Robotics

How Soil Mapping Tech Can Save Water in Orchards

Wed, 06 May 2026 17:49:52 GMT

An all-terrain robot decked out with industry-changing technology autonomously navigates through an orchard using sensors to collect data tree by tree. Once in the hands of the grower, the information elevates water management based on need and timing.

“The goal is to improve the way [growers] use water so they don’t have to abandon agriculture in some areas,” says Elia Scudiero , associate professor of precision agriculture and the director of University of California, Riverside’s Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment .

How The Robotic System Predicts Moisture Tree-by-Tree

The robot travels through an orchard measuring the soil electrical conductivity, which shows how easily electricity flows through the soil based on moisture, salt, clay and other factors. The technology then pairs this data with fixed moisture sensors to predict the water content across an entire orchard.

“Using this method, growers will finally know how much water they have, and how much they need, and can water specific trees if they’re dry,” Scudiero says.

Currently, some growers determine when to irrigate by relying on soil moisture sensors in the ground. However, these sensors are only installed in a few locations, leaving farmers to guess the conditions of hundreds or thousands of trees.

“The information those sensors provide is very limited,” Scudiero says. “It really only tells you what’s happening in the immediate areas where they’re placed.”

Protect Tree Health Through Precise Moisture Management

California’s strict regulations for water use in agriculture call for precise and efficient management. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, passed in 2014, requires local agencies to reduce groundwater overdraft and achieve sustainable use by 2040.

“If water becomes limited, farmers have two choices,” Scudiero says. “They can retire orchards, or they can find ways to produce the same crops using less water.”

The right moisture level is vital for the plant’s health to avoid stress and vulnerabilities to pests and diseases. It’s a balance because having too much water can deprive the tree’s roots of oxygen.

Nutrient Efficiency Comes Into Play

Targeting water use and timing is also beneficial for nutrient management.

“If you apply only the amount of water the plants actually need, you reduce the risk of washing those nutrients away from the roots of the crops and into the environment,” Scudiero says.

The robot is currently being tested at UC Riverside’s research farm. The next step is to work with local farmers to expand testing before making it commercially available.

How Does Autonomous Machinery Stack Up Against Labor Costs on Midwest Row Crop Farms?

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 19:32:13 GMT

A first-of-its-kind academic analysis looks at labor rates and current autonomous solutions to spur a discussion on the tipping point for when the technology pays. Published by Chad Feichter, ag economist at Purdue, and PhD student Josh Strine, the recently released study looks at large-scale autonomous farming equipment and a Midwestern 50-50 corn/soybean farm.

“We were puzzled by what could potentially be the returns to these large autonomous machines because it seems that’s at least the trend of where we’re going,” Feichter says. “Also the idea there’s a labor shortage seems to be what’s motivating the conversation.”

The economists started with an economic farm-planning model originally developed at Purdue 60 years ago, updated it and plugged in a series of factors:

Labor rates
Production costs
Field size
Machinery/subscription costs
Equipment efficiency

The takeaway: Comparatively, autonomy is still an expensive alternative to average farm labor rates. Per the analysis, autonomy pays off when the labor rate is greater than $44 per hour.

“Currently, with where labor rates are, the autonomy solution across the board isn’t probably what we need in the immediate term, based on what we understand about how autonomy works and the productivity of autonomy,” Feichter says. “But if there’s a farmer who cannot find labor, autonomous machines will allow those acres to be farmed.”

Feichter says the current technology platforms installed on large-scale machines aren’t a one-for-one substitute for a human operator for a few reasons.

Profitability of autonomy hinges on three things:

the cost of autonomy subscriptions
the field efficiency of the machines
how much human supervision they still require

Co-author Strine says the ROI of autonomy is operation-specific to how the efficiencies of autonomy are realized. Their analysis included wide ranges in the variables to explore likely scenarios with today’s technology so as efficiencies improve there can be a comparison.

“Right now, the efficiency of the autonomy isn’t an advantage versus humans,” Strine says. “Maybe they will quickly get to 100% human efficiency, and it’s possible that it will surpass just having somebody driving that tractor. However, right now, oversight hours are required and the on-road transport is required.”

Where could autonomy pay off the soonest—Fiechter says it’s where high value tasks, in field efficiency and tightness in labor intersect.

“There are really high-value tasks, where you could potentially alleviate the labor challenge in the short run,” Fiechter says. “Maybe harvest is one of those where we would really see a benefit of having autonomous machines, whereas in planting time, it may not be quite as important.”

Manufacturers Report No Humans Have Been Displaced by Autonomous Tractors

Craig Rupp founded Sabanto, which sells autonomy systems to be outfitted on mid-range hp tractors.

“I had an epiphany after 50 systems,” Rupp says. “I’m not solving the labor problem. Farmers may buy as if we’re replacing labor, but they keep the labor, and it’s about quality of life. It’s about not spending 12 to 16 hours a day when they get behind or have to work weekends. And they are using autonomy to scale their operation—they are taking on more acres.”

Earlier this year Sabanto published a case study looking at seeding 10,000 acres with a traditional 4WD high-horsepower set up versus running three Sabanto outfitted tractors. The company’s analysis did not include labor costs, but evaluating the investment and operational costs, Sabanto says a traditional setup costs $18.88/acre the three Sabanto equipped machines cost $6.27/acre. You can read the whole report here.

His company has sold more than 200 systems in the past two years.

“We’ve put no people out of work,” Rupp says. “Farmers will adopt autonomy for labor when it’s the last choice they have.”

Michael Porter, large tractor marketing manager at John Deere, shares an anecdote from a customer over the Thanksgiving weekend.

“A great example this year is we had two machines running on Thanksgiving, and they literally ran while the farmers had their Thanksgiving dinner,” Porter says. “And the next day, when they got back out there, they had a couple hundreds acres already tilled so they can continue moving on with that fall field work.”

The quality of life autonomy adds to as well as the agronomic value of timely field work are added values manufacturers point to for being benefits of adopting these systems.

“That’s something that’s hard to quantify, football games on Friday nights, dinner with the family, all those things that’s a big part of it. Those quality of life things, they’re really hard to quantify, but people experience them, and once they experience them, they don’t want to go back,” Porter says.

John Deere autonomous systems cost between $40,000 and $45,000 for the kit, plus dealership install and yearly subscription fee, which is $10,000 for unlimited acres for tillage, for example.

Dinen Subramaniam, product launch manager for Outrun at PTx Trimble, has lead their team to deploy autonomous grain cart systems and tillage systems in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Georgia.

