--- title: "Farmers Say Intelligent Tractors “Acted Like They Were Demon Possessed” After Signal Out of Space" description: "  We are quickly approaching the most active part of the Sun's 11-year cycle. Our star is flinging a barrage of charged streams of plasma and charged particles at us this year, a trend that according to NASA, will continue well into 2025 as well. This spring, in particular, has proven chaotic for farmers. Solar particles have wreaked havoc with satellites in our planet's orbit, messing with farming equipment that relies heavily on GPS. \"Our tractors acted like they were demon possessed,\" aurora chaser Elaine Ramstad told Spaceweather.com. \"All my cousins called me during the May 10th storm to tell […]" date: "2024-12-12" modified: "2024-12-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/intelligent-tractors-demon-possessed-gps" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "Farming" - "GPS" - "ionosphere" - "solar activity" - "Sun" - "the digest" --- # Farmers Say Intelligent Tractors “Acted Like They Were Demon Possessed” After Signal Out of Space ![Solar particles have wreaked havoc with satellites in our planet's orbit, messing with tractors and other farming equipment that rely on GPS.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Tractor Beam We're approaching the most active part of the Sun's 11-year cycle. Our star is flinging a barrage of charged streams of plasma and particles at us this year, a trend that [according to NASA]() will continue well into 2025 and even 2026. One example of how that stellar fury affects the Earth, apart from [triggering gorgeous auroras]() in the night sky: farmers say the barrage of solar particles has wreaked havoc on their high-tech agricultural equipment. The issue is that modern tractors are highly dependent on GPS, which is provided by sensitive satellites in our planet's orbit. One extreme solar storm in May, they say, threw off equipment when planting season was already in full swing. "Our tractors acted like they were demon possessed," aurora chaser Elaine Ramstad [told *SpaceWeather.com*](). "All my cousins called me during the May 10th storm to tell me that 'my auroras' were driving them crazy while they were planting." ## Demon Haunted Field Modern tractors rely on precise GPS coordinates to navigate fields. But with charged particles distorting radio signals from GPS satellites, some of them started acting erratically, stopping abruptly or weaving back and forth. "I would guess 80 percent or more of all farmers in the Midwest use at least basic GPS for something — whether it's auto-steer or yield mapping," John Deere service manager Ethan Smidt told *SpaceWeather*. "At least 50 percent of all farmers are VERY reliant on GPS and use it on every machine all year long." During particularly violent solar storms, charged particles fill the Earth's ionosphere, the part of the Earth's upper atmosphere that creates a protective barrier between us and electrically charged particles from the Sun. The layer is also responsible for transmitting GPS signals from satellites down to the surface. So changing densities of the ionosphere, caused by this bombardment of charged particles, can distort radio signals as they make their way through. Ramstad recalled to *SpaceWeather* that her GPS "was off by close to a foot" during the day. "By nightfall, there was no controlling the Autosteer." And farmers should expect more chaos, as NASA has predicted that solar maximum could last for another one to two years. Fortunately for them, engineers are already looking for ways to reduce farmers' reliance on GPS signals by [making use of machine learning and AI]() for navigation instead. **More on solar storms:** *[A Colossal Solar Flare Just Triggered a Radio Blackout on Earth]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()