#144

Post by CuriouslyC »

NavinF wrote: post #76
CuriouslyC wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't worry, when we ruin soil fertility and the population collapses due to loss of farmland from global warming, all this will self-correct.

Do you actually believe that will happen? How much do you want to bet?

We'll destroy civilization through social unrest before our technology fails to keep us on life support, that doesn't mean there won't be serious losses of life quality for those not blessed with wealth, and the loss of food quality/diversity and habitable land due to climate and habitat damage is both unquestionable and will play a significant role in precipitating the decline. I'll happily take bets on that statement of whatever amount you're willing to lose.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#145

Post by tastyfreeze »

dogman144 wrote: post #136
tastyfreeze wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Farmers in every generation of my family's existence in the US. The current ones are decidedly not poor. Maybe not a lot of free time but not poor.

This is my experience as well. Ranchers and farmers that are established are quite wealthy. Maybe sometimes that's paper wealth or paired with seasonal debt up to their eyeballs. Also probably some extremely single-threaded dependencies (JD and JD authorized repair outlets, seed strains, etc).

Agreed that a lot of it may be paper wealth. Farming is capital intensive. Having a successful farm often means hundreds of thousands to millions in equipment and infrastructure. Anybody with that kind of capital is absolutely not poor.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#146

Post by NotSammyHagar »

dcplaya wrote: post #110
timschmidt wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They tried. Independent auto repair shops across the country sued and lobbied to save their businesses. "On the last day of California's legislative session in 2000, Governor Gray Davis signed into law what had come to be known as "OBD-II." The new law expanded the OBD service information requirements in California by directing car companies to make all manuals and technical service bulletins Internet-accessible, sup…

EVs are currently exempt from this! We need OBD regulations to be updated for reflect these new technologies. I think hydrogen vehicles are also exempt.

Are they exempt? At least one state, I believe it was Mass has a law on the book allowing work. Of course we need independent repairs (and training to do it properly) on EVs. There are a few repair garages for Teslas that seem to be people who used to work at Tesla, they fix wonky things on battery packs sometimes.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#147

Post by rangerelf »

LudwigNagasena wrote: post #122
mrangle wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rent seeking is right. Farmers shouldn't be subjected to landlord economics via their equipment. That is, equipment cost shouldn't scale simply to eat farming profit (as rent costs quickly rise to eat rising incomes). I'd want to see the numbers on exaclty how much supposed always-up farming equipment saves in crop production, compared to farmers that don't use it. In fact, I know for certain that the most productive…

> Farmers shouldn't be subjected to landlord economics via their equipment. That’s a funny way to phrase it considering that many farmers are landlords.

Landlords are landlords, farmers are farmers.

If you're renting a zillion acres to someone that grows corn or wheat on it, you're not a farmer, your a landlord; the renter is the farmer.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#148

Post by arwineap »

pasabagi wrote: post #125
iancmceachern wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're not really tractors. They sell land prep, crop sowing, and harvesting solutions. It's not like a car. These things are used for a few weeks a year, and if they don't do their job during that time the farm looses all their income for the year. A better way to think of them is like construction equipment that you rent. Even big construction companies rent their equipment.

Farmers use their tractors year round, though? I see what you're saying vis-a-vis specific sprayers, ploughs, or even a combine harvester, but tractors are in pretty continuous use.

Yes, I feel that the commenter suggesting they are "not like a car" is mistaken. I grew up in an AG community but my family was not doing crops so I don't have first hand knowledge

They are mostly a utility truck used quite often, and 2-3 times a year they hook up the expensive add-ons to do the big work

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#149

Post by easywood »

iancmceachern wrote: post #65
arwineap wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does this have to do with TaaS, or right to repair? Just because it has tons of sensors doesn't mean they shouldn't be replacable

They're not really tractors. They sell land prep, crop sowing, and harvesting solutions. It's not like a car. These things are used for a few weeks a year, and if they don't do their job during that time the farm looses all their income for the year. A better way to think of them is like construction equipment that you rent. Even big construction companies rent their equipment.

They're not really cars. They sell navigational, entertainment- and seat-heating solutions. These things are used a few hours each day. A better way to think of them is like a transportation solution that you rent. Even big unrelated companies rent things.

Re: John Deere Announces Strategic Partnership with SpaceX

#150

Post by yamazakiwi »

unsupp0rted wrote: post #28
greenie_beans wrote: post #23

great, now he controls our food. legitimately, this might be the scariest musk news in history.

His companies keep creating the best of breed service on the market, which nobody else can come close to competing with.

Copium
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