He shares a story from a customer in Nebraska who it’s a father-son farming duo, and the OutRun grain cart allows the father to truck grain while the son harvests supported by the autonomous grain cart. That 3,500 acre farm has been able to finish harvest in 20% to 25% less time.

“It’s really about the flexibility of the deployment of labor that autonomy gives you,” Subramaniam says. “Like having a grain truck driver rather than a grain cart driver, or having someone who can take a five hour break during tillage and let the autonomous system run.”

AGCO’s PTx OutRun tillage solution is $44,000 for hardware plus a $9,000 annual cost. OutRun’s modular model also includes autonomous grain cart operations, with additional tasks in development. A combined tillage/grain cart setup costs $55,000 for hardware and $15,000 annually.

Subramaniam also highlights agronomic benefits for fall field work getting done timelier when autonomous systems are used.

“Instead of straining into December with harvest trying to get that crop off the ground, autonomy can help reduce late harvest yield loss, which can be a 3% to 5% reduction,” he says. “We talk about an ideal harvest season, but the reality is there are always weather delays, mechanical delays, and more.”

There’s a trickle down effect of timely harvest, fall tillage and fall application.

“From a tillage point of view, we’ve also learned that there’s other benefits as well from better incorporation of crop residue, getting to tillage sooner so that that crop residue can break down,” he says.

The Purdue economists agree this is a space to watch as what’s possible with technology and the escalating labor issues intersect.

Survey Says: Smart Farming Has Big Impact On U.S. Farms, And There’s Room for More

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 15:27:29 GMT

Smart farming technologies, like smart irrigation and targeted spraying systems, are helping farms reduce water use, burn less fuel and optimize fertilizer and pesticide applications. Those gains have led to a 5% increase in overall crop production in the U.S. in just the last five years.

That’s all according to newly released data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturer’s (AEM) “The Benefits of Precision Ag In The U.S.” report. You can read the full white paper study here .

“The overarching message is precision ag enables farmers to maximize use of their inputs,” says Austin Gellings, senior director of agricultural services, AEM. “We’re maximizing every drop of what we’re putting on our crops and on our soil, and I think that’s a very powerful message.”

Gellings found two specific aspects of the study results most compelling:

(Lori Hays)

U.S. farms have achieved an overall 5% reduction in annual water usage by adopting smart farming technologies like smart irrigation systems and soil moisture sensors. Gellings says the savings equates to about 824,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of fresh water saved. It takes about 5 million standard 16 oz. bottled waters to fill just one Olympic-size swimming pool, he adds.

(Lori Hays)

Farmers who adopt targeted smart spraying application systems, like John Deere’s See & Spray and CNH Industrial’s SenseApply, can reduce America’s overall annual herbicide usage up to 55% if full adoption of the technology is achieved. The study defines full adoption as 90% of the total number of active farms in the U.S.

“We also found potential for an additional 6% increase in annual crop production with higher precision technology adoption rates,” he says. “It’s clear these technologies show almost unlimited potential in reducing inputs while increasing our output.

“[Technology is] a tool in the toolbox that helps our farmers step up to the challenges they face every single day, like they’ve always done. Our farmers always find a way to meet the challenge at hand. They are always going to innovate and find a way.”

The next big thing?

For Gellings, who grew up on the family farm in Wisconsin, daydreaming about the next big technology breakthrough for ag — something truly revolutionary along the lines of how smart spraying has impacted pesticide applications — gets him fired up. He says he can only imagine what his grandfather would say if he knew you could put a camera on a spray boom and only target the weeds as you drove 15 mph through the field.

“In 5 years, will there be a new technology like that, that revolutionizes the way we’re doing things and in a way that we never thought possible? That’s what’s exciting when I think about all the innovation that’s happening in agriculture,” he says. “We’re in this technology boom, and I can almost guarantee there will be another groundbreaking technology that don’t exist today that will come along and fundamentally change the way we farm.”

The updated study findings (the original study data was published back in 2020) were released in collaboration with the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, CropLife America and National Corn Growers Association. Kearney, a global management consulting firm, had a team of project management professionals and subject matter experts to assist AEM in executing the study update.

The full study is available now on AEM’s Insights page at www.aem.org/insights .

Your next read: Illinois Farmer’s Grain Bin Entrapment Turns Fatal, Son Shares Tragic Story to Save Lives

New Telemetry Platform Helps Farmers Unlock Efficiency Insights

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 19:40:03 GMT

Bonsai Robotics recently launched Teletrace, a connected farming platform to support the company’s autonomous solutions as well as what Bonsai co-founder and CEO Tyler Niday calls a “rainbow fleet” of mixed equipment.

Niday says the telemetry platform helps those growers with a mixed fleet to better understand fuel consumption, spray volumes, etc., on their operation in one central location.

“What we saw was the growers were loving it for autonomy,” he says. “Not only do you have this autonomous operation, but you can track the chemical consumption for an air blast spray job. It’s really the first step to not only run autonomous operations but to trace all your data back to one central hub.”

Teletrace is powered by the Topcon CL-55, a compact telemetry device that plugs directly into the existing CAN bus. The Topcon CL-55 transmits data to Topcon’s CloudLink service, which then integrates into Bonsai’s cloud platform so growers can monitor and manage every piece of equipment through the Teletrace program.

“This is a really low-cost solution with the hardware we selected through our partnership with Topcon,” he says. “They’re a tried-and-true player in this space. And with this hardware, we really can make this rainbow fleet come through without additional sensors.”

Niday says the Teletrace platform can show every meter of a tractor in use, gallons per acre of crop protection sprayed, fuel consumption, maintenance issues, engine data and harvest data — all to help growers better understand their operation.

“You get a lot more insights outside of just the basics, but the basics offer insight for the grower to improve efficiency,” Niday says. “And if you get 10% savings, that’s huge just from data.”

Niday says this is just the beginning for growers.

“The ultimate goal is to be able to track the almond or the strawberry or the grape from the grocery store back to the field and have all the Intel and information,” he says. “With our autonomous applications and the ability to not only run through the field but look at every tree and being able to in the future trace what’s happening from a visual perspective, back and out of the field as well, I think, is the next big step where things can get really, really interesting.”

Meet The Forge: Kelly Hills Unmanned Puts New Spin on Ag Tech Field Testing

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 21:37:17 GMT

Over the weekend, Kelly Hills Unmanned, a company that says it is dedicated to accelerating multimodal technologies in agriculture and autonomy, announced the launch of The Forge.

