Two years ago, in the fall of 2017, the ag media got one of the first looks at a driverless tractor pulling a grain cart in corn field near Plainfield. Smart Ag of Ames rolled out AutoCart, a software solution designed to solve the critical shortage of qualified labor for grain cart operation.

In a nutshell, the combine operator, using a tablet or smartphone app, controls a driverless tractor pulling a grain cart. The tractor pulls alongside the combine for unloading and once the combine has dumped, the driverless tractor and grain cart return to the...