Applicators

End the Software Shuffle: How Razor Tracking is Driving Retail Efficiency

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:45:04 GMT

For ag retailers, time is the most valuable commodity. The recent integration between Razor Tracking and Agvance Dispatch is designed to give that time back by eliminating the “software shuffle.”

The Bottom Line: Efficiency Equals Dollars

In the heat of the season, every minute counts.

“Every bit of efficiency you can build, every time you can turn around anhydrous tank, every time you can get a new tender truck out with fertilizer quicker, that’s dollars to the bottom line,” says Eric Mauch with Razor Tracking.

By merging visibility of accounting, customer records, and fleet tracking into a single interface, retailers can:

Turn assets faster: Get anhydrous tanks and fertilizer trucks back in the field with less downtime.
Reduce “Tab Fatigue": Eliminate the need to jump between different programs to track an order versus a vehicle.

“We’ve had larger customers ask for this and so far the feedback has been fantastic,” Mauch says.

Key Takeaways for Your Team

Customized Views by Role: Your team sees only what they need. An order prepper stays in the Agvance screen, while a safety manager monitors the fleet in Razor Tracking—yet they are both looking at the same synchronized data.
A “Moat” of Alignment: Since 2020, Razor Tracking has moved away from closed systems. By partnering with John Deere, CNH, and now Agvance, they are creating a connected ecosystem rather than a digital silo.
AI-Driven Innovation: Razor Tracking is using AI to assist development times, reduce feature completion times and simplify the direct customer feedback to meet their needs faster.

“As a business we are looking to serve the needs of existing and new customers. One way to do that is give them new reasons and showing a quick evolution in how we can take a customer request to a delivered product,” Mauch says.

The “So What?”

This isn’t just a software update; it’s a strategy for scalability. As software development moves 10x faster, retailers who adopt these integrated platforms will be able to respond to market demands and customer needs far quicker than those stuck using disconnected legacy systems.

Agri Spray Drones and WinField United Partner to Scale Aerial Application

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:03:41 GMT

A new dynamic duo has been announced to further expand the use of drones in aerial application as preferred vendors. Agri Spray Drones, a leading provider of agricultural spray drone systems, training, and support, is working with WinField United to collaborate and promote their complementary technologies.

The National Agricultural Aviation Association estimates about 1% of all aerially applied acres are done with an uncrewed aircraft.

While Agri Spray Drones focuses on training, technology, and service support, WinField United is promoting the use of its crop input products and adjuvants to expand drone application through its network of retailers, agronomists, service providers, and end users.

“This collaboration helps accelerate how drone application integrates with proven crop input technologies,” said Agri Spray Drones founder and CEO Taylor Moreland in a news release. “Working with WinField United gives our network access to trusted agronomic resources and research-based product knowledge that elevates drone application as a dependable and scalable solution for growers.”

Six core facets of the partnership include:

• Coordinated presence at key agriculture industry events

• Joint training opportunities for drone operators, distributors, and agronomists

• Field demonstrations, Answer Plot activities, and comparative trials

• Co-developed marketing and educational materials

• Shared data insights and best practices from research and performance testing

• Increased visibility for both companies across each other’s networks

“WinField United is committed to advancing application technology that helps drive efficiency, consistency, and agronomic performance,” said Joe Vaillancourt, adjuvants marketing manager at WinField United, in the news release. “Collaborating with Agri Spray Drones allows us to better understand how our adjuvant technologies perform under drone application and share those insights with the industry.”

Put More Spray Where It Pays

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:01:56 GMT

When you pull the sprayer into fields each spring, you’re banking that the product coming out of the nozzles will land where you need it to work. That’s where drift reduction adjuvants (DRAs) can become one of the most profitable—and protective—ingredients in your tank.

Consider what happens when you spray a crop protection product. Each nozzle throws out a spectrum of droplet sizes, from big “marbles” that fall quickly to tiny “dust” droplets that hang in the air, explained Greg Dahl, director of adjuvant education for the Council of Producers & Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA), during a recent Agricultural Retailers Association webinar.

Those tiny droplets, called driftable fines, are the troublemakers. They lose energy fast, ride the wind and can move well beyond your field. That’s not the case for larger droplets.

“Big droplets have to land. They are going to land, and they’re going to land close to where you spray,” Dahl says. “Small droplets, they probably are not going to land. They will lose their speed, and then they’ll just float in the air and go wherever the air goes.”

By design, DRAs shift more of your spray volume into larger, heavier droplets that are still effective but far less likely to drift. Across a wide range of nozzles, Dahl says industry research shows that adding a DRA can reduce the spray volume made up of driftable fines.

“Going across the whole system of nozzles, we get about a 50% reduction in the amount of spray volume that is made up of driftable fines,” he reports.

In practical terms, that means less product left hanging in the air and able to drift toward your neighbor’s crops, garden or yard.

There are at least four benefits to adding a good quality DRA in the tank.

(WinField United)

Drift Control Is Only Part Of The Benefit From DRAs

Many farmers are concerned that bigger droplets going out of the nozzles will automatically result in poorer coverage, particularly in post-emergence applications. In some cases — especially with ultra-coarse sprays — that’s true, Dahl says. Coverage can suffer, and penetration into the crop canopy can be weak. The right DRA, though, has been shown to increase droplets’ speed as they leave the nozzle, which improves penetration into the crop canopy.

“If we look where we have added in a DRA, it has actually increased the amount of speed of those droplets, so they’re going to go farther before they run out of energy, and we’re going to get better penetration of the canopy, better deposition farther down,” Dahl says.

Side-by-side comparisons in corn and soybeans using fluorescent dye tell the story more completely (see below). Without a DRA, Dahl’s slides illustrate that coverage is good on the top leaves of the crop but falls off quickly as the product moves down into the plant. With a deposition-type DRA, coverage is more balanced from the top to below the ear leaf in corn and throughout the soybean canopy.

A good quality DRA helps provide good product coverage all the way through the crop canopy, as noted in the plant on the right.

(Greg Dahl)

The ROI Of Improved Product Applications

Better coverage does show up in yield results, Dahl reports. Across hundreds of corn fungicide trials, for instance, he says adding a DRA to the tank delivered an average yield increase of about 5.7 bushels per acre compared to fungicide use alone.

In wheat, similar work showed nearly a 4‑bu.-per-acre advantage.

There’s also an economic advantage in terms of product retention. When you reduce the number of driftable fines, more of the active ingredient you paid for actually lands and stays in your field instead of drifting away.

Dahl says not all DRAs and nozzle combinations are created equal. Some thicker, polymer-type products can narrow the spray angle or even increase driftable fines with the wrong nozzle used, especially Venturi designs. That’s why choosing proven products matters. He says oil-emulsion DRAs, in particular, have shown they can cut driftable fines without creating an overly thick spray or sacrificing pattern quality.

“There’s almost 500 labels that recommend using CPDA-certified adjuvants, and there’s over 200 products that are CPDA-certified adjuvants,” Dahl says, referencing the website CPDA.com . “We think that’s where you should go for information, and we thank you for that,” he adds.

Faster Tillage, Smarter Spraying: John Deere Expands Its Machinery Lineup

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:01:39 GMT

Farmers looking to conquer heavy residue and tight tillage windows have new ways to tackle both challenges with John Deere’s expanded High-Speed Disk (HSD) lineup. For 2027, the company is offering four new HSD two-section models, which build on initial introductions in 2025. The latest models will be available in 15’, 19’, 22’ and 25’ widths.

As Michael Porter explains, the disks are purpose-built for the slowest, most time-consuming job on row-crop farms: deep ripping.

The high-speed tillage tools combine multiple operations into a single pass — residue sizing, burial, compaction removal and field leveling — delivering both agronomic and economic benefits, especially when paired with autonomous operation, explains Porter, John Deere marketing manager for large tractors and tillage.

Autonomy Creates New Efficiencies

For 2026, autonomy ready capability is available on the 2730 combination ripper and the 64’ and 69’ 2230 field cultivator models, giving farmers more options to integrate autonomous tillage into their operations. Porter says the autonomy factor could create a whole new level of efficiency for row crop growers short on time and manpower.

“Think about having an operator sit in that machine for 12 hours a day and maybe only getting one or two fields done. Now they can go haul grain … and when they get done, there’s a good chance 60%, 70%, 80% of their fields have already been ripped, and they just need to finish up the last few,” Porter says.

The company’s so-called “combination ripper” is equipped with lights, cameras and a StarFire receiver mast to enable safe, precise autonomous operation. “With autonomy, we need to know where this tool is at all times,” Porter notes.

Farmers with 2016 or newer 2730 combination rippers can update to autonomy-ready through a John Deere Precision Upgrade kit. The kits provide a cost-effective way to enhance existing machines delivering greater flexibility, Deere reports. Combination ripper upgrade kits will be available for order starting in summer 2026, while field cultivator kits are available today.

(Rhonda Brooks)

Sixteen cameras provide 360-degree perception, essentially replacing the operator’s eyes. In autonomous mode, the system detects obstacles, evaluates whether it can proceed, and either continues on its own or alerts the operator through Operations Center mobile with customizable, high-priority notifications.

When it comes to ROI, the payoff comes from both direct labor savings and the ability to reallocate time during harvest.

“In general, we see some customers who have run 5,000, 7,000 acres in a year, at a $40,000 to $50,000 cost to them, and this pays off. Those growers are saying, ‘Hey, I would have had to pay someone X amount of dollars for all those hours sitting in the cab,’” Porter says.

See & Spray Upgrades

Farmers staring down ugly weed pressure and weak commodity prices are demanding more from every input dollar. With that in mind, John Deere is betting its model year 2027 upgrades will prove See & Spray is not just cool tech. Instead, the company is positioning it as a fundamental tool designed to deliver better weed control, increased flexibility and a faster payback for farmers across a broader range of crops.

Historically, See & Spray was a tool for use in corn, soybeans and cotton. For 2027, John Deere is moving into the small grains market.

“We are jumping headfirst into wheat, canola, barley and a handful of other crops,” Ladd says, noting peanuts and sugar beets are also joining the list.

Last year, See & Spray covered over 5 million U.S. acres and delivered nearly a 50% reduction in non-residual herbicide use. For farmers on the fence about investing in the technology, the value proposition is moving away from saving dollars and toward improving the bottom line. For many growers, the company says, a two- to three-year ROI is available with the technology.

“We understand the increasing pressures farmers are facing, driving them to find solutions that allow them more flexibility and the opportunity to do more with less,” says Josh Ladd, marketing manager for application equipment at John Deere. “That is why we have updated See & Spray to directly address those challenges by helping farmers apply exactly what’s needed, where it’s needed, and across more acres and more crops.”

Computing Power Gets Updated

On a recent walk-around of a 2027 machine at the company’s Austin, Texas, R&D center, Ladd starts with what you can’t see from the outside: the machine’s computing backbone. Earlier generations of See & Spray relied on as many as 10 processors. The new models consolidate that power into just three vision processing units (VPUs) mounted on the center frame.