It’s being described as a deployment-centered program designed to meld best-in-class ag technologies into new tools that farmers, ranchers and service providers can trust and use for decades to come, according to a press release from the group.

The Forge’s inaugural cohort hopes to bring together a “powerhouse group” of innovators and operators from across the ag technology landscape into a coordinated, systems approach to help growers identify and overcome agronomic issues before they become yield robbers.

The cohort members, or pillars, are:

Precision AI: Developers of real-time drone-based precision spraying systems that reduce chemical inputs and deliver hyper-targeted agronomic action.
Pyka: Builders of autonomous electric aircraft designed for aerial applications, logistics and mission-critical crop operations.
ScanIt Technologies: Experts in using early detection of airborne pathogens to maximize yields and minimize costs.
Heinen Brothers Agra Services: One of the nation’s largest aerial applicators and ag services companies, offering deployment scale and deep field expertise.
Yamaha Precision Agriculture: Pioneers of robotic and aerial technology for small scale, high-efficiency farming.
Drop Flight: Providers of droplet characterization and aircraft calibration tools to optimize spray accuracy and compliance in real-world operations.
Taranis: Global leaders in ultra-high-resolution aerial scouting, delivering precise field-level insights to boost agronomic decision-making.

For more information, head to www.kellyhills.us/the-forge .

Farm Journal reached out to Lukas Koch to pick his brain about this new, novel entrant to the ag tech ecosystem. We first met Koch last year during the Kelly Hills Unmanned summer field day near Seneca, Kan., where his group unveiled the Pyka Pelican Spray drone — at the time the largest, highest-capacity ag spray drone on the market (280-liter capacity). This year Kelly Hills is integrating the Pelican 2 (300-liter capacity, up to 222 acres per hour at 60-foot swath rate) into its aerial application arsenal.

Farm Journal: Would you call this an ag tech incubator or accelerator type of program, and if not, what’s makes The Forge different?

Lukas Koch (LK): “(The Forge) is neither of those, because we’re not taking a cash influx to create an R&D program. What we’re doing is creating new tools with existing technology — if they’re part of plug and play that’s fine, but we don’t care about that. We want to know if the tech has merit and does it fit on the acre, but maybe something with it is not fully there just yet? So, what are we supposed to do with it then? You have a technology and, for example, it can take high-res pictures and identify areas of your fields that need attention, but today the most likely options are using a ground rig or hiring an airplane to manage that in a meaningful way. For that example, we think there’s an opportunity to do that with a small spray drone, but then again the logistics are tough; you have to come back and land and swap out a battery or refill the tank so often. We’re going to take a bunch of existing technologies that already exist, ask them to change nothing and put them to the test — and we’ll push the bounds of what they can do, to make these all work together in a system.”

FJ: How will this all kind of come together and take shape this summer as the program rolls out?

LK: “We have a few drone companies (in the cohort), and there’s a droplet analysis program involved — I thought that was an important piece in analyzing the spray coverage we get. Right now, we have the in-field sensors out in the field to help us ground truth the data we get from overhead. And then the remote sensing piece gives us situational awareness; it tells us where we should be focusing our efforts. And overall, I think, OK, that’s great, but now you still have to make a treatment with either a ground rig or hire an airplane.

(www.KellyHills.us)

“But with our FAA test range (pictured above) that we were approved for last summer within Kelly Hills, now we can autonomously fly to those spots with a drone, either in line of sight or Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), and we can make those treatments autonomously. This year, the tool we’re focusing on is true spot spraying BVLOS in corn and soybeans, and then next year hopefully we can make more tools or take that technology that already exists and make it into a tool for a grower, who can sign up for this subscription and buy one of these drones, and now I have a full encompassing suite of tools and I can know for sure what works and what does not work.”

FJ: How can farmers in Kansas learn more and possibly sign up to work with you guys?

LK: “There’s really two ways right now. For anything specific they might want to do, maybe there are some projects they are thinking about, go ahead and ping us on the website , and we’ll get back to you. And the other way is, once we’re done with a set tool or we wrap up our summer series of projects, we plan to make the results and findings available online, kind of like Beck’s Hybrids does with its farm applied research studies. We want people to see what we’re doing and to reach out with their ideas on how we can make better tools inside of The Forge and showcase some of these technologies together in one new product, and growers are very interested in this and would love to understand if they can package these technologies together and make an ROI.”

FJ: You already have this inaugural cohort in place, but are you already thinking about what’s next?

LK: “I have a couple companies that I need to further engage with now that they can see what The Forge is all about. A couple of those are involved in year-over-year (data) modeling technology that can say, OK, help me start to determine this is my pattern, and this is what I did last year; now can you tell me what to do next year and how to create more ROI? And then I think soil is a huge key right now, too. I don’t have any any soil type products in there, and soil sampling is great, but there are some neat companies that are focusing on soil-sensing technology that I think would be interesting to package in there, too. You know, in due time I think we’ll get there.”

Koch says the plan is to unveil many of the insights and results from The Forge at this summer’s Kelly Hills Unmanned Field Day. That event is set for Aug. 19, and you can get registered for it here.

And, just for fun, here’s a video breakdown of the Pyka Pelican 2:

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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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Research to Results: Salin 247 Robot Advances Iowa Corn Strip Cropping Knowledge

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:10:50 GMT

A former Corteva Agriscience research scientist and the CEO and founder of Salin 247, an ag tech startup focused on autonomous planting and spraying equipment for corn and soybeans, have joined forces in Iowa to advance research on strip cropping corn and cover crops.

Using Salin 247’s four row, autonomous planting robot, Bob Gunzenhauser is planting strip crop test plots in a field near Corydon to evaluate the practice and collect data on its potential to boost corn yields.

The concept is rather interesting, especially if you’re farming corn and raising livestock: corn is planted in strips at two different seeding rates with cover crops interseeded in opposite strips, and then the plan is to push fertility via in-season nitrogen application at V4-V6 with drop nozzles.

In a real world scenario, a farmer could harvest the corn and leave the cover crops and corn stalks behind to graze livestock on. Soil health would be one ancillary benefit, as would reduced compaction via the lightweight, battery-powered robotic planter.

