We think of precision farming equipment as something to help with productivity but according to a recent story on California Farm Bureau’s Ag Alert publication it can mean a lot more. In fact, if it wasn’t for some GPS equipment on a John Deere tractor one farmer would be out his tractor.

On Sept. 17 the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department dispatch center sent Bray and his team of rural crime detectives to northwestern Fresno County near Firebaugh to a John Deere tractor that had been reported stolen from San Benito County.

“The owner of the tractor, which was equipped with a factory-installed GPS system, had tracked it to the location. When one of our patrol deputies and two of my detectives went out to investigate, they found a row of eight tractors lined up next to each other,” Bray said. “It was such an isolated area that if that farmer didn’t have the GPS system on this tractor, it would have been real hard for us to find.”

Now that is an interesting example of how precision ag can make a difference!