“We’re able to do that and not make any sacrifices on overall computing power, and there is less weight involved,” Ladd says. “We can only put so much stuff on this machine’s boom before we start to worry about boom durability, compaction and consistency of performance.”

Nozzle technology is also becoming more cost-effective. While the ExactApply (30Hz pulsing) remains the standard for dual-product systems, John Deere is introducing Individual Nozzle Control Pro as a factory option for 2027 single-tank machines.

“For customers who want 15Hz pulsing instead of 30Hz, or are comfortable with a five-nozzle turret, it’s a more accessible option,” Ladd explains. This gives farmers and customer applicators another entry point into row-by-row nozzle control from the factory, he added.

Additional Enhancements

New center-frame camera placement, on the front of the sprayer, to reduce dust interference and enhance detection accuracy for more-consistent application quality. For operators with MY18 to MY26, these cameras will be available through a Precision Upgrade kit.
Higher operating speeds in targeted modes — up to 16 mph depending on crop and configuration, allowing more acres to be covered when application windows are tight.
Optional full boom lighting enables targeted fallow application at night to extend productive hours.

The expanded See & Spray capabilities will be available on MY27 John Deere 408R, 410R, 412R, 612R and 616R sprayers. In addition, all Hagie sprayers – STS12, STS16, and STS20 – will now feature See & Spray Premium as a factory-installed option.

Alongside the expanded See & Spray capabilities, John Deere is introducing several MY27 sprayer enhancements designed to improve overall productivity, operator awareness and in-field efficiency across a wider range of applications.

Updated Name for DA Series Applicators

To better align their applicator portfolio with the broader tillage portfolio, John Deere is updating the naming of its DA Series Applicators, formerly known as the 2510H. While the name might be new, farmers can continue relying on the same proven performance they are used to across multiple seasons.

“With the MY27 updates, we continue to deliver proven durability, increased flexibility and technology-ready solutions that help farmers maximize productivity,” Porter says.

To learn more about the updates to the John Deere application portfolio, visit JohnDeere.com or contact your local John Deere dealer.

3 Corn Disease Lessons You Should Apply in 2026

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 19:49:18 GMT

As farmers continue to battle through the valley of the current farm economic cycle, they can glean valuable lessons about managing corn disease from the 2025 season. According to Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie, these three takeaways can apply next year:

Diseases might be severe in one area but nonexistent a few miles away.
Designating a pest boss and a pest management team pays big.
Don’t walk away from your crop.

Here You Find Disease, There You Don’t

“In 2025, in many areas of the Corn Belt, farmers experienced 10-to-50-bu. yield losses from corn disease,” Ferrie says. “The big problems were tar spot and southern rust, often in the same field. When disease was discovered in time, damage was somewhat preventable.

“Here’s what made management tricky: One field would be at threshold levels for treatment, but 5 miles away fields were disease-free. It boiled down to the disease triangle, requiring a susceptible host, a pathogen and the right environment. In some areas, where the three components never came together, growers harvested some of their highest yields ever with no fungicide.”

That hit-and-miss disease situation, in a period of tight profit margins, made scouting fields and having a pest boss making timely treatment decisions even more crucial than usual.

These photos taken through the windshield of a combine show the impact of a disease compared to two applications of a fungicide. Besides higher yield, the stay-green effect of the fungicide can also lengthen the harvest window.

(Crop-Tech Consulting Inc.)

“Where disease was present, many growers netted a 25-bu.-to-40-bu. yield response from a fungicide application,” Ferrie says. “Good managers who continued to scout often discovered diseases coming back about two weeks after treatment. Many of them sprayed a second time and netted another 20-bu. or 30-bu. response in addition to improved standability. That’s why I say never walk away from a growing crop.

“Conversely, many farmers who failed to identify disease in their fields and did not apply a fungicide found their yields shrank by 40 bu. per acre from their July estimates.”

Go Low for Rust and Tar Spot

One lesson from 2025 that applies to fungicide application confirmed Ferrie’s previous studies and observations.

“Last season, tar spot and southern rust started low on the plants and worked their way upward,” Ferrie says. “Fungicides had to penetrate deep into the canopy to control them.”

With aerial application, big droplets often fell beneath the aircraft and penetrated the canopy. But the smaller, lighter droplets floated to the outside of the pattern, remaining on the top leaves. Most years, that’s not a problem; but in 2025 it provided streaky results.

“With ground applicators, we did not see that streaking effect, because we got good penetration across the swath,” Ferrie says. “They put the fungicide down low, where it was needed.”

Lesson for 2026: To control tar spot and rust low in the canopy, when using aerial application, narrow your spray pattern.

“If you have both diseases in a field, make sure you use a fungicide that controls both,” Ferrie adds.

Your Pest Management Team

“Don’t have a pest management team yet? The offseason is the ideal time to assemble one. Here’s some advice to help:

A team can consist of farm employees, retail employees or scouting services. Hesitant to use someone who sells products? “Lots of great pest managers work in retail,” Ferrie says. “Their success depends on you being successful also.”
You might want to assemble several teams, for various issues such as weeds, disease and insects.
On a smaller operation, the whole team can be just one person, but make sure someone is authorized to make timely decisions.
The team must know how to collect accurate data, including good pictures for the pest boss. There’s no room for emotion in their reports.
Scouting must not stop after a treatment is applied. “If a disease resurges, as many did last year, it can shorten the grain-fill period and turn a great crop into a mediocre one,” Ferrie says.
Just like the scouts, the pest boss must base decisions on data, not emotion, coffee shop conversation or someone else’s team.
While market prices influence the economic threshold of when to treat, don’t let them create an emotional situation where the option is to treat or not to treat.
The pest boss must consider crop insurance coverage when making treatment decisions. Is the operator insured? The landowner? For how much? Do any other insurance factors apply?

Anhydrous Ammonia: One Small Mistake Can Have Life-Changing Consequences

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:11:19 GMT

When handling anhydrous ammonia (NH3), safety precautions aren’t simply a checklist to review and mark off your to-do list — they can help prevent a crisis. A recent incident shared by Chase Dewitz serves as a powerful reminder of the potential dangers of working with NH3 and the importance of staying vigilant about safety.

In late October, what began as routine equipment maintenance on the farm turned into a workplace accident that left one of Dewitz’s employees severely burned.

The incident unfolded at a fill site with a bulk tank of NH3 that had a faulty O-ring on the metering system and allowed product to leak, recalls Dewitz, who farms near Steele, N.D.

He and the employee discussed getting the O-ring replaced, but other priorities took precedent and that didn’t happen. Furthermore, on the day of the accident, the O-ring appeared to be functioning properly.

“I think what happened is the O-ring got wet from product, sweated, swelled, and seemed to kind of fix itself, because there was no leaking. He proceeded to take the chamber apart, loosening bolts, and when he reached a certain point, the O-ring failed and a fair amount of anhydrous blew out on him,” Dewitz says.

In a panic, the employee didn’t turn to the emergency water soak tank that was located less than 10 feet away and immerse himself in water. Instead, he went to the farm shop, which was more than 150 feet away. Fortunately, Dewitz says one of his other employees, who has some first aid training, was at the shop and able to step up and take charge of the situation.

“They got all his clothes removed and started pouring water over him, irrigating him, but he still had some significant burns,” Dewitz says.

Now, several weeks later, the injured employee is recovering in a Minneapolis-based burn facility after undergoing skin graft surgery — a stark reminder that short-sighted decisions can have life-altering consequences.

A Cautionary Reminder For Farmers This Fall
As fall anhydrous ammonia applications get underway, Dewitz says he wanted to share this story to remind farmers and farm employees to stay diligent with safety practices that can keep them safe while handling NH3.

“I think we’re going to see people who maybe haven’t used anhydrous for quite some time use it this fall, and they may have forgotten how much respect you need to have for this product,” he says. “My other concern is if farmers drag an old piece of equipment out of the shed that hasn’t been used for a number of years, and it isn’t up to the job.”

Fred Whitford says anhydrous ammonia training — and retraining — needs to be provided to all workers, whether part-time seasonal workers, newly hired recruits, tenured farming veterans, or even those who work behind customer counters at retail facilities.

“A constant focus on anhydrous ammonia safety helps ensure that everyone fully appreciates their role in protecting themselves, their coworkers, and the community,” says Whitford, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs.

“Three-fourths of your staff may have never been around anhydrous,” Dewitz adds.

Here are additional takeaways to keep in mind if you plan to use NH3 for 2026 crops:

Never underestimate the need to prep equipment adequately. A malfunctioning O-ring might seem trivial, but as this case demonstrates, overlooking small details can lead to significant consequences.

Always use protective equipment. Protective clothing, masks and gloves are not optional—they’re essential. As Dewitz notes, “A lot of protective equipment is available... people just fail to utilize it.”

Stay calm if an emergency does occur. That’s easier said than done in emotionally charged situations, but panic can amplify risks and accidents.

Take precautions when driving a tank of product to the field. Do not exceed 30 miles per hour, display a slow-moving vehicle emblem visible from the rear, and secure tanks with two independent chains in addition to the hitch pin or clip, advises the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Your next read: She Found Her Fiancé Clinging to Life After a Major Anhydrous Leak and Then Miraculously Helped Save Him

AgZen, Corteva Team up on AI-Powered, Retrofit Sprayer Tech

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:08:47 GMT

AgZen announces an agreement with Corteva to further “explore the commercial potential” of AgZen’s AI-powered crop spraying optimization technology, RealCoverage.

The news comes on the heels of Corteva’s big announcement on Oct. 1 , detailing the crop protection multinational’s plan to split its crop protection and seeds businesses.

AgZen, a tech startup spun out of MIT, is making a name for itself by pioneering feedback optimization for spray applications — a new approach the company thinks has potential to improve farmer outcomes and reduce crop input costs.

(AgZen)

AgZen’s first product, RealCoverage, is a retrofit kit that can be bolted onto any sprayer to measure and optimize the number of drops of agrochemicals applied to crops. The system features a boom-mounted sensor that analyzes the coverage and quality of spray applications in real-time, displaying actionable data to a tablet mounted in the cab. Farmers can use the data to optimize the physical settings on spray rigs, both self-propelled and pull-behind, to increase coverage.

The startup says its system works by leveraging AI and cutting-edge computer vision, and customers have used RealCoverage to save 30% to 50% on input costs.

Farmer Feedback

(AgZen)

Northwest Indiana farmer Bryan Brost slapped a RealCoverage system onto his Hagie STS 16 high-clearance sprayer to use on his waxy corn and soybean crops. He says it has helped boost his spray program efficiency overall by reducing application rates while maintaining optimal coverage throughout his 12,000-acre operation.

“The payback came in the first year,” he tells Farm Journal via text message. “We have increased our acres [covered] per day with less hours on the machine, the operator and the nurse tanks supplying product [to the sprayer].”