Here are some videos of the Salin 247 robotic planter Gunzenhauser shared:

Small plots with varying seeding rates and shut offs for alleyways built in thru the prescription, cruising along at 2 MPH. @ptx_trimble pic.twitter.com/emAgf7T0WE
— Bob Gunzenhauser (@BobGunzy) April 16, 2025

Salin247 autonomous running a test plot outside of Corydon, IA today. Including corn/cover strips and Nitrogen x Seeding Rate small plots. @jasonmauck1 @zebulousprime @PfanstielJunior pic.twitter.com/MdWLY4eR9w
— Bob Gunzenhauser (@BobGunzy) April 16, 2025

Gunzenhauser says the trial will also variable rate apply zero to 240 lb. of nitrogen per acre and three different seeding rates to demonstrate the Salin 247 autonomous planting technology and how it can enable small plot research. The data will also be used to build economic, optimum nitrogen rate response data for south-central Iowa farmers, he adds.

“Mainly I think Bob is doing this to get the data and to show the value of strip cropping, which is increasing corn yield because of the sunlight effect,” says Dave Krog, CEO and founder, Salin 247. “There’s data out there that shows generally the outside two rows of a corn strip benefit from extra sunlight, but we want to advance this research.”

In 2023, Salin 247 commissioned a similar experiment on its own test plots, and the total average yield on the check rows came in at 235 bu. per acre. The corn strips ended up yielding just over 300 bu. per acre, and Krog says August was very dry that year, so theoretically the plot could have had higher yields if it were irrigated.

(@BobGunzy/X.com)

Gunzenhauser also invited some students from the local Mormon Trail high school ag program, he has a connection with the student’s teacher, to show them how applied research is conducted in field trials. He is also hoping to enlist their help in harvesting the small plots this fall.

While a small, robotic Salin 247 planter was showcased in planting this trial, Krog says his system has applications beyond small plot seed sowing.

“Strip cropping is just one example of something unique you can do with small, autonomous equipment,” he says. “Our platform, we’ve built a small, autonomous toolbar. We can take the planter off and put a liquid or dry system on, we have a cultivator for the organic guys, and we’re working with Yetter on a strip-till pressure study.”

Gunzenhauser and Krog will lean on the local cooperative to deliver some mid-season sprays for the plots, and then return in the fall with the high school students to harvest the plots and calculate the yields. He says he plans to keep us updated on the results.

Your Next Read: Elevate Your Corn Planting Game Instantly With 7 Proven Tips

Carbon Robotics adds autonomous tractor solution

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:29:21 GMT

In a move to help growers maximize equipment and address labor shortages, Carbon Robotics launched its Carbon AutoTractor, an autonomous solution installed on existing tractors.

Carbon Robotics’ founder and CEO Paul Mikesell says its Carbon AI will power remotely monitored tractors to help specialty crop growers deploy laser weeders for almost around-the-clock production.

“With LaserWeeder, farmers want to run them as much as they possibly can, but it’s hard to find labor,” he told The Packer. “It’s really hard to find labor to do the tractor driving. It’s hard to find labor to do these late midnight shifts. It’s hard to find people to do all the different tasks you want to do with the tractors.”

The Carbon AutoTractor features two core components: the Carbon Autonomy Kit and the Remote Operations Control Center. Mikesell said operators in ROCC handle any obstructions through monitored autonomy and take over the autonomy system, so production continues. He said growers, then, don’t have to worry whether an autonomous task gets completed.

“They’re trained in using Carbon Auto Tractor,” he said. “They know how to do the functions that the farmer wants to do in the field. And then, whenever there’s something that comes up, they can literally change drive the tractor remotely, and get through whatever obstacle it is, and then keep moving.”

Mikesell said the Carbon Auto Tractor will currently work for LaserWeeder tasks, ground prep such as mulching, mowing, discing and more, but there are plans to expand its capabilities in the future.

The Carbon Autonomy Kit is initially compatible with John Deere 6R and 8R Series tractors, requiring no permanent modifications and installation completed in less than 24 hours. Once installed, tractors can toggle between autonomous and manual operation as needed.

“It bolts on and then that you plug into the harness in the inside on the inside cab, and there’s a box that mounts on the window that you can turn it on and off,” Mikesell said.

The Carbon AutoTractor system includes RTK-accurate GPS, 360-degree cameras and radar-based safety sensors, as well asphysical, remote and mobile e-stops connected via a high-speed, low-latency satellite link.

“We have better visibility from the cameras on the roof than you do from the inside the cabin,” Mikesell said.

And for those growers who might be reluctant to go to an autonomous tractor, Mikesell said the Carbon AutoTractor is designed to help growers better deploy farm labor where it’s needed most.

“You want somebody there to inspect or notice problems with your irrigation or things of that nature. You’ll still want to have those people around, but the point is that they don’t have to spend all that time driving up and down the rows to do the simple task,” he said. “They can then spend their time focusing on figuring out where or if there’s issues and how to address other problems and it relieves the constant need to be driving the tractor all the time.”

Mikesell said this solution also offers growers the option to deploy tractors at night for weeding or when the nighttime temperatures are cooler. This also helps growers maximize return on investment by being able to run the autonomous solution all the time, he said.

“We found that lot of people want to run their LaserWeeder 24/7 because they get a really good ROI or more crops they can put it under, but they just can’t find the operators to run it 24/7,” he told The Packer. “If you can run it, 24/7, you can double the hours in a typical season and you can get that tool doing everything you need it to.”

Carbon Robotics said the autonomous solution works seamlessly with its LaserWeeder, automatically adjusting speed to optimize weeding performance based on weed type, size and density, which can boost coverage by up to 20% compared to manually operated systems.

Brandon Munn, farm manager with Columbia Basin Onion, has worked with the Carbon Robotics team on this autonomous solution.

“With many of our tractors and LaserWeeders running autonomously with Carbon AutoTractor, we’re able to operate more hours, address labor challenges and make night shifts safer and more reliable,” Munn said in a news release. “This isn’t just automation; it’s a practical solution that’s fundamentally changing how we farm.”

