Well, if the headlines are anything to go by, there might be some less than straight bouts of straw around the country this year – left by combines and tractors which have had their GPS equipment stolen.
It’s astonishing just how much we in the industry have come to rely on signals from global positioning satellites to guide our machines about the fields- and some of the older generation might allow themselves a wry grin as they question just how difficult it is to drive straight up and down a field without calling in help from outer space.
But for those who have had their autosteer equipment nicked it’s no laughing matter – and the figures on rural crime released by insurers NFU Mutual which were well reported earlier in the week showed that such guidance systems figure heavily on the shopping list of light-fingered criminals operating in the countryside.
It was even reported that these thefts were more than the work of opportunistic lawbreakers – and were often the result of some careful planning and reconnaissance by criminal gangs targeting specific items and using hi-tech equipment such as drones and on-line satellite imagery to plan their raids in minute detail.
Of course one of the drivers for these thefts has been the apparent world shortage of such equipment – with last year seeing a considerable waiting list not only for the equipment itself but also for the key components required to keep today’s machines which rely so heavily on electronic gadgetry to keep them running.
It has to be hoped that the desperate game of ‘combine swap-o-rama’ which saw some dealers desperately hunting for combines last year after the shortages saw new machines which had been expected by their customers for harvest failing to arrive in time – but after the previous machine had been taken away and sold on as a trade-in isn’t being re-run this year. But there still seems to be a bit of a hold up in the availability of some guidance equipment.
The shortage of micro-chips following the Covid pandemic was one factor knocking on into the supply of these crucial elements of anything electronic, and in the early post-pandemic period not only did they hold up the delivery of GPS equipment but they also led issues with engine management systems as well as other crucial control systems on sophisticated farm machinery.
And this has undoubtedly put a pretty hefty premium onto second hand units and components which can be flogged on by unscrupulous criminal gangs – some of whom are viewing Russia as an especially lucrative market due to the fact that international sanctions imposed are making it almost impossible to access many machinery components there.
But wherever it ends up, the loss of vital machinery and GPS equipment causes huge disruption to farmers who are already stretched to the limit and replacing kit in the current economic situation can take months, adding additional stress.
An additional worry is that these organised thieves often take advantage of the fact that where a unit or a machine has been stolen, in a few months time there’s likely to be an almost brand new replacement in its place.
So on top of the logistical and financial problems caused by such thefts, many of those who have been targeted by such criminal activity find themselves completely unnerved – and live in fear of repeat attacks on what is not only their workplace, but also their family home.
So, if you see your neighbour’s bouts of straw looking less than straight at harvest, or next year’s tramlines looking a bit squint – don’t put it down to a heavy session the night before. Better, instead, to check that your own GPS equipment is securely stored and locked up well out of the reach of determined gangs.
For, without that key navigation equipment, the criminal gangs might not be only ones who are “mis-guided”.