Corey McIntosh set the technology loose across his 4,000 acre spread in Missouri Valley, Iowa. He is looking forward to using the data to improve his application efficiency across the board. He’s also letting his neighbors and local retailer in on the secret.

“I was getting a chem shuttle refilled at [the] co-op, these guys have always been complimentary of our weed control, I asked them: ‘What percentage of leaf surface area do you think you are covering with your sprayers?’ One of their best operators said he thought 50% coverage. The salesman next to him said it would definitely be more than 60%,” McIntosh says.

“They were shocked when I told them we were at 9% to 10%, but nobody has had ever had a way to quantify this before,” he adds. “We are really looking forward to making improvements.”

Since launching on the market in 2024, AgZen says it covered more than 970,000 commercial acres of application across the U.S. on row crops and specialty crops.

Your Next Read: Breakthrough Fungicide Delivers White Mold Disease Control in Key Crops

The Scoop Podcast: What’s Next For Ag Drone Application?

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:29:43 GMT

In the past five years, Lukas Koch says we’ve seen an evolution in technology, capabilities and opportunities with drones used in agriculture. And he doesn’t think it’s going to slow down.

“It’s been quite a crazy ride,” says Koch, who is CEO of Kelly Hills Unmanned Systems “In fact, I think the following five years will be even more crazy. With the maturity of some of the systems we’re beginning to see now, growers are going to have as equipment on their farm or ag retailers could have as a tool in their tool kit. We have products that have matured with obstacle avoidance, longer flight times, better spray patterns… so I think drones are certainly here to stay.”

Koch says what was a few curious early adopters has exploded into more than 20,000 spray drones.

Kelly Hills spun out of Heinen Brothers AgriServices last year after being an internal project for more than four years. Today, Kelly Hills works with OEMs to get their product ready for market, with universities on research and with FAA regulators.

“I often say there’s more acres out there right now than the airplanes and helicopters can cover already, so the introduction of the drone is just going to keep allowing us to cover more acres,” he says. “We think it’s a good hand-in-hand relationship between the airplanes and the drones.”

Koch reflects that the early days of drone application in agriculture were focused on specialty crops, but with product innovation and technology development, the footprint and possibilities have greatly expanded. He cites the recent unveiling of the Pyka drone with 80-gal. capacity and 38’ wingspan as an example.

“In our real-world testing, we were getting around 200 acres per hour with that drone, which is a pretty, shocking number,” he says.

As for beyond application, Koch says drones being used for equipment setup, such as on a grain elevator left, used for carrying agricultural cargo/materials, and more.

“I often liken it to the adoption of the tractor. They started early on, were really slow and quite dangerous, really. They were made with boilers, and they would explode, and then we got small internal combustible engines, thanks to people like Henry Ford. And people wanted these tractors, but they still had a team of horses, and they were thinking to themselves, I don’t know if this slow machine that only does plowing is going make it,” he says.

“But slow adoption happened. Could you imagine standing in 1903, looking at a tractor, and imagining what tractors do for us today? I say no way, there’s no way I could have imagined it. So I feel like we’re in 1903 right now with spray drones. Right now, we’re just concerned about spraying. Allow it to do one thing well first, but I think long-term, this just turns into an asset that does a lot of heavy lifting for farmers.”

Hear more of Koch’s insights and predictions on The Scoop podcast.

Cream Of The Crop: Nominate Outstanding Applicators For AGCO’s Award

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:03:03 GMT

Next week, nominations for AGCO’s Operator of the Year will close . For 20 years AGCO has honored the operator and their importance to ag retail and crop production with the Operator Of The Year program.

Equipment may have improved over those 20 years, but one thing still holds true, and that is the importance of a quality application of crop protection products and fertilizer. The operator is the face of the ag retailer when he is preforming these applications and holds a vital role in helping the grower produce a successful crop.

Fertilizer and herbicide application has changed tremendously from when many of us in ag retail started our careers, but certain values still hold true.

Growers still depend on Ag Retailers and their agronomists for their agronomic expertise, but they also depend on professional applicators to complete the planned applications as accurately as possible. An agronomy plan is only as good as the execution of the application.

This award recognizes those who:

stand out
efficiently and accurately cover acres like they were their own
are the one the other applicators lean on for advice or training
embrace new technology
are first to arrive and the last to leave
have the determination of a winner
are someone your customers trust and request

This year’s winner will receive a Polaris Side-By-Side UTV or the cash equivalent. The top three applicators will get an all-expense paid trip to the ARA convention in Salt Lake City, UT. December 2-4, where the winner will be announced on stage.

Nominate your professional operator for AGCO’s operator of the year soon as nominations close September 30.

John Deere Layoffs Continue Amid Sales Downturn, 142 Iowa Employees Notified

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:57:38 GMT

Farm equipment giant John Deere has confirmed it is laying off 101 employees at its Waterloo Operations (last day on October 17) and 41 employees at the Des Moines Works (October 31) plant, according to an official statement emailed to Farm Journal.

It is a little over a month since the last round of layoffs , which affected over 200 employees across factories located in the Quad Cities region of western Illinois and eastern Iowa.

Deere says in the statement: “Production schedules at each John Deere factory vary to align with seasonal farming needs. When fewer orders come in, each factory adjusts accordingly.”

Despite the layoffs and an overall tough farm economy that some think will stretch well into 2026, Deere still intends on moving forward with its $20 billion investment strategy here in the U.S., according to the statement.

During John Deere’s earnings call in August, the company issued a warning that tariff costs could total $600 million for fiscal year 2025. The company’s share price dipped 6% immediately following that call. Deere’s net income for Q3 also sank 26%, and its total net sales decreased by 9% compared to Q3 in 2024.

At the beginning of August, John Deere addressed long-standing Right To Repair concerns with a new digital diagnosis and repair product for John Deere machines and Hagie STS high-clearance sprayers. That tool costs $195 per tractor for farmers and $5,995 per year for independent service technicians.

And in May, Deere acquired Minneapolis-based drone and sensor provider Sentera . Financial terms for that deal have not been disclosed.

John Deere also just dropped a new commercial featuring injured San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Iowa State Cyclone Brock Purdy cooking meals for farmers with tractor influencer @JustAJacksonThing. You can check that out below.

Additional Information

Deere shares the following bullet points regarding compensation benefits available to laid off employees:

Affected employees are eligible to be recalled to their home factory for a period equal to their length of service. Those laid off are automatically placed in seniority order for openings they are qualified to perform at the factory.
Weekly supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB pay), dependent on number of years of continuous employment.
Transitional Assistance Benefit (TAB) pay, which may cover up to 50% of their average weekly earnings for up to 52 weeks. 
Profit sharing, calculated based on hours worked, average earnings and the company’s profit margin.

Healthcare benefits employees can receive during a layoff include: 

Employees can keep healthcare coverage for at least six months, or as long as they are eligible for SUB pay.
Weekly Indemnity (WI): Employees who become disabled while on layoff can get WI benefits for the same duration as their SUB pay.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Employees and their household members can access EAP services for the duration of their recall rights. EAP provides up to eight sessions of in-person or virtual therapy per year.

Other benefits laid-off employees may receive include: 

Life insurance
Legal assistance
Tuition reimbursement and job-placement assistance.

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AGCO’s Next Generation of Air Max Spreaders

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 18:10:56 GMT

The two key features for the new Air Max Precision F1/F2 Spreaders are more productivity and more precision.

“We’re going to a wider 90’ boom now, and also an increase in our section control by 200%, basically doubling our section control with four sections now versus two.” says Tanner Lund, a product marketing specialist for AGCO.

Lund says the new Air Max Spreaders provide the equipment retailers need to spread multiple products at variable rates across many customer fields. Speaking to the two configurations, he says the Air Max fits across many use cases.

“The F1 is a single bin, but we have the F2, which is our two-bin system, so we can split products. We also offer a micro-bin option as well for any of our micronutrients,” he says. “We have a 365 cubic foot capacity now on our F1, then the F2 is a 355 cubic foot capacity.”

To provide for the greater precision, Lund explains the four section control is provided by taking the left and right chains of each bin, and then splitting those further in the distribution funnels to divert the flow to two sections on each side. He also shares there are even more innovations on how the Air Max is increasing its precision.

(AGCO)

“In previous generations of the Air Max, we were using a 360 pulse per rev rate sensor in our drive motors. Now we’ve gone up to an 880 pulse per rev rate sensor, which allows us to get a super low rate, as well as super high rate. So we can get down as low as 20 pounds the acre, and up to 1,200 pounds to the acre. That’s rated with 65-pound density material at 10 miles an hour,” he says.

This opens up a larger capacity for seeding applications as it specifically allows retailers to spread cover crops through the main bins instead of previously relying on the micro bins.
Higher capacity, increased precision, advanced drive motors all add up on the new Air Max boxes.

“These boxes will be available on our larger TerraGator models: 8300C, 8400C, and 900C,” Lund says. “Because it is a bigger box, bigger booms, a little bit more weight, we do need some extra horsepower and chassis to support that system.”

(AGCO)

Farmers, Truckers and Gear Heads Rejoice: EPA Rolls Out Streamlined Diesel Engine Fluid Guidelines

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 16:02:00 GMT

EPA is rolling out new guidance for manufacturers of farm equipment and other heavy-duty vehicles, removing regulatory red tape requiring diesel-powered farm equipment to reduce engine torque dramatically when a problem arises with the machine’s Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system.

You can read EPA’s statement on the announcement here.

The new rule making goes into effect immediately for all new diesel engines on model year 2027 machines. It should also be noted the new guidance from EPA is voluntary for all non road equipment. Ultimately, each manufacturer will have the right to choose whether it implements the new inducement strategy or maintains the status quo with its own machines.

To fix the problem for farm machinery already in the field, EPA’s new guidance, developed in collaboration with farm equipment manufacturers, will work to ensure necessary software changes can be made on the existing fleet.

(EPA)

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin says now all non-road equipment, like farm tractors, combines and sprayers, must be configured so there is no impact on engine power for up to 36 hours when a DEF system malfunction occurs. Once 36 engine hours have passed, a 25% reduction in engine torque will go into effect until the machine is serviced. If the farm equipment is not fixed within 100 engine hours, then a 50% reduction in torque is activated until the machine can be serviced.

Additionally, farm equipment can be restarted with full engine power three times for up to 30 minutes after inducement, according to the EPA release.

“This is the first crack in the ice toward saying we don’t need these expensive systems on our farm equipment,” says Ben Reinsche, owner, Blue Diamond Farming Company in Jesup, Iowa. “We don’t need to immediately shut off an engine or be restricted for 36 hours if you have DEF unavailable or a malfunction.

“This is a positive step and maybe a formative step toward saying that having these emission standards on farm or off-road equipment is not critically necessary,” adds Reinsche. “There are so many other things farmers can do that are planet positive, like using conservation and sustainability practices, rather than having an after treatment system on our diesel engines.”