Additional Details Come In On AutoTractor
Farm Journal talked with CEO Paul Mikesell to see what else we could learn about the system and what makes it different from other tractor autonomy kits on the market. Here’s a handful of bullet points breaking down what we uncovered:

Don’t Call It A Retrofit - Because the AutoTractor kit doesn’t effectively alter or change anything mechanically on the tractor itself, Mikesell says he prefers to refer to it as a “augmentation kit.”
Satellite Connectivity Changed The Game - When Mikesell and his team started this project back in 2023, connectivity was a limiting factor in enabling a tractor to safely operate with complete autonomy. That is no longer a limiting factor as developments in the stratosphere like SpaceX’s StarLink and Intellsat’s low earth orbit constellations have provided the necessary latency and bandwidth to make driver-less operation safe and viable.
Pricing Is Still TBD - Pressed on how much the system will cost from an up-front investment standpoint, Mikesell told us that “we’re still fine tuning that price.”
Expect An Hourly Fee - Mikesell did confirm that the technology will carry a per-hour fee. He says that fee will track closely with what the user would pay a local machine operator to run the tractor. That could mean a per-hour fee anywhere from $15 in the Midwest to upwards of $25 per hour in high-wage markets like California and Washington. “We’re trying to save you money by not having to worry about travel time out to the fields. There’s no lunch break. You don’t have to worry about paying overtime. This machine will do as many double shifts as you want, and we’re still employing people to do all the monitoring. So we have a very skilled and qualified group of people that are doing all the monitoring. So that’s kind of the model: we charge you per hour to run this machine for you and we’ll work with you on what jobs you want done and how you want it done and make sure that everything is handled appropriately.”
Remote Operators With Tractor Experience - Mikesell says his remote operators that task and oversee the driverless tractors for farmers get a crash course in how tractors are used on your typical farm. “Just being out there in the field long enough to understand the size of things that are around you and just kind of what a field looks like and how things are laid out, makes a huge difference when you’re trying to drive remotely,” says Mikesell. “Even though you have a better view driving remotely, because you have a nice 360 degree view off the roof, having some concept and understanding about the size of things and kind of what everything looks like helps quite a bit.”

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Yamaha Ag Q&A: When Can Growers Buy Farm Robots? North America Rollout Explained

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 12:59:00 GMT

Yamaha is a Japanese legacy automotive and motor sports giant known the world over, but many aren’t aware that the company also has a long and storied history in ag tech.

Yamaha’s R-Max gas-powered spray helicopter launched in Japan in the 1990s, making it one of the first unmanned aerial application vehicles on the market for applying crop protection products to growing crops. FAZER-R was its next iteration of spray drones, and the company says it has over 2,800 units of both R-MAX and FAZER remote controlled spray helicopters deployed today with farmers around the world.

In late January, the manufacturer announced the launch of Yamaha Agriculture , a new U.S.-based company that will focus on delivering autonomous equipment and AI-powered digital solutions. The company came together as a single business unit as a result of strategic acquisitions of robotics and AI focused startups Robotics Plus and The Yield.

We recently connected with Nolan Paul, who was named CEO of the relatively-new ag tech division, to learn more about the venture as it gets a footing established on the West Coast. Previously Paul was Head of R&D Strategy and Emerging Technology for Driscoll’s, the global market leader in production of fresh berries.

Farm Journal (FJ): How long of a timeline do you anticipate until commercialized robotics solutions are available for growers to purchase?

Nolan Paul (NP): Robotics Plus’ Prospr vehicles are already deployed with customers and distributors in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

FJ: What type of specific use cases do you envision bringing to market that will leverage advanced data analytics and AI?

NP: A multitude of use cases with time to market based on the degree of technical difficulty. We already offer weather-driven predictions to customers in the form of yield forecasts and harvest and spray timing. The next set of use cases will be variable rate spray applications based on real-time sensing on the vehicle (e.g., spray volumes based on canopy density).

(Yamaha Agriculture)

FJ: How do you envision Yamaha’s robotic solutions being marketed/sold to growers?

NP: Robotics Plus already has distributor partners in the U.S. and Australia/New Zealand. However, it’s important for Yamaha to maintain direct relationships with growers, especially our larger customers, to optimize customer success and develop our product roadmap. Regarding our monetization approach, we believe growers should purchase our hardware solutions the same way they prefer to purchase the rest of their machinery. Some prefer to buy outright. Others prefer a financing or lease option. We remain open to alternative monetization options if it makes life easier for the grower.

FJ: Where will the new division Yamaha Agriculture be based? How many employees will make up the division?

NP: Yamaha Agriculture is a U.S.-incorporated business with subsidiaries in Australia and New Zealand. Our headquarters is in the Bay Area as it provides easy access to Tokyo, Sydney and Auckland. We also have local offices in Napa, Calif., and Wenatchee, Wash., along with team members based up and down the West Coast. Currently, Yamaha Agriculture has approximately 175 employees.

FJ: Ag technologies that solve a specific problem for the farmer seem to be the solutions that are adopted by American farmers. Are there any specific issues that your technology will be able to solve for growers?

NP: Currently spraying and weed control with our Prospr vehicle. However, it’s a modular platform, so the product roadmap includes several implements such as mowing and under-row cultivation. Our goal isn’t to develop implements from scratch. We are partnering with implement companies to integrate their tools on Prospr.

Separately, we also offer yield predictions and crop recommendations through our acquisition of The Yield. These two capabilities lay the foundation for increased closed-loop opportunities (actionable insights) with a focus on reducing block-level variability.

FJ: Do you have any concerns with the new U.S. administration’s trade policies considering Yamaha Agriculture is targeting the U.S. as a primary market for your technology?

NP: Yamaha sells a lot of products in the United States, ranging from motorcycles to outboard motors, ATVs and golf cars. As a result, we will take guidance from our broader organization and implement a strategy that is most effective for Yamaha Agriculture and our customers.

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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.

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Robot Bees? Check Out This New Pollination Innovation

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 17:09:13 GMT

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed advanced robotic insects that could aid farming through artificial pollination. They could prove especially useful in the controlled indoor environments of high-tech ‘vertical farms’.

“These type of robots will open up a very new type of use case,” co-lead author Suhan Kim, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), told Reuters.

“For instance, we can think of artificial pollination. So since our robot looks like an insect, and it’s real lightweight and small, if you can really precisely control the robot we might be able to do something on top of flowers or leaves, which really requires very delicate interactions.”

The robots, each lighter than a paperclip, can hover for approximately 1,000 seconds, over 100 times longer than previous models. They are also capable of performing high-speed acrobatic maneuvers, including double aerial flips.

The new design halves the size of the team’s earlier model, with increased stability while also freeing up space for electronics.

“We want the robot to be able to have a [circuit] board, battery and the sensors on board. So to do that, we need much higher payload than now. So what we’re currently pushing very hard right now is to optimize the robot design to be able to lift more and more so that we can afford these potential payloads,” said Kim.

Long term, the team hope this will enable autonomous flight outside the lab. This technology could significantly boost crop yields in multi-level warehouses by providing a more efficient method for artificial pollination.

Vertical farming, the name given to the production of crops in a series of stacked levels, often in a controlled environment, is a fast-growing industry with billions of dollars being pumped into projects across the globe.

It is seen as part of the solution to the food security challenge posed by population expansion at a time when climate change and geopolitics threaten supply.

