What Is John Deere’s New ExactShot Planter Technology, And How Does It Work?

John Deere's ExactShot, unveiled during the 2023 CES last week, uses sensors and robotics to place starter fertilizer precisely onto seeds as they are planted in the soil, rather than applying a continuous flow of fertilizer to the entire row of seeds.
John Deere's ExactShot, unveiled during the 2023 CES last week, uses sensors and robotics to place starter fertilizer precisely onto seeds as they are planted in the soil, rather than applying a continuous flow of fertilizer to the entire row of seeds.
(Tyne Morgan )

John Deere unveiled its latest planter technology during CES 2023 last week in Las Vegas. The show, which  traditionally draws a consumer audience, is one that John Deere is using to showcase its large leap into the tech space.

The annual show drew more than 3,200 exhibitors and over 115,000 attendees from around the globe. While walking into the John Deere booth drew attendees who were enamored by the large, self-propelled sprayer on display, it’s the technology investments in artificial intelligence and automation that sparked conversations from even those unfamiliar with farming today.

During the show, Deere released ExactShot, which is a robotics-based fertilizer system, along with the all-new electric excavator for the construction side of the business.

ExactShot uses sensors and robotics to place starter fertilizer precisely onto seeds as they are planted in the soil, rather than applying a continuous flow of fertilizer to the entire row of seeds.

What is ExactShot? 

John Deere says the release of ExactShot means:

  • Farmers will be able to reduce the amount of starter fertilizer needed during planting by more than 60%.
  • Starter fertilizer can be applied precisely onto seeds as they are planted versus applying a continuous amount of fertilizer to the entire row of seeds
  • The technology can be added to Deere planters already in fields today.


“What ExactShot enables us to do is actually deliver starter fertilizer exactly where the seed is at,” says Madelyn Koester, senior product manager and soil health lead at John Deere. “We actually reduce our fertilizer application by about 60% with this new system, which has a huge cost savings for the farmer, but also has a huge environmental impact, because we're putting that much less fertilizer out, which reduces the chances for runoff and other things that are negatively impacting the environment.”

Deere’s estimate of 60% savings is on an average farm in the Midwest using a 10-34-O fertilizer. It works on Deere’s high-speed planter that can run 10 mph in a field. Koester says that means the planter is releasing 30 seeds per second on every row, which is 720 seeds per second on a 24-row planter.

See how it in action. This videos is the simulation of the technology working in the field in slow motion.  Video Courtesy: John Deere 

How Does ExactShot Work? 

So, how does it work? While the concept of applying starter fertilizer at planting isn’t new in agriculture, the technology behind Deere’s ExactShot is what drew attention during CES last week. Koester says it’s a combination of robotics and sensors that allows the starter fertilizer to be placed along with the seed.

“The placement of the seed with our exact emerge technology really enables us to know exactly where that seed is. Weuse sensors to help confirm that and confirm that there is truly a seed being released, which allows us to time the application of fertilizer with the release of the seed,” explains Koester.

Koester says based on feedback from farmers, Deere created this new technology to answer twomajor barriers farmers have to using starter fertilizer today: the cost of starter fertilizer and the time invested for the application process. .

“A couple of the things we hear is one of the blockers for actually starting to use starter fertilizer is the fact that you often have to tender the planter with more product much more often than you would for corn seed alone,” says Koester. “And the fact that we're able to use 60% less product with this system means that they would be able to use starter fertilizer without actually having to tender the planter with more product as frequently as they would have in the past. That was huge.”

Agronomist's View 

Isaac Ferrie, research director with Crop-Tech Consulting Inc. based in Heyworth, Ill., says their research shows the farther away starter fertilizer is placed from the seed, the less effective it is.

He says 1” from the seed is Too close? About right? What??, but 3” from the seed is when the starter fertilizer won’t even be utilized, because by the time the seed reaches the fertilizer it’s too late, and roots from adjacent seeds are also reaching that location and tapping into the nutrients.

The technology could also help address another issue with starter fertilizer—overly high use rates. High starter fertilizer rates can be a problem and hurt the seed. Ferrie also points out that starter fertilizer can kill seed that’s already damaged.

Opening the Door for Future Technology?

The ExactShot is built on top of Deere’s ExactEmerge technology, so naturally, the ExactShot will be geared toward Deere planters initially. However, it’s the capabilities of the latest technology introduction, which is fueled by robotics and sensors, that is a glimpse into what’s possibly yet to come.

“We've really honed in on that precise placement of seed at planting. And so there's a lot of other factors that go into getting really good, uniform emergence – things like temperature and soil moisture. Knowing that placement of the seed really opens up a lot of doors in terms of how we can optimize emergence,” says Koester.

Deere at CES 

During the show last week, John Deere’s release of ExactShot, along with the electric excavator, helped Deere win CES 2023's award for best of innovation in robotics and a nod as honoree for vehicle tech and advanced mobility. John Deere delivered the keynote address during CES' annual event last week, which marked the firs time an agricultural company did so. Through the keynote last week, Deere provided insight into how farmers are utilizing technology across their farms today. Considering it's not a farmer audience that attends CES each year, Deere used the opportunity to educate CES attendees in a unique way. 

 

 

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