Small Business Administration (SBA) leader Kelly Loeffler says the new rule will save 1.8 million family farms across America a staggering $727 million per year while offering “vital financial and operational certainty.”

“This announcement today is such a big deal, especially on behalf of our farmers and ranchers,” says USDA secretary Brook Rollins. “At a time when our ag sector is really hurting, our farmers have had to endure a 30% cost increase in inputs, and a $30 billion Biden-era trade deficit, these everyday regulations being lifted makes such a difference.”

The new guidance greatly reduces a machine setting known as DEF derating and allows operators more time to secure DEF, refuel and make repairs. The new guidance also reportedly retains the environmental benefits of Tier 4 engine and DEF regulations for farm equipment and trucks.

“Today we are taking another important step forward by undoing these diesel fluid guidelines that have hurt our farmers and small rural businesses,” says U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). “Not only will these new guidelines save family-run farms hundreds of millions of dollars per year, but it is also just common sense, folks. No farmer should have their tractor come to a halt in the middle of a field due to Green New Deal-style regulations from Washington.”

How Did We Get Here?

EPA ushered in DEF requirements for large farm equipment when it enacted broader Tier 4 emissions standards in 2004.

Tier 4 Interim rules, which required DEF for farm machines 750 horsepower and up, then went into effect in 2008.

In 2015, EPA’s final Tier 4 regulations were put in place, meaning all new non-road diesel engines — regardless of horsepower rating — had to comply with new emissions standards.

Curious where your farm equipment is made? Check out Farm Journal’s “Who Makes What Where” feature to learn more.

Why Do Many Farmers Hate Using Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF)?

American farmers say they detest using DEF due to the challenges and additional fuel cost it tacks onto their operations.

Here are some reasons farmers aren’t big fans of DEF:

Higher Costs and More Maintenance: DEF adds on extra materials costs for machinery-based field work. Farmers must purchase large amounts of fluid, and the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) framework that processes DEF is prone to malfunctions and expensive to repair. Often a simple-but-unexpected repair can pop up out of nowhere and end up costing farmers thousands of dollars and leave equipment inoperable.
Field Work Interruptions: If a tractor runs out of DEF or if the system breaks down, under the now-defunct previous guidelines engine power was greatly reduced, which is known by many farmers as “going into limp mode.” For farmers who rely on their equipment to operate consistently and reliably during planting and harvesting, any issue quickly becomes a major headache.
Storage Issues: DEF has a limited shelf life and is sensitive to temperature ups and downs. A quick Google search says DEF freezes at around 12°F and can degrade if stored in temperatures above 86°F. And who wants to look at a giant pallet of DEF cartons stacked in their machinery barn? Nobody, that’s who.
Contamination/Quality Control: DEF fluid must be pure and free of contaminants. Accidentally using the wrong type or getting foreign substances in the tank during refilling can wreak havoc throughout the system, leading to repairs and downtime.
Engine Performance Concerns: There are farmers who believe newer emissions systems, including those that use DEF, reduce the machine’s total power output and lower fuel efficiency.

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Right To Repair Granted? John Deere Launches Digital Self-Repair Tool for $195 Per Tractor

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 15:29:05 GMT

In what appears to be a direct response to anti-competition claims raised in the ongoing FCC v. John Deere Right to Repair lawsuit , the equipment manufacturer has released an updated digital service tool to enable equipment owners to maintain, diagnose, repair and protect farm equipment.

The new Operations Center PRO Service tool is available now in John Deere’s Operation Center app to equipment owners in the U.S. and Canada.

John Deere says it will charge farmers an annual license starting at $195 per machine for the tool. The company is charging independent service professionals $5,995.00 per year, which includes up to 10 local downloads.

The increased functionality of the new service tool replaces John Deere’s previous digital service iteration, known as Customer Service ADVISOR. John Deere representatives confirm ADVISOR will be phased out over the next year.

What farmers need to know

John Deere says the new Operations Center PRO Service “delivers digital repair content filtered by year and model number and provides users with additional relevant machine information to help troubleshoot, diagnose and repair Deere equipment. It’s designed to be intuitive and deliver support in real time.”

Here are the new service and repair capabilities within the tool:

Machine health insights and diagnostic trouble codes
PIN-specific machine content, including manuals
Software reprogramming for John Deere controllers
Diagnostic Readings
Diagnostic Recordings
Interactive diagnostic tests
Calibrations

Quick Analysis

If you’ve been following the FCC v. John Deere Right to Repair lawsuit, you may recall FCC’s legal team asking the equipment manufacturer to release a full digital repair and diagnosis tool for farmers and independent service technicians as part of its filed request for injunctive relief.

Related: What Does Right to Repair Really Mean?

Right to Repair advocates and antitrust attorney James Kovac, along with the FCC’s legal team, at the time were critical of the Customer Service ADVISOR, calling it an incomplete diagnostic tool. Kovacs himself says “independent repair pros and the farmers have access to (the tool), but (it) doesn’t give them the full suite of options to repair all the needs of their farming equipment.”

What John Deere is saying about the new tool

“Our development of these tools reaffirms John Deere’s support of customer self-repair,” says Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support with John Deere. “We view continuously enhancing self-repair as consistent with our mission to ensure John Deere customers have the best machine ownership experience possible.”

What about independent repair technicians?

(John Deere )

In addition to equipment owners, a local service provider can also use Operations Center PRO Service, John Deere says. With a John Deere equipment owner’s permission, independent technicians can gain access to diagnostic and repair information to support the equipment owner’s needs.

(JohnDeere.com screenshot)

On the John Deere online store, it currently lists a Operations Center PRO Service annual license for a “Service Business” as costing $5,995.00 . The license provides for 10 local downloads of the PRO Service application, the listing says.

“Our message to our customers is clear,” Caldwell continues. “Whether you want the support of your professionally trained and trusted John Deere dealer, to work with another local service provider or to fix your machine yourself, we’ve created additional capabilities for you to choose the option that best fits your needs.”

How does it work?

Equipment owners must access Operations Center PRO Service through the John Deere Operations Center. Once connected to the platform, owners will add their equipment into their account using the machine’s serial number. Use of an electronic data link might be required for more advanced features within Operations Center PRO Service, including software reprogramming. Certain interactive tests, calibrations and reprogramming limitations will exist at initial release.

John Deere says it will deliver additional capabilities in future updates. See JohnDeere.com/PROService for further details.

How can I find out more?

Operations Center PRO Service is available today. For more information on how to access all of the digital support tools offered by John Deere, visit Deere.com/RunItYourWay or see your local John Deere dealer.

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Spray Drone Season Hits Full Throttle: 3 Service Providers Flying Acres and Boosting Yields

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 19:22:38 GMT

Nebraska native Andy Kreikemeier’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing all week, and it won’t go silent anytime soon.

That’s because his former hobby and volunteer side hustle, flying drones for the county emergency response team, transformed into a full-time gig as a spray drone operator. Kreikemeier is one-third of a team of spray drone pilots with business partners Brett Scheiding and Brad Eisenhauer. Together, the three local volunteer firefighters started Infinity Precision Ag, a custom drone application service provider in southeast Nebraska.

The Infinity team is in the crunch of the summer plant health application season, and farmers without access to a Hagie high-clearance sprayer or an aerial application service need the timely sprays these certified drone pilots provide to get their crop across the finish line and in good shape for fall harvest.

The trio is in their sophomore season offering per-acre spray drone application services to farmers, and the group learned “a ton” from last year’s rookie campaign.

“Spray drones are definitely a good tool because they can do a lot of specialized things, and it’s fun to see the old farmers come out and watch these things. They’ll tell me ‘Never in my day would I have thought this was something I’d be using’,” Kreikemeier says. “It’s a fun change, and it works. You can get more precise with your applications, and you get the stuff where you want it at all times.”

The team at Infinity exclusively flies Hylio spray drones, which are manufactured in Texas. Hylio was among the first U.S. service providers – Iowa-based Rantizo being one of the others – to receive FAA approval to swarm , or operate in concert, multiple spray drones in one flight mission. Swarming is exactly how Kreikemeier and his team prefer to operate the mostly automated quadcopters. By operating multiple spray drones together in a fleet, Infinity can cover more acres per hour.

Related: Trump Issues Executive Order Making Ag Drones More Efficient

Kreikemeier says the service requests from farmers this summer are “about 50-50” fungicide on corn applications and insecticide or foliar-applied biological sprays. There hasn’t been a lot of Tar Spot disease pressure in his area yet, but Gray Leaf Spot in corn is something farmers need to proactively spray for.

(Lindsey Pound)

While he won’t go as far as saying the drones are a superior application tool to a large ground rig or aerial application plane, he does see some advantages to using the technology.

“The drones can definitely get the products deeper into the plant canopy — at least that’s what I’m seeing right now,” Kreikemeier says, adding he’s also seeing improved application quality on end-rows and sensitive areas near buffers, streams and rural housing developments. An aerial applicator would usually have to pull up and gain altitude to avoid those obstacles, potentially leaving some spray to drift off-target. But an unmanned drone can stay low and keep blasting active ingredients directly into the canopy.

“Guys are definitely telling me they can see a difference between what the drones have done and what the planes have done,” he says.

From Photographer to Pilot-In-Charge

Drone shots of a drone spraying fungicide on corn field sprayer spray - By Lindsey Pound

(Lindsey Pound)

Over on the East Coast, Joshua Berry got his start in the drone world along the same lines as many early adopters: he built up a custom photography and videography business for years before making the decision to integrate aerial photography to stay relevant.

The first drone he purchased is widely considered one of the “OGs” in the drone world: DJI’s Phantom 1. Berry recalls his aerial photography service didn’t take off right away, but he always knew ag was an industry he wanted to join. The realization came fast and hard that he was facing an uphill battle to make that dream a reality, as his family didn’t own land or have a legacy in farming.

Berry’s big breakthrough came when he started using drones equipped with thermal cameras to help deer hunters locate fallen prey deep in the woods. The service gave him a foot in the door with local farmers – many of whom are avid hunters or at the very least friends with hunters – along Maryland’s specialty ag-rich Eastern Shore.

refilling drone spraying fungicide on corn field sprayer spray - By Lindsey Pound

(Lindsey Pound)

“A guy out in Ohio saw what I was doing and wanted to get into the deer recovery stuff, so he befriended me, and I helped teach him a couple things,” Berry says. “One day he calls me up and he’s like, ‘Yo, have you seen these agricultural drones?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I have my eye on it.’ And he tells me it’s going to be the next big thing.”

Berry started doing research and soon enough he agreed with his buddy in Ohio that spray drones would be his ticket to a career in farming. He ordered a pair of DJI Agras T-40 models and started working on getting licensed to legally apply chemicals.

That took him a few months (today the FAA licensing process has been streamlined), and he was able to start flying and applying midway through the 2024 growing season.