“This doesn’t really mean that we want to entirely replace honeybees in nature, but what we sometimes hear from the people in the relevant field is that there are really good cases where we can’t rely on honeybees anymore, such as like indoor farming, where we can’t really have honeybee homes in it because of safety issues or some environmental issues. So in that case, we can start thinking of using our robot, if it works well, for tools like indoor farming,” added Kim.

Despite the team’s improvements, the robotic insects still cannot match the capabilities of natural pollinators. However, the researchers aim to improve the robots’ flight time and precision to enable them to land and take off from the center of a flower.

The research was published in the journal Science Robotics.

5 Tech Companies Embracing Electrification, Autonomy

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 22:02:42 GMT

Tractors and robots powered by electrification and autonomously tasked using Artificial Intelligence were without a doubt the main points of emphasis among the handful of farm tech companies exhibiting at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Here’s a brief rundown of what some ag tech and ag tech adjacent companies showed off:

John Deere – After wowing attendees last year with a remotely operated tractor exhibit where users stopped and started a large 8RX tractor doing tillage work thousands of miles away at Deere’s Austin, Texas, test farm, the manufacturer extended its autonomous capabilities across a wider breadth of its machine portfolio to include lower horsepower tractors and autonomous spraying technologies for tree, fruit, and nut growers , as well as an autonomous lawn mower for commercial landscapers and a massive articulated yellow-and-black dump truck for construction firms. Deere also debuted a 130 hp, fully electric battery powered, autonomous-ready concept tractor at the show.

RELATED: John Deere Introducing Next Generation Perception Autonomy Kits

Behold, the hustle and bustle of John Deere’s CES booth:
Kubota – the Japanese firm captured a CES Innovation Award for its KATR robot (video clip below), a four-wheeled all terrain, multi-functional field robot that maintains a level deck across rugged terrain and operates autonomously and in “follow me” mode to help specialty crop producers get more done in a day. However the stars of the show at the Kubota booth, in this author’s humble opinion, were Flash, a plant health imagery solution that uses AI for analysis, and the Smart Plant Imager that bolts onto the top of the KATR robot and enables acquisition of hyperspectral plant health data in real-time. Both products spit back management recommendations to help high value crop growers know where to focus management and labor efforts to make the biggest impacts on yield and quality. Also new this year: the Agri Concept 2.0 autonomous tractor that debuted last year at CES has been outfitted with an operator cab, giving farmers the choice between direct oversight or autonomous tasking.

Spoiler Alert: Those peach baskets don’t fall off or spill. Good job, KATR:
Kioti – the South Korean midsize equipment innovator displayed a multi-functional, modular field robot it is calling the AI Agri Robot RT 100 (pictured top of page). Electrically driven and featuring three driving modes – manual, follow me, and fully autonomous, the helper robot can be outfitted with an orchard spray kit to apply pesticides into the plant canopy as it travels between permanent crop rows. Kioti also showed off a fully electric RX 7340 smart tractor (video clip below) that features integrated soil sensing technology that measures soil moisture, organic matter, and other soil health metrics and sends that data up through the AWS cloud for processing and then back to the grower’s preferred FMIS solution, helping provide the farmer with greater insight into soil conditions in real-time.

That’s an eye-catching small utility tractor, I must say. And it’s “Smart” - beauty and brains:
Caterpillar – The heavy equipment manufacturer kicked off its 100-year anniversary at CES. Like its ag industry brethren, Cat debuted solutions around electrification and autonomy, starting with the center piece of its booth: a gigantic, electrified 55,000-pound Cat 972 Wheel Loader (pictured top of page). Cat also featured its Cat Command autonomous live remote operation capability (video clip below) by having CES attendees sit in a pilot seat and take the controls of an excavator located on a job site in Tijuana Hills, Arizona.

Space-age technology coming soon to a rock quarry near you. Freddy Flintstone and Barney Rubble approved:
The future is here: you can finally put your lazy, do-nothing barn roof to work generating free power from the sun for your electrified machines! Very cool.
(Matthew J. Grassi )

Jackery – With all of the focus on electrification from the ag side at CES, it makes sense to look at what solutions are out there for portable, sustainable power generation and storage. Jackery made a big splash with its lightweight, portable solar generators and collapsible solar panels, and an even bigger hit its solar roof shingle technology (pictured inset). One can imagine a future where growers with electric machines decide to replace their barn roof with solar roof shingles to capture all of that energy from the sun and use it to power power electrified equipment around the farm. Something tells me that Jackery is going to be relevant in the ag world should the shift to electrification continue on at the farm gate.

Stay tuned to AgWeb.com for more ongoing coverage of what we saw and heard at CES 2025 in the days and weeks ahead!

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John Deere Introducing Next Generation Perception Autonomy Kits

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 20:46:44 GMT

John Deere is taking a step forward in autonomy and the technology retrofit market.

Chief Technology Officer Jahmy Hindman describes the effort as “real purpose, real autonomy”. He says the manufacturer is responding to the ongoing labor crunch that is causing headaches across the agriculture industry both domestically and abroad.

To help its users continue to farm with less reliance on human labor, John Deere has announced a suite of new retrofit autonomy kits for tractors and tillage implements, orchard sprayers, and even for the commercial landscape and construction equipment segments.

The kits feature redesigned camera arrays and rugged NVIDIA processing units paired with Blue River Technology’s machine learning algorithms, enabling John Deere machines to autonomously mimic how a human operator would react in the driver’s seat, without anyone actually sitting in the driver’s seat.

Let’s dive in and learn more about what John Deere is launching this week at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

What’s New for Tractors?
John Deere and its integrated Blue River Technologies team have re-architected what it is calling its Next Generation Perception System autonomy retrofit kits. The kits are made for model year 2022 and newer 9R and 9RX tractors, and model year 20.5 and newer 8R and 8RX tractors. Also coming from John Deere is autonomy on its 5ML Series tractors.

To go along with its autonomous tractor kits, there are retrofit kits that outfit select 2017 and newer John Deere tillage implements with additional lighting, a GPS receiver mast, and harnessing for fully autonomous tiling. These autonomy ready features are factory installed as a base package for select model year 2025 tillage tools. Today, the system is only compatible with John Deere tillage implements with the autonomy kits installed, but in the future Deere is working towards compatibility with third-party tillage tools.

The new autonomy kits are made for model year 2022 and newer 9R and 9RX tractors , and model year 20.5 and newer 8R and 8RX tractors, as well as select John Deere tillage tools.

(Photos courtesy of John Deere)

Both autonomy kits will be sold within John Deere’s Precision Upgrades product segment, which the company re-branded in 2023. So far, the kits have been field tested across thousands of acres of cropland. John Deere representatives anticipate the kits will one day be compatible with planting, harvesting, and broad acre application machines. But today, autonomous field tillage is the first domino to fall.

“This expands our autonomous capabilities dramatically,” says Willy Pell, CEO, Blue River Technologies. “Farmers should not have to buy a new tractor to experience autonomy.

Pell adds the kits were designed with ease of installation in mind, especially for tractors and implements that come autonomy ready from the factory.

Let’s dive deeper into some of the components that enable autonomous capabilities within the Next Generation Perception Kits.

Let’s start with the kit’s redesigned camera arrays, which are installed onto the top of a compatible tractor model’s cab and wired into the control module. Within that new camera array are 16 stereo cameras that shoot continuously at triple overlap, giving the system a 360-degree field of vision around the tractor with plenty of redundancy for sensing crops, obstacles, potential humans and other hazards in the field.

What those cameras “see” is processed on ruggedized NVIDIA Jetson GPUs that can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees F. With the cameras operating as the eyes of the system, the Jetson units serve as the brains and connective tissue, using edge processing to read, react, and fire off commands to the machine just as a human operator would.

Farmers that experienced John Deere’s tractor autonomy kits in the past – this version represents the second evolution of the technology since John Deere introduced it in 2022 – told the company they wanted the driver-less machines to cover more acres in a day, or night. John Deere made that happen, increasing speeds 40% to 12 mph with this iteration, and lighting kits have been added on to allow around-the-clock field work.

“We want to meet customers where they’re at today; our customers across the Midwest want to customize their tillage setups with various tools of different sizes and configurations, and we want to make as many of those tools autonomy capable with one system as possible, and that’s what we’ve done with the Generation 2 Perception System,” says Aaron Wells, Engineering and AI Systems, Blue River Technologies. “This is real autonomy that I can set, forget, and run in the field or monitor using John Deere Operations Center Mobile.”

Local John Deere dealers will have a limited number of kits available for 2025 with a full launch tabbed for 2026.

Orchard tractors and sprayers
The Next Generation Perception System kit has been slightly tweaked for permanent orchard crop growers. Those growers generally use lower horsepower machines with narrower footprints to complete tasks between trellised rows of grapes, tree nuts, and other orchard crops like apples.

In California’s massive specialty crop industry, John Deere says that over 50% of machine operator jobs posted by farming operations are going unfilled. John Deere believes its autonomy kits can lessen that reliance on seasonal labor and help farmers hit tight production windows in order to maximize yields.

The Next Generation Perception kit for orchard tractors and sprayers features fewer camera arrays than the row crop kit but adds an integrated LiDAR sensor to 3D image tree canopies and orchard trellising in real-time.

(Photos courtesy of John Deere)

Whether we’re talking about the large tractor autonomy kits or the orchard tractor-sprayer kit, the systems share many common components. Rather than needing 16 stereo cameras, the autonomous orchard tractor kit deploys seven cameras alongside three LiDAR sensors. The LiDAR sensors provide a real-time 3D image of vine and orchard crops as the tractor moves around the orchard, giving the machine the ability to tell the pull-behind sprayer implement where to apply and where not to apply.

The 5ML Specialty Tractor, along with the key Precision Essentials technology that will enable autonomy, JDLink Modem, StarFire Receiver, G5 Display, and John Deere Operations Center are all available today, with the autonomy kit being available in limited quantities in 2026.

“We’ve developed this incredible second-generation technology that allows us to scale across different crops and new industries,” says Igino Cafiero, CEO and founder, Bear Flag Robotics. John Deere acquired Bear Flag in 2021 for $250 million.

Something for your side hustle?
I have no data to back this up, but I would guess there might be some row crop farmers out there that might own commercial landscaping, construction, or excavation businesses in addition to farming full time.

For the commercial landscape segment, John Deere has extended its next Generation Perception kit to automate a new green and yellow autonomous battery electric zero-turn mower.

This autonomous battery powered commercial lawn mower remains in the concept stage today but John Deere anticipates it being available for landscape professionals in the future.

(Photos courtesy of John Deere)

While still in the concept stage of development, the commercial mower can be programmed to autonomously cut common professional landscaping patterns while its operator monitors the machine from nearby with what looks and feels like a beefed-up Xbox controller. There is also a rear standing deck that can be flipped down, with dedicated operator controls on the machine, in case the operator feels like hopping onboard and steering the mower.

And for the construction world, John Deere has applied the next Generation perception kit to create a driverless commercial dump truck. The truck can autonomously move material from Point A to Point B and even know exactly where it needs to dump its load. Site workers can use the John Deere Operations Center to define ideal routes and start, stop, and unload the giant diesel-powered machines from outside of the cab.

Again, like their row crop and specialty crop farming brethren, commercial landscape and construction firms are also feeling the squeeze of the labor shortage.

“There’s no better story, I think, than using technology for the benefit of humanity. It is our purpose and what pulls all of this together,” Hindman says. “Our number one mission in developing these kits is to help reduce the dependency on unskilled labor. We think autonomy is a significant answer to solving that dilemma for our customers.”

To learn more about the Next Generation Perception System head to Deere.com/autonomy

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Machinery News: AE50 Innovation Winners, Deere Details Its U.S. Manufacturing Investments and More

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:00:20 GMT

AGCO, Case IH, Claas and Deere among 2025 AE50 Class
ASABE recently announced the winners of its 2025 AE50 Awards. The annual award program celebrates companies and their technological innovations in agricultural, food, and biological systems.

With six AE50 Awards apiece, Case IH and Deere & Company top the list of companies with multiple honors. Others with more than one award include AGCO, Claas, MacDon, and Salford Group.

AE50 Awards are chosen by a panel of technology experts who rank nominations for innovation, engineering advancement, and impact.

The 2025 winners will now be reviewed for selection of the Davidson Prize, presented each year the top three products. This year’s Davidson Prizes will be announced at the 2025 Commodity Classic, being held March 1–4, at the Colorado Convention Center, in Denver.

Learn more and get the full list of winners here.

Bad news at Artic Cat ATV factories in Minnesota
The owner of Arctic Cat, Rhode Island-based Techtron, Inc., is suspending production at Arctic Cat’s facilities in Thief River Falls and its engine manufacturing plant in St. Cloud, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

In a filing with the SEC, Textron announced it is seeking strategic alternatives for Arctic Cat. “The consumer end market demand for powersports products continues to remain soft,” wrote the company in its filing.

Read the full story over at StarTribune.com.

Busy 2024 Wraps Up at Deere
John Deere recently dropped a new press release detailing the equipment manufacturer’s dedication to U.S. manufacturing over the last 12 months.

The highlights include:

Plans to expand its Reman Core Center facility in Strafford, Missouri, by an additional 120,000 square feet. The $13.5 million expansion will break ground in mid-2025 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
Its Waterloo, Iowa, facility recently added a new 9RX High-Horsepower tractor assembly line.
Invested $48 million to bring its largest combine, the X9, to Harvester Works in East Moline, Illinois, renovating 385,000 square feet of manufacturing space while adding $101 million in equipment and manufacturing processes.
Deere’s large sprayer facility in Des Moines, Iowa, underwent a $48 million expansion in July 2024.
Its Seeding facility in Moline, Illinois, underwent a 60,000 square foot expansion costing over $10 million.
Invested $70 million to build a new 380,000-square-foot factory in Kernersville, North Carolina – expanding its footprint while adding over 150 new jobs.

Get all the details from the full press release over at Deere.com

GSI: Now Is the Time for Grain Storage Maintenance
Harvest is complete and grain is in the bins, but there’s still work to be done, writes GSI in a recent press release.

GSI District Manager Dave Ellis says it’s important that farmers perform postharvest grain system maintenance over the winter months.

Ellis recommends the following maintenance practices:

Grain pit – Clean out the grain dump pit to prevent it from filling up with debris or allowing any remaining grain to rot, which could attract rodents or other pests. If the pit has a sump pump, ensure it is working to avoid water buildup.
Grain conveyors – Inspect the bearings on grain legs and conveyors to make sure they are in good working order. Check that grain elevator belts and buckets are intact and that belts are tight and replace as needed.
Bins – Clean up around grain bins and check for any damage that could allow water to enter, leading to grain spoilage.
Aeration – Clean fans, removing debris or any other obstructions that could reduce performance. Inspect the motor and electrical connections to determine if any repairs or replacement parts are required.

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We Asked, You Answered: What I’d Do With A Tesla Robot

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 14:52:56 GMT

Back in October, we asked our readers to give us examples of how they would put one of Tesla’s new Optimus robots to work around the farm. The responses – at least the ones that are suitable to print – certainly did not disappoint.

Here’s a handful of quotes from AgWeb.com readers:

“I need two of them to help me out here in the maintenance building. For the past 17 years it has been a one-man shop, which is a challenge when there is no one to hold the other end, but I managed. I am getting older now and would be willing to train my replacements on how to build, operate, maintain, and repair agricultural equipment…”

“Walking Beans”

“My list would be long and sweaty. But I would need an educated “bot”. One with lots of letters behind his/her name....like PhD....for Post Hole Digger!”

No Hazmat Suit Necessary

(Illustration: Lori Hays)

“Spot spraying weeds.”

“Check grain bins, pick up rocks, clean fence lines, mow the lawn, help shovel and sweep bins out, help clean equipment up spring and fall, you name it him and me would be busy.”

Ag Tech News: Smart Farming Innovations Make Time Magazine List, Universities Advance Research

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:48:53 GMT

Illini looking at robotic weeders in row crops
University of Illinois writer Marianne Stein reports that agricultural robotics for mechanical weeding is an emerging technology, and a recently published study looks at the types of farmers and fields more likely to adopt weeding robots and at what stage of resistance development.

The study evaluated small, lightweight mechanical weeding robots for controlling common waterhemp in corn crops.

According to Stein, University of Illinois researchers examined the effect of two different types of weed management strategies: myopic management, which considers one year at a time, and forward-looking management, which accounts for future outcomes.

The researchers also considered weed seed density, weed resistance level, and economic thresholds that would trigger the adoption of robotic weeding.

You can read the full article here.

John Deere, Mississippi State University join forces on autonomous technology
Mississippi State Universities’ (MSU) Meg Henderson reports MSU is partnering with John Deere through a master research agreement, establishing a framework for the university’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute (AAI) to help develop technology to automate critical steps in the production of cotton and other crops.

Henderson writes that the partnership will help AAI advance its mission of attracting companies in the ag autonomy industry to Mississippi, creating options for research and startups, and developing and training a Mississippi-based ag autonomy workforce.

Read the full report here.

Monarch MKV electric tractor.

(Monarch Tractor)

Monarch MKV EV tractor drops below $30K, now EQIP eligible
Monarch’s MKV tractor, the world’s first 100% electric, driver-optional smart tractor is now available for as low as $26,200 depending on your region and EQIP eligibility, according to a recent email bulletin from the manufacturer.

The company says the now nationwide Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is currently offering over $8.4 billion over the next five years to farmers that adopt sustainable solutions to mitigate natural resource concerns. The MK-V tractor qualifies for this program, according to Monarch.

Follow this link to learn more and get in touch with Monarch to see if you’re eligible.

Three ag innovations named Time Magazine “Best Inventions of 2024”
Time Magazine publishes an annual list of products its editors deem the best technological breakthroughs of the year.

The 2024 list was released on October 30 and it highlights InnerPlant’s digital ecosystem, CropVoice , and Guardian Agriculture’s SC1 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) spray drone.

The list also honors Pivot Bio’s N-Ovator program as a top sustainability invention.

InnerPlant announced CropVoice this summer and we wrote about the startup’s $30 million Series B fund raise. The article includes a farmer perspective on why InnerPlant is such a remarkable technological breakthrough.

RELATED: Inside InnerPlant’s Farmer-Led Investment Run and Why It’s Better Than Traditional VC

CEO Shely Aronov discusssed the honor and CropVoice briefly in a recent Linkedin post. She can explain CropVoice better than we can:

“For the first time in agriculture’s 10,000-year history, CropVoice provides farmers with actionable data directly from plants, so they know exactly what crops need and when. This early detection system tied directly to plants’ physiological responses, enables farmers to take early action that will protect yields, decrease chemical use, and improve the resiliency of their farms.”

Guardian Agriculture’s SC1 is said to be the first eVTOL drone to receive FAA approval. According to the article “the fully autonomous vehicle carries up to 200 pounds of fertilizer or pesticides and uses on-board technology to precisely cover 60 acres per hour.”

Check out Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2024 list here.

New Topnet Live network service areas are available.

(Topcon Positioning Systems)

Topcon announces update to its corrections networks out west
