Over the weekend, a powerful solar storm disrupted GPS and precise agriculture systems in tractors and agricultural equipment across the United States, according to a report by 404 Media. The anomaly occurred during a crucial sowing campaign, forcing many farmers to halt work in the fields.
John Deere, a major dealer, cautioned farmers about the significant disruption to navigation systems. Those who continued sowing during these disruptions may face challenges during harvesting, as indicated by posts from the dealership.
“All tractors are currently out of operation, parked at the edges of the fields due to the solar storm. There is no GPS. We are in the middle of planting corn. I fear that prices of goods will soar on Monday,” said Kevin Kenny, a farmer from Nebraska.
The solar storm interfered with the functioning of RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) systems, crucial for accurate positioning up to centimeters, which is vital for agriculture. According to John Deere dealers, this disruption was a major cause of widespread issues with tractors of this brand.
Due to the nature of the RTK network, base stations transmitted corrections distorted by the geomagnetic storm, resulting in significant displacements and changes in movement direction in the fields. This will impact future agricultural operations and likely render automation systems inoperable due to the discrepancies between expected and actual row positions. Farmers also reported temporary halts and inaccuracies in GPS, leading to crop damage and issues with crop distribution.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Directorate (Noaa) confirmed that this is the most severe geomagnetic storm since 2003 and stated that the storm is expected to persist in the coming days.