“I did a lot of research and networking before I flew a single acre, so I felt like I set myself up for success (early on),” Berry says. “Even though it was a dry year – dry and hot means there’s not a lot of pressure on farmers to spray – I ended the season with between 2,500 and 3,000 acres. For a guy in his first half of a season, I was happy with that.

Related: How Spray Drones Revolutionize Corn Farming, Make Farmers More Efficient and Sustainable

This year, Berry’s acreage will double to about 6,000-7,000. That’s an impressive figure, considering how fields are laid out on the East Coast. This isn’t Iowa, Berry says, where a drone operator can park at an intersection and knock out 300 acres of flat, continuous fields without having to move the truck and tender trailer.

As far as the job mix this summer, he is putting on a lot of single pass fungicide-insecticide-liquid fertilizer applications across a diverse mix of crops. Berry is also hearing some farmers in his area are buying drones themselves and skipping the whole FAA licensing process to spray their crops themselves.

“That’s going to hurt us as an industry, big time. And also, it’s going to hurt the farmers eventually. Even though the enforcement wing of the FAA is almost nonexistent, there is enforcement out there,” he says. “They may not have the manpower (now), but if that changes, you’re going to see these unlicensed guys really start to get dinged.”

Tendering for Spray Drones

The Mitten State is a good proving ground for spray drone applications, says Leon Thelen, agricultural drone application specialist, On Point Application Group (Battle Creek, Mich.).

For one, there aren’t many options for custom aerial application services available to growers like there are in the western Corn Belt. And Michigan farms are often broken into collections of smaller, oddly shaped fields with power lines, tree stands and residential developments nearby. That makes plane applications dicey.

And finally, the state has a diverse crop mix that features a lot of high-value, specialty crops like cranberries, cherries, potatoes and sugar beets. There are a lot of farmers looking to make applications without running over expensive plants with a ground rig.

Related: 7 Expert Tips To Maximize Spray Drone Efficiency

Thelen says On Point Application Group is doing a lot of field border insecticide applications, spot spraying tough weed escapes like water hemp, and putting out full field broadcast applications of fungicides with its XAG P140 spray drones.

One critical aspect of the business Thelen and his team have sorted out over the past few months is tendering. He says the giant, bi-level prefab drone tender trailers you see around the Midwest are good for most operations, but a smaller footprint tender that can fit in the back of an extended pickup is ideal for the type of work he’s doing in Michigan.

“Being that I’ve backed a trailer into a lot of fields, I like lightweight equipment that’s nimble,” he says. “We’ve got a trailer with 1,000 gallons of water and a mix tank that we can leave at the field edge and unhook. Then we have this 200-gallon hot tank with our charging equipment , batteries and everything we can take into the field. This setup works well when you’re working off (irrigation) pivot lanes or back in behind the woods. I like to be close to the field.”

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American Dominance: Trump Issues Executive Order Making Ag Drones More Efficient

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 18:58:01 GMT

President Donald J. Trump has signed an Executive Order (EO) his administration claims will “ensure continued American leadership in the development, commercialization and export of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)”.

The order mentions precision agriculture as one of several industries where drones are “enhancing U.S. productivity, creating high-skilled jobs and reshaping the future of aviation.”

Related: Soaring Yields and Lower Costs: 7 Expert Tips To Maximize Spray Drone Efficiency

Two areas of emphasis within the EO itself will have direct benefits to many farm drone use-cases:

The expansion of approved autonomous Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.
A new electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) integration pilot program.

By directing the FAA to continue on its current trajectory of streamlining the approval of autonomous BVLOS flights in areas where public safety is not at risk (i.e. in unrestricted Class G airspace), crop scouting and spray drones will be able to cover more acres in a more efficient manner.

And establishing a pilot program to further the advancement of eVTOLs is good news for many emerging spray drone technologies like Guardian.ag’s SC1 , which is now FAA-approved and field testing with growers in Salinas, Calif., this summer.

Related: What’s New With Agriculture Drones?

The order also directs the FAA administrator to deploy artificial intelligence tools to streamline and expedite UAS waiver reviews, meaning farm users with all the licensing and approval ducks-in-a-row will be approved faster for time-critical missions like in-season insecticide and fungicide applications.

Many in the drone industry expected an outright ban of Chinese and foreign drone technology in the U.S., but that does not appear to be the case with this EO. The order does instruct federal agencies using drones to “prioritize U.S.-manufactured UAS” and to “secure our supply chains and promote American leadership in production, certification and export.”

Domestic Drone Maker Reacts

Smart-Farming-Drone-Arthur-Erickson.jpg

(Hylio/Lori Hays)

Hylio is an American spray drone manufacturer based in Richmond, Texas. The company is building a new 40,000 square foot facility that CEO Arthur Erickson says will increase its drone production capacity by about 500%.

Erickson gave the following statement to Farm Journal after Trump’s EO was announced:

“Since 2015, Hylio has been on the front lines of the drone industry, fighting an uphill battle as one of the few US-based drone manufacturers. Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed Chinese companies employ increasingly aggressive, non-competitive practices, such as price dumping and strategic subsidizing, in an attempt to monopolize the market and eliminate American competition.

“We believe American self-reliance in drone manufacturing and component sourcing is an existential necessity; drone technology has proven to be incredibly important in private industry as well as civil and military government sectors. The executive orders issued by the Trump administration, which promote US manufacturers like Hylio while simultaneously curbing the anti-competitive practices of Chinese manufacturers, are a powerful step toward establishing a robust and secure American drone industrial base in the near future. We fully support the administration’s efforts and applaud them for their decisive action.”

To learn more about the EO, check out this fact sheet from the White House or dig deep and read the full EO, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance”, here.

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No, John Deere is Not Freezing Production or Stepping Away From its U.S. Factories

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:48:46 GMT

An online report last week claimed John Deere is shutting down ALL manufacturing in response to the ongoing tariff situation in the U.S.

But we looked into it, and we’re here to tell you: don’t take the bait — or, as the kids say, feed the trolls — because it’s simply not true.

An article authored by Kieran Schalkwyk and titled “John Deere Freezes U.S. Manufacturing in Unprecedented Shutdown” appeared on MSN.com and was aggregated by Google News feeds last week, claiming the manufacturer is “making a radical move that some might think is ‘un-American.’”

John Deere shared the following LinkedIn post Friday afternoon. You can also visit Deere.com for more information on the company’s U.S. manufacturing presence.

The MSN.com post has since been taken down and brings up an error page:

MSN.com screenshot

(MSN.com)

It’s somewhat bewildering timing for this particular misinformation ploy.

John Deere recently put out a blog post outlining its commitment to U.S. manufacturing. The statement says John Deere will invest $20 billion into its U.S. footprint over the next decade, which includes major expansion projects in Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Today, the company has 60 manufacturing facilities in more than 16 U.S. states and employs over 30,000 American workers.

What is true is over the past 18 months, the company has been forced to lay off some employees , and it strategically slowed manufacturing at some production facilities in Iowa in response to depressed farmer demand for new tractors and combines.

Of course, John Deere is not alone navigating a treacherous global farm economy. Machinery rivals AGCO and CNH also made the tough choice to layoff factory workers over the past 12 months. CNH even completely shutdown its overseas machinery imports during the first few days of the tariff policy rollout, although that pause was only temporary.

In February, we updated our popular “Who Makes What Where” feature showing where major farm equipment is manufactured around the world.

Our analysis of John Deere’s global factory network shows that of the 60 John Deere machines relevant to U.S. farmers, 50 of them (83%) are manufactured here in North America. Of all the major farm equipment manufacturers we polled, John Deere has the largest U.S.-based manufacturing footprint other than Canadian-based Buhler Industries, which is 100% North America based.

So, it feels safe to say we can put this rumor to bed once and for all: No, John Deere is not shutting down its factories. Myth Busted. Shutdown the rumor mill.

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Aerial Application Field Trial: Fungicide Protected 20 bu. of Corn Yield

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 18:14:54 GMT

In 2024, a Wisconsin corn grower found a tar spot infestation in his corn field and called Dairyland Aviation to make a fungicide application. The timing was tricky — already late August — and the applicator was skeptical the application would work nearly two weeks after the R4 growth stage. The farmer and the applicator agreed to roll the dice and make the application with a control strip to analyze its effectiveness.

Between the treated field and the untreated strip there were 15 bu. to 20 bu. more.
Despite being outside the optimum window for disease control, this field trial yielded strong results.

From an aerial view, there was a clear line between the treated and untreated parts of the field. Within the canopy, the treated rows were clearly delineated from the untreated.

(Dairyland Aviation)

Since 2018 when tar spot was identified as a widespread epidemic in the Midwest, many crop protection companies, applicators and farmers have explored different ways to protect corn yields from the disease. Tar spot infestations are heavily weather dependent, and the disease thrives in cool temperatures between 60 F and 70 F, with high humidity.

The disease has been either confirmed or reported in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The National Agricultural Aviation Association details how the above case study used an 800-gal. turbine-powered airplane, guided by a state-of-the-art GPS, at an application rate of 2 gal. of spray per acre. The aircraft’s spray boom used a pulse width modulation nozzle control system — similar to those equipped on ground sprayers.

You can find an aerial applicator near you via the National Agricultural Aviation.

John Deere-Sentera Tie Up: Here’s What We Know So Far

Fri, 23 May 2025 21:07:32 GMT

John Deere has announced its acquisition of Minnesota-based aerial optics innovator Sentera. Although specific details are few and far between this early in the process, here’s what we know so far:

The two companies have a long history. John Deere was the first enterprise customer Sentera signed onto its system over a decade ago, and the two companies have had an API link in place between Sentera’s drone management software and John Deere’s Operations Center since 2016.
Financial details are not being disclosed. We do know the deal is not subject to any further regulatory or shareholder approvals.
In a similar fashion to the Blue River Technologies and Bear Flag Robotics acquisitions, Sentera will maintain its independence as a free-standing business unit. Once fully integrated into the Deere family, Sentera will operate under the John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group (ISG) framework. Sentera leadership will remain at its St. Paul, Minn., headquarters.
For the time being, no major changes are planned for either company as we head into the heart of the summer crop scouting and spraying season. The two companies anticipate having more details to share about the nuts and bolts of the acquisition this fall.
The two groups are a natural fit. Sentera is aggressively marketing its SmartScripts drone weed mapping program, and the technology is complimentary to John Deere’s Operations Center and its See & Spray and ExactApply application technologies. One driving force behind this deal, Farm Journal is told, is Deere’s motivation to integrate more real-time agronomic data into its Operations Center platform, and Sentera’s aerial data capture capabilities can help make that happen.

