How Important Is Updating Technology?

One of the biggest struggles I run into is advice on updating technology, or really why should you update technology if the current technology is doing what you want.  I'll be honest, the cost is usually not cheap by any means to update.  Current yield monitors and GPS units can run upwards of $10k and get you very similar data.  I often get comments on how new everything I use is, or how "fancy" it is but I think its essential to be running the latest technology in the job I do and on the farm.

I've spent hours trying to get old monitors or technology to do things it was never designed to do in the first place.  Installing aftermarket GPS's, making one brand talk to another, and even using a computer to process 4K video even though it wasn't meant to ever handle it.  In most cases, an investment of $1-2k would have been easier, but the cheaper option involved several hours of frustrating work.  A lot of this work, if it was charged on a per hour basis, would have equaled the cost of the plug and play equipment option and would have had less service calls and issues.

If you just want data for basic analysis or basic functionality by all means go with the cheapest option, but keep in mind what you may be doing 3-5 years down the road.  A lot of initial equipment doesn't work with the more advanced programs or hardware, so sometimes saving money up front will require you to purchase better equipment down the road capable of handling more advanced tasks and programs.  If make an entry level purchase, look at what the capabilities are if you ever plan to got with more advanced hardware or programs.

For those who are into using data and want better functionality, never go cheap.  The problem with most technology is that by the time you get the most advanced thing on the market in less than a year there is usually something better, newer, greater, etc.  While often costly at first, there are many programs for trading in for the newest equipment.  In many years of working with technology I've learned if you want the best, you're going to pay for it.  The key take away however, is that you get the best data, functionality, and it's often more user friendly.  If you can make the data pay the investment is almost always worth it.  I hate to use the "garbage in, garbage out" analogy, but it definitely applies to data.

My biggest push back is often the price of updating every year or so, but when it comes to using new tech I'm usually the first call to use my own hardware since it is the newest and has features/can do things that what is in our inventory can't do.  It's frustrating since those I try to convince to upgrade and often get shot down, are often the one's who want what I can do with the hardware I purchased personally to do what I needed that our old hardware would not do.  If you want to be the leader in technology, you're going to pay for it and realize that it's not a one time investment.  It takes yearly updating and spending time seeing what is on the market that may be better than what you are currently doing.  The best thing I have found is to follow some market leaders and see what they are testing and purchase what they end up buying.  It's also helpful to find the companies that are constantly growing and coming out with new products.  It's much easier to find a handful of companies who are at the top of hardware and software and getting their new products than buying from several and changing back and forth.

In summary, if you want good data or media bite the bullet and pay the price.  In the end it will be easier and you will be the tech leader who produces content/data that others drool over.  If you do it correctly, you'll get back what you invest and then some.