GPS correction services on tractors and headers are working again following a 48-hour outage that forced some Australian growers back in time.
The British satellite at the centre of the problem, Inmarsat-4 F1, returned to normal operations at 6.16am on Wednesday.
An unknown number of farmers were left frustrated when the satellite went offline at 7.14am AEST on Monday, rendering their correction technology inoperable.
The timing was "horrendous" as farmers looked to use their combine harvester to take off summer crop, use a tractor-boomspray combo to kill weeds, or take out their tractor-planter setup to sow winter crop.
Most modern machines are equipped with GPS correction and can be guided to an accuracy within two centimetres, improving efficiency and reducing input waste.
Some were prepared to take the wheel and steer themselves, while others waited it out.
Companies caught up in the glitch included John Deere and Trimble.
The outage has raised questions over society's reliance on technology, contingency plans, and what can be done in the event of a future glitch.
In a post on their website, Inmarsat said it experienced an "outage" but did not reveal the cause.
"Inmarsat experienced an outage on its I-4 F1 satellite, which provides L-band services for East Asia and the Pacific region, at 21.14 UTC on Sunday 16 April," it said.
"This resulted in the temporary loss of services from the satellite and the company immediately instigated its recovery procedures."
The company launched the satellite into a 'geosynchronous' orbit in 2005. It was built for a 13-year mission, but has remained in space.
AgForce grains president Brendan Taylor said the timing was "horrendous" for some.
"The timing of it is horrendous from certain points of view," Mr Taylor said.
"It's the very start of sowing for a lot of regions. Possibly not so much Queensland, although there'll be few people getting itchy fingers.
"Anywhere that's had recent rain will be chasing weeds or getting fallows earmarked to go into winter cleaned up ready to go.
"There's still some sorghum coming off, so anyone that has guidance in their headers - it could [have affected] them as well."
Mr Taylor said while the outage was concerning, growers could still operate machines.
"Machines still have steering wheels, but it's something that we haven't done for probably 14 years - for us anyway," he said.
"Occasionally we get the odd drop out or glitch in the system where you have to [steer manually] and you think you can drive straight. It's kind of straight, but it's not two-centimetre straight.
"We've gotten used to it. We press the button and the tractor drives itself."
However, steering without GPS correction technology could be more difficult for those without visual cues, he said.
"It could be a real problem for anyone that's got bare ground or cultivated ground with no reference reference points whatsoever," he said.
"If [there's] no old row or no old centre wheel tracks that you're driving in - you're probably pushing it uphill then. Most planting machines nowadays don't come out with hydraulic marker arms on them."
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