(John Deere)

A deal to lift both boats. John Deere has built up a deep bench of artificial intelligence, machine learning and autonomous technology expertise within ISG, and Sentera has a long track record of aerial sensing and camera payload innovation. Considering how many cameras and sensors are included from the factory on new John Deere machines and within its Precision Upgrades retrofit kits, there should be a healthy cross pollination of sensor and camera innovation between Urbandale, Iowa, (where ISG is based) and St. Paul, Minn.
Sentera can help make See & Spray even better. SmartScripts uses drone-based imaging to scan a field and build a weed pressure map which is then loaded onto the sprayer’s in-cab computer. Now the sprayer operator can see exactly where weeds are in the field and focus their spraying efforts there first. There’s also a logistical and planning aspect to SmartScripts: by knowing exactly how many weeds are present in the field, and even what type of weeds are there, an adept operator can have the right active ingredients premixed and the exact amount needed loaded into the tank or staged nearby in a tender truck to keep that sprayer running all day long.

“Farming is becoming a very sensor and data-centric business, and in our opinion, there isn’t anyone doing it at broad scale today better than John Deere,” says Eric Taipale, chief technology officer, Sentera. “The way we can bring these data-driven insights and improve grower outcomes — it’s just what we’ve always been about. It’s what John Deere is all about. There’s such a great mesh between the two cultures, the objectives and the mission of the two organizations.”

Joseph Liefer, global technology marketing lead at John Deere, adds, “We’re excited about how this complements our existing portfolio with See & Spray, and then not just that (product). Now a farmer with an individual nozzle-controlled sprayer from any manufacturer can also leverage this technology. A drone can fly their field, generate a weed map, turn it into a prescription in Operations Center and the machine can go execute the plan. From an ag retailer standpoint, that might have a mixed fleet, and this gives them more tools in the toolbox to do targeted application for growers and help them save on herbicide. We view this deal as complementary to our overall tech strategy.”

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John Deere Challenge: Watch a New York Tech Journalist Farm 20 Acres of Corn for $20 Profit

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:52:49 GMT

You might recall this viral stunt from when it was announced last spring: John Deere and tech influencer David Cogen (@TheUnlockr) joined forces to set the New York-based journalist up as a row crop farmer for an entire growing season. Using 20 acres of prime Iowa farmland, Cogen’s mission was to find out if he could accomplish what farmers must achieve to put food on America’s dinner tables: turn planted crops into cold, hard cash.

Unlike most farmers, though, Cogen was basically given every cheat code in the game: He had guidance from John Deere experts throughout the crop journey, all of the latest John Deere equipment with all the tech bells-and-whistles any farmer could dream for —not to mention a blank check for seed, crop inputs, fuel and labor.

Cogen began by ordering up soil tests and custom fertilizer applications. Then he flew back to Iowa to complete the spring tillage pass and seed the field. Next came another trip to spray weeds post-emergence with Deere’s See & Spray smart application system before returning in the fall to harvest the finished grain and haul it down to the local ethanol processing plant.

Along the way Cogen learned a handful of lessons any seasoned farmer already knows all too well:

The weather never seems to do what you want it to do, when you want it to do it. That’s farming.
You have to eradicate weeds or they will rob your yields and destroy your profits.
Variation is the enemy, it’s all about consistent production and harvesting at the precise moisture level and timing.
A dry late-summer and early-fall is a factor you can’t control but it can cost you real dollars on your final yield. The corn will dry down too fast in the field if you don’t get it off on time, so in this case, water is truly money when it comes to corn and soybean farming.

In the end, Cogen’s field averaged 209 bushels per acre and produced just over 3,000 total bushels of corn, which equates to over 200,000 lb.

His total expenses for the year (land costs, seed, fertilizer and “other”) totaled $16,456, while his total revenues for the 19.24 total acres of corn harvested was $16,478.

Don’t adjust your monitor. Yes, you read that right.

The New York tech editor farmed all year long and only brought home $22 in total profit. It just goes to show, turning a profit on only 20 acres is incredibly hard to do. Small acre farmers deserve just as much respect as the big boys.

“Honestly, I hope that like myself, that this has opened your eyes into what it actually takes to farm,” Cogen says at the end of the video. “Just all of the work that goes into it and you can have a new appreciation for farming and for farmers.

Your Next Read: Farmer Finds A Silver Bullet For High Corn Yields

BREAKING: CNH Halts Farm Equipment Shipments From North America, Europe To Assess Tariff Situation

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:53:24 GMT

In North America, we are stopping shipments from North America plants and European imports effective today. This is a temporary move until we assess the full impact of planned tariffs on pricing. There are no impacts to production and parts shipments continue as planned. We will continue to monitor the situation.CNH Industrial has confirmed online reports it will temporarily pause farm equipment shipments from North American factories as well as from its European counterparts, effective immediately.

Here is CNH Industrial’s statement in full:

“In North America, we are stopping shipments from North America plants and European imports effective today. This is a temporary move until we assess the full impact of planned tariffs on pricing. There are no impacts to production and parts shipments continue as planned. We will continue to monitor the situation.”

CNH Industrial official statement

Quick Analysis

It’s a stunning move the international equipment giant is directly linking to the ongoing global tariff situation. President Donald Trump’s wide-reaching tariff strategy is set to go in motion April 2 (pending any last-minute shifts) and is projected to have sweeping implications for agriculture businesses and economies around the globe.

In addition, this development might represent yet another warning sign the global ag economy is entering a period of recession.

If this feels like a complete surprise to many in the equipment industry that’s because it likely is.

CNH’s latest earnings report call, on Feb. 4, did not contain any mention of the possibility the company would halt shipments. In that call CEO Gerrit Marx did note a 34% reduction in production had already been set in motion in Q4 2024. He attributed the move as a strategy to help lower dealer inventories by over $700 million.

Marx also shared the company is always actively monitoring the tariff situation, a development Case IH head of North America Kurt Coffey previously disclosed to Farm Journal during the National Farm Machinery Show in mid-February , but Marx also mentioned on the Feb. 4 earnings call that at the time it was “too early” to fully assess (tariff) impacts.

Our 2025 update to “ Who Makes What Where ” showed Case IH builds 66% of its row-crop machines throughout North America, while 24% of them are manufactured in Europe.

New Holland itself maintains a fairly balanced manufacturing presence between the two continents, with Europe (30%) and North America (43%) hosting its largest manufacturing footprints.

Your Next Read: Farmers Who Stand Strong With Trump on Tariffs Say Long-Term Gain is Worth Short-Term Pain

Machinery Pete: 2 Trends Shaping the Used Sprayer Market

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 19:01:11 GMT

I’m trying hard not to be the grumpy, old guy, but I’m growing weary of our constant shouting at each other and everyone thinking their way is the only way. Opinions are free, but today everyone has a 24/7 megaphone at their disposal. Social media’s twisted algorithms amplify the harsh, argumentative posts, and it’s become so tiring. One of the cornerstone truths we were taught as kids in rural America: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

The problem is people think things should be simple, with the right answer in black and white, but the truth often lies in shades of gray. Take the current used self-propelled sprayer market for example. There isn’t one short sound byte statement that can synopsize this market.

There are two trends that have been happening at the same time you should be aware of:

Increasing price pressure on very late model, used sprayers with softening auction prices
Strong buyer demand for good condition sprayers over 10 years old

Softening Late Model Values

Proof of the first trend came last December at a farm auction in Bible Grove, Ill., as we filmed our “Machinery Pete” TV show. A 2022 Hagie STS12 sprayer with 182 hours sold for $428,000. It’s true — that is the second highest auction price ever on an STS12, but it’s also true that nine months prior, on a March 2024 online auction in Hamilton, Ill., another 2022 model STS12 sold with triple the hours (549) for $480,500.

Strong Buyer Demand For Good Condition Units Over 10 Years Old

Seven weeks later, I was in Seven Springs, N.C., filming another farm auction for the TV show. The hottest item there was a 2013 John Deere 4730 sprayer with 3,334 hours. It was very sharp and sold for $104,000. That’s the third highest auction price ever on a 4730 that had more than 3,000 hours (the highest price was just $1,000 more).

Another example was the 2014 Miller Nitro 5240 with 825 hours that sold for $270,000 at a Dec. 30, 2024 farm auction in Mendon, Mich., — the highest ever auction price on a Miller Nitro.

Your Next Read: Here’s Why 2025 Is The Time To Buy High-Horsepower Tractors, Auction Pricing Is Staying Strong

The Scoop Podcast: Co-op Leads The Way With Using Selective Spraying

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 17:32:58 GMT

Now with more than two full years of experience in the field, Jeff Crissinger and the team at Nu-Way K&H Cooperative are ready to share their takeaways and insights on how selective spraying is changing custom application.

As an early adopter in ag retail, they first had a Hagie equipped with a Greeneye System for demonstration work which then became full field trials.

“What we’ve learned—the most important thing—is that this technology works,” Crissinger says. “We’re moving into the phase now in year three of putting a lot more reliability on the technology itself.”

In the first testing of selective spraying, the agronomic team overlapped contact herbicides to cover any skips, gaps, or misses. However, with the now established confidence in machine performance and accuracy to manage weeds has enabled the K&H/Nu-Way team to make the decision to no longer load tanks for any safety net.

“In the first year, we were pretty experimental. We pushed the limits of the Greeneye system and put it in situations that it wasn’t necessarily prepared for on purpose, just to see what it could do. And we’ve seen upgrades in the Greeneye system with algorithm upgrades, especially in soybeans that allowed it to be a lot more effective.”

How Effective is Selective Spraying?

Crissinger and the agronomy team have taken their in-field results from 2024 and analyzed the system’s performance.

For pre-plant, spray rates were 8.6% across 14 fields.

“Last year there wasn’t a tremendous amount of early weed pressure or weeds that needed the burndown,” Crissinger says.

For post-emergence applications, in corn the spray rate was 20.8% and in soybeans the spray rate was 25.8%.

Judging from 2023 to 2024 and the algorithm updates, the spray rate was improved by 10 to 15%, and in other words, the system was able to refine its identification of weeds and reduce the amount sprayed.

Having the data for spray rates helps farmers put dollars and cents to their custom application decisions and it helps Nu-Way K&H improve its logistically management of the tank mixes and volumes.

“Now we have a pretty good idea of what we’re going to spray —within a range,” he says. “And we do standardize our spray packages so if we have leftover volumes from field to field, we can keep going. Our typical positioning with growers is a reinvestment type strategy.”

So how do selective spray systems pay back in the field?

On top of reduced spray rates while delivering effective weed control, Crissinger says they are positioning the technology as a way farmers can reinvest in their farm.

“If you’re going to save dollars on killing weeds, where can you reinvest those dollars back into your operation or back into your crop to multiply that savings incrementally?” he says.

This summer at a field day, they showcased how across six soybean fields, the spray rate was 18.1%, which provided an average savings of $18.95/acre.

“So that means a grower could take $18.95 and reinvest it back into producing more bushels in their operation,” he says.

With positive grower reception, impressive results, and demand for more, they are adding a second machine this year – using both Greeneye Technology and John Deere See and Spray.

Crissinger says there are differences in the systems. For example, the Greeneye system is a two tank, two line setup. This provides for selective spraying and broadcast capability at the same time. The Greeneye system has a 10”x10” resolution for its imaging system.

The John Deere spray system they are adding is See and Spray Premium, which is a one tank system available as a retrofit on an existing sprayer. Its resolution is setup by a 3-nozzle section, so on 15” spacing that’s 45” spray resolution. Crissinger says they expect up to 10 farmer customers to also be using the same John Deere selective spray platform, so having their team’s experience will be added value to those customer relationships.

Being a leader in technology —especially in selective spraying —has been a priority of Crissinger and the team and will continue to be paramount.

“As far as technology and agriculture, it typically doesn’t go backwards. It typically only goes forward,” he says. “We expect over time that more and more of our customers will continue to adopt selective spraying technology. As long as we have demand from the people that we do custom spraying for, we’ll have some version of selective spraying technology, whichever makes the most sense according to that demand.”

Case IH Launches SenseApply: Subscription-Free, Variable-Rate Capable Smart Spraying Technology

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 21:19:55 GMT

Case IH is launching SenseApply technology, an automated live variable-rate application and selective spraying solution. The company says its smart spraying technology is designed to maximize the output of every input.

SenseApply consists of a single cab-mounted camera system that offers multi-season uses.

Case IH says its new SenseApply technology includes lifetime Live VRA use and a one-time activation fee for Selective Spray, eliminating per acre fees and annual subscription fees for the life of the device.

(Case IH)

“SenseApply offers unparalleled flexibility, with a range of application methods that were previously unavailable in a single solution,” says Leo Bose, application equipment customer segmentation lead at Case IH. “It is also a cost-effective solution with no annual subscriptions or per acre fees, driving efficiency and profitability for a grower.”

Multi-Application Uses Include:

Selective apray
Green-on-brown spot spray offers upgraded weed management
Base + Boost applies a consistent base rate across the entire boom while boosting individual nozzle sections to a higher rate when passing over areas with higher weed pressure
Live variable-rate application (VRA)
Burndown VRA
Nitrogen VRA
Harvest aid VRA
Plant growth regulator VRA
Fungicide VRA

SenseApply technology includes lifetime live VRA use and a one-time activation fee for Selective Spray, eliminating both per acre fees and annual fees for the life of the device.

RELATED: Plowing Through Tough Times: Equipment Manufacturers Double Down on Technology Upgrades Amid Sales Slump

The technology is designed for simple and efficient application, at speeds of up to 25 mph, with the camera self-calibrating to the crop within the first 150 feet during live VRA. The SenseApply camera – which is mounted on top of the cab to maximize field of view – senses plant biomass and responds accordingly, depending on the application type the operator selects.

SenseApply integrates with Case IH FieldOps and Raven Slingshot, enabling operators to connect and manage application data through their preferred platform. Case IH says the integration enables real-time data analysis and decision-making capabilities.

Learn more about SenseApply at caseih.com.

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John Deere Details Model Year 2026 Updates, New Machine Capabilities and Technology Features

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 18:42:29 GMT

John Deere announces a suite of equipment and technology upgrades and new features across its portfolio of machines. Some of the updates are exclusive to model year 2026 machines, and some are available as retrofit options or upgrades for new and/or older John Deere machines.

Next Generation Perception System For Autonomous Tillage
John Deere is releasing its autonomy Precision Upgrades kit for select tractor models that brings autonomy to tillage work. The system is available as a Precision Upgrades kit for model year 2022 and newer 9R and 9RX tractors and model year 2020.5 and newer 8R and 8RX tractors. Select model year 2025 John Deere tractors are autonomy ready from the factory.

RELATED: John Deere Introducing Next Generation Perception Autonomy Kits

To add autonomy to the tillage tool, retrofit kits are available for 2017 and newer John Deere tillage implements with additional lighting and the StarFire receiver mast and harnessing. The autonomy ready solutions are factory installed in base models for select MY25 tillage tools.

Combine Improvements
For model year 2026, the additions include a new three-piece CAM hinge draper reel with dense pack fingers and a new CF 18 30 corn head, which John Deere says is the industry’s first folding corn head with 18" rows and 30" spacing.

John Deere is also announcing several enhancements to its model year 2026 combines:

The Harvest Settings Automation feature will now include an out-of-crop settings adjustment that engages when the combine is passing through previously harvested areas of the field. Now the feature supports wheat, barely, canola, soybean, corn and rice crops.

Predictive Ground Speed Automation is being updated with a new feature that helps operators manage unique field terrains such as waterways, ditches or terraces. Weed detection sensing is also being added. There will be new functionality incorporated into John Deere Operations Center that will use crop-type data from planting and satellite imagery to ensure all eligible combines have the essential harvest automation files necessary to increase productivity. Predictive Ground Speed Automation supports wheat, barley, canola, soybean, corn, peas, edible beans and lentils.

AutoTrac Turn Automation is being updated to automate the raising and lowering of the combine head for hands-free turning, and a new auto-unload camera with supporting hardware and software is available to help consistently fill grain carts and possibly reduce in-field spills.

(Dan Videtich/John Deere)

John Deere also announced a handful of harvest settings updates available in Operations Center, including grain harvest weight sharing and Grain Sensing with HarvestLab 3000 available now for all model year 2025 and newer X9, S7 and T6 combines.

And physical updates to model year 2026 machines include a new instructor seat in all models and a dual USB-C fast charging module in the cab. And the JD Link Boost satellite connectivity module is available for install on eligible combine models to maintain connectivity during harvest.

Sprayer Updates
John Deere says these updates were developed to give farmers cleaner fields that have less weed competition, leading to more yield potential.

See & Spray has new variable rate capabilities that can unlock precise applications and significant product savings in later-season fungicide and desiccant applications, preharvest passes and more, according to John Deere. Farmers can also now see the percentage of biomass each perception camera detects throughout the field. See & Spray Variable Rate capabilities will require a G5 or G5Plus CommandCenter display.

See & Spray Select is now available from the factory on model year 2026 John Deere 400 and 600 series sprayers with 90', 100' or 120' steel booms. See & Spray Select also will be available as a Precision Upgrades kit for model year 2018 and newer John Deere sprayers with ExactApply and a 120' steel boom.

See & Spray Premium is adding new boom sizes and is now available on Hagie STS20 sprayers. See & Spray Premium is compatible with 90', 100' or 120' booms.

(Mel Koltai/John Deere)

Beyond the See & Spray updates, John Deere also has two new AutoTrac options for sprayers:

AutoTrac Turn Automation (ATTA) is now compatible with John Deere 400 and 600 series self-propelled sprayers, 800R floaters, and Hagie STS12, STS16 and STS20 sprayers, model year 2022 and newer. The new feature is also included with Automation 4.0 on Gen4 displays and the G5 Advanced license for machines that have a G5 display.

AutoTrac Vision 2.0 is a new technology that ensures sprayer wheels remain centered within each crop row, and it boasts a maximum speed of 22 mph, slope performance of up to 6 degrees, and the ability to navigate curves with a radius of just 50 meters. AutoTrac Vision 2.0 is available on model year 2026 John Deere sprayers as a factory option.

John Deere is also introducing ExactApply Variable Rate capabilities – including multi-rate across the boom with AutoSelect Pulsing (and A+B pulse width modulation nozzle switching). Sprayer operators can now vary multiple application rates across the entire boom, up to 11 unique sections, leading to more precise product placement. Operators also can use increased rate ranges for variable rate prescriptions and curve compensation. This technology is available as a software update for model year 2023 to 2025 sprayers, and model year 2026 will come factory installed with updated software features and functionalities.

Planter Updates
John Deere announced four new planter updates:

A new rate controller, the John Deere Rate Controller 3, with the option to control and apply two liquid and/or anhydrous ammonia (NH3) products simultaneously across up to 16 sections. This can help farmers decrease the number of trips through the field while getting the same application work completed. John Deere says the new rate controller is suitable for a variety of row crops, ranches, high-value crops and even on golf courses.

Rate Controller 3 also features a new rate controller app that is available within the John Deere display menu. The rate controller app is fully compatible with Gen 4 v2 and G5 displays.

(Michael J Newell/John Deere)

John Deere says the new app will give farmers a similar experience as operating a self-propelled sprayer with a controller with a built-in base from the factory. This means farmers can now monitor their planter and rate controller functions on one screen on the display and execute easy adjustments, according to John Deere.

The new rate controller module also has a new harness and 48-pin connector, which expands the compatibility with third-party equipment.

Seed-Level Sensing provides farmers with a more accurate look at the level of seed remaining in the tank. It places a sensor in the tank that can measure the volume of seed left in the tank, which is then provided to the operator in the cab and the John Deere Operations Center. This feature is available on model year 2026 planters or as a Precision Upgrades kit for certain models back to model year 2022.

Fertilizer-Level Sensing is also new and it is similar to seed-level sensing, providing the operator with better information on the fertilizer level remaining in the tank. It is an external manifold that includes two pressure sensors, which are used to calculate both the liquid density as well as the volume remaining in the tank. This update is available on model year 2026 planters and is also a Precision Upgrades kit that can be added to machines that are model year 2022 and newer.

Active Vacuum Automation is available on model year 2026 planters with electric drives and the SeedStar 5 Monitoring System. This feature looks in real time at singulation and automatically adjusts the vacuum, helping to prevent skips and doubles.

To determine which new features and updates are available for existing machines or only on model year 2026 new machines, contact your local John Deere dealer.

Your Next Read: A Perfect Storm Is Driving Up New and Used Tractor Prices

Used Sprayers in 2025: Buyer’s Paradise or Just The Beginning?

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:34:26 GMT

The used sprayer market is shaping up to be a buyer’s market. That’s due to an oversupply in the market, and dealers are hauling a lot of late-model machines down to auctions to free up lot space.

On the flip side, strong buyer demand for older sprayers (10+ years) in good condition and a shortage of brand-new machines is holding those decade old machines rock solid on price, or even driving prices above what some would consider market value.

“2025 is looking like a pretty good time to look for that three-, four-, or five-year-old sprayer, to try and get ahead of the market before it flips and everyone wants to buy a new one (in 2026),” Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson said. “You don’t want to buy when everyone else is buying. When any market becomes about availability, pricing goes right out the window.”

Moving Iron host Casey Seymour, who has almost 20 years of experience in the ag equipment industry, specifically tracking used equipment trends at the dealership level, agreed.

“The only thing that’s going to be out there to buy right now is going to be that late-model, low hour machine and I think we’re going to see a great opportunity for a big run on used equipment here in the last quarter of the year and going into 2026,” Seymour said.

Sprayer Segment Activity and Retrofit Options
Matt Raasch, AgriVision Equipment, says December was an average month for used equipment buying and selling activity, and January saw more action than normal. February did start out slowly, but he chalks that up to some of the poor weather across the Midwest.

“As I talk to other dealers, I’d say sprayers is probably the one category that comes up the most as far as level of concern, just with the number of units out there, and that inventory just continues to grow,” Raasch says. “The other thing I’m watching is the model mix, that used to be where we were pretty scattered as far as models and size of booms, and now everyone has the 120’ booms.”

In the retrofit segment, technologies such as John Deere’s See & Spray are moving the needle and seeing good uptake from farmers and custom applicators alike. That’s because farmers in general are more open to sprayer technology upgrades.

“They’re received better than planter, (upgrades),” says used equipment specialist Aaron Fintel. “On a planter you have virtually an entire new machine, and on a sprayer, you’re doing the, to use a bad term, the fancy stuff, the precision (ag) – it’s that next page for your farm.”

Commodities Update
Knowing the commodity market influences machinery movement, Rich Posson with Ag Financial joined the podcast to talk about where commodity prices are headed.

Posson says the markets started off slowly, but things are starting to wake up heading into spring planting.

“If you have strong prices from fall harvest into the next year’s growing season, and then you get a crop problem, that’s your larger, better bull market,” Posson says. “If you looked at it last year it was down, but this year it’s trending higher, it’s working. All that tells us is there’s even more upside (in the markets) if we do get that crop problem. The market has a good demand situation going for it.”

Posson is comfortable predicting corn, soybeans and wheat will see price increases later this summer. The trade situation with China isn’t something to worry about with corn and wheat exports because strong demand from South America and other export markets such as England and Japan can close that gap. China pulling back its purchases does have potential to negatively influence the soybean markets, he adds.

“I’m going to go a bit optimistic on China, they’re going to be OK,” Posson says. “But the rest boils down to, as far as our exports, the trade wars.”

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF MOVING IRON

Your Applicator Toolbox: 6 Items You Need to Have

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 18:21:30 GMT

With this year’s spraying season quickly approaching, there are a few steps you can take now to prepare for the busy months ahead. One of them includes preparing a kit of items you will need during applications.

Here’s what the experts say are essential for your spray mix application toolbox.

1. Portable pH Meter
Johnnie Roberts, CPDA director of application – adjuvant chemistry, recently joined an Ag Retailers Association (ARA) webinar and shared portable pH meters are a must have.

“These are cheap — always have access to one,” Roberts says. “It’s a great tool for managing a lot of problems.”

2. Materials for a Jar Test
If you’re in a situation where you don’t have commercial experience with the products being used and no guidance from the manufacturer, Roberts strongly recommends conducting a jar test.

“There’s an old African proverb that says only a fool tests the depth of a river with both feet,” Roberts says.

3. Compatibility and Foam Control Agents

4. Documentation
Keep your phone, tablet, a camera or pen and paper on you during application to capture any issues you encounter.

“We see some of the same problems popping up every year, and we deal with them to realize we came up with the same solution as last year,” Roberts says. “Document these problems and solutions as you encounter them.”

5. Internet References

6. Protective Clothing
A guide from the Nebraska Extension outlines just what you’ll need to ensure your head, eyes and hands are protected. Some items include:

A wide-brimmed hat
Goggles or glasses
Chemical-resistant gloves. Natural rubber, disposable nitrile, reusable nitrile, neoprene, butyl rubber, Viton and barrier laminate types can be used. Nebraska Extension cautions against lined, latex, cotton, leather and canvas gloves as these types can be hard to clean, absorb pesticides or do not provide proper protection.
The appropriate type of respirator for the type of chemical you will be handling — even if one is not required by the product label.

7. Training
Roberts advises keeping your training up to date as things change and guidance improves — but he also cautions against thinking everyone else is doing the same.

“Don’t assume this training is out there and everyone knows about it,” he says. “In my experience, sometimes we assume everyone knows not to do certain things. You should always communicate.”

Your Next Read: EPA’s Final Herbicide Strategy Sets A New Trajectory For Applications

From the Factory to Your Fields: Where Farm Equipment Is Made

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:47:09 GMT

The global agriculture equipment market is currently valued at $181 billion (USD) and is expected to grow by 4% over the next eight years. That’s according to a recent analysis from global consulting firm IMARC Group.

While IMARC Group pegs Asia-Pacific as the leading region for farm equipment manufacturing market share, it would stand to reason most of those machines are being sold to farmers in that region. The farm equipment U.S. farmers use is most commonly built in Europe, North America and South America.

Brand Breakdown
For example, John Deere’s manufacturing footprint is mainly based in North America. Of the 60 John Deere machines relevant to row-crop producers, 50 of them (83%) are manufactured in North America. Drilling down further, the three states with the largest John Deere manufacturing presence are:

Iowa at 61%
North Dakota at 17%
Illinois at 15%

Case IH builds 66% of its row-crop machines throughout North America, while 24% of them are manufactured in Europe.

Fellow CNH brand New Holland maintains a fairly balanced manufacturing presence between Europe (30%) and North America (43%).

AGCO’s Germany-based brand, Fendt, builds 57% of its row-crop machines in the European Union (EU) with North America hosting roughly 43% of its manufacturing. Claas has a large manufacturing presence in Europe, but it also manufactures its LEXION combine in Omaha, Neb., and has facilities in Columbus, Ind., and Regina, Saskatchewan.

McCormick and Landini machines are built entirely in EU factories. In contrast, Buhler Industries’ manufacturing footprint is fully based in North America.

Check out the data to see where your favorite tractor, planter, sprayer, combine and other farm machines are built in 2025.

Click here to download a printable version of the table above.

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EPA's Final Herbicide Strategy Sets A New Trajectory For Applications

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:02:46 GMT

It’s been a long time coming, but now it seems to have gotten here in a hurry. Since the Endangered Species Act (ESA)was passed in 1973, the federal law established agencies must ensure no species listed as endangered or threatened could be jeopardized by actions within their regulatory authority. Until EPA’s Final Herbicide Strategy was published in August 2024, agriculture did not have clear guidance on what that meant for the application of pesticides. And now, we do for herbicides, with insecticides coming next and fungicides to follow.

“It’s been 50 years EPA did not develop methods to protect ESA species as it relates to pesticides, and then everything came at once because the courts were acting and dictating it was time to develop a plan,” says Bill Chism, a weed scientist with a career spanning industry plus 20 years with EPA as a pesticide benefit biologist.

From the Final Herbicide Strategy, there are four main changes to be aware of where a herbicide has the potential to impact listed species or its habitat:

Spray drift mitigations
Runoff/erosion mitigations
More restrictive mitigation in specific geographic areas called Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs)
Applicator will be required to visit EPA’s Bulletins Live! two, up to six, months prior to the application and follow current ESA restrictions for the pesticide product

While the new parameters add complexity, Stanley Culpepper from the University of Georgia, says it is a challenge ag retailers, distributors, Extension and crop consultants have an opportunity to help farmers rise to meet.

“This appears to be our way of life into the future,” Culpepper says. “It’s unfortunate how complicated it is, and it’s difficult to understand, but it’s our job to take the burden and simplify it.”

The first row crop product registered under the EPA’s Final Herbicide Strategy is Liberty Ultra, a glufosinate herbicide from BASF. Going forward, as products receive registration or go through the 15 year reregistration process for FIFRA, all will have to be evaluated against the Final Herbicide Strategy.

“It’s not everything immediately, so this year is a learning year about what we can expect,” Chism says. “We think it’ll take at least 15 years for all pesticides to have ESA assessments through that 15-year cycle for reregistration.”

Points-Based System
Culpepper says the ESA parameters are front and center in his local trainings this winter. The practices for pesticide containment in the field are assigned points for runoff mitigation (zero to nine points). The points are expected to vary by product, crop and geography, and PULA.

“When growers walk out of their county meetings, I want them to understand the ESA concept and if they are implementing enough mitigation measures to meet potential pesticide runoff point requirements,” he says.

For trainings across Georgia, Culpepper is matching potential mitigation measures offered with practices implemented by farmers in the geographic area.

“If you present the 40 or more mitigation options to growers, it can be time consuming and overwhelming,” he says. “Focusing on only the measures important to those growers in the room can speed up and simplify the educational approach. The goal is to get each grower to nine points, the maximum required, thereby ensuring herbicides applied remain on the field maximizing weed efficacy while making sure all tools in the toolbox are legally available to the grower.”

For growers who aren’t able to identify the nine points, Culpepper is collecting information on why they can’t accrue enough points.

“If there are good stewardship practices that aren’t getting points, then we need to develop sound science to support those practices and work with our regulatory partners to obtain appropriate credit and recognition of those practices,” he says.

Buffers Required
On the pesticide label, herbicides will be assigned buffer requirements. Per the ESA guidelines, the maximum downwind buffer distances for different application methods are:

Aerial zero to 320'
Ground boom zero to 230'

Droplet size and boom height are also considered.

Achievable Goals
There is a track record of growers and their advisers stepping up to meet necessary application requirements and steward pesticide products. Referencing the Using Pesticides Wisely Program that Culpepper helped implement in Georgia for 10 years, growers were able to reduce off target pesticide drift by 90%.

“Our goal is to always use pesticides wisely by applying them on target and keeping them there,” he says. “Although it is hard to see because of complexity, the overall objective of ESA is the same as ours. Thus, we are confident we can do this. We can ensure the product goes on target and stays there.”

This highlights the role of advisers who can help farmers navigate some previously uncharted waters and a new decision-making process.

Culpepper, Chism and others are encouraged by the changes EPA made to the Final Herbicide Strategy after receiving feedback from its initially released draft. Groups such as the Agricultural Retailers Association also advocated for further options and flexibility added into the final version.

“We are at an important juncture, and we need collaboration,” Culpepper says.

One sector that could potentially have more of an uphill challenge with the mitigation points are some of the specialty crop production scenarios that can often impact vegetable growers.

“If you are a row crop producer, you have many potential options when it comes to herbicides. But for some of our specialty crops, they only have only six,” Chism says. “And there are conservation practices certain crops can’t adopt. For example, I’ve never seen a no-till planter for broccoli. So while corn, soybeans and cotton may be taking baby steps, specialty crop producers may be taking leaps.”

Moving Forward With A Bit More Certainty
With the guidance of the Final Herbicide Strategy, Culpepper says he can help growers address the current ESA guidelines documenting how farmers are the true stewards of agriculture, “as long as EPA doesn’t move the goal posts and they continue their effort of working with us.”

EPA states in the rule that no pesticide has been fully removed from the market based solely on ESA risks, and “that remains an unlikely scenario in the future.” Instead, this agency action suffices to keep pesticide registration and use outside of courtroom litigation.

A self-proclaimed optimist, Culpepper says the Final Herbicide Strategy once completed allowed the opportunity to start moving products forward with Liberty Ultra as an example.

“The dam has cracked a bit since August,” he says. “It’s not a big crack, but we desperately need our regulatory partners to move new products forward much more quickly in support of our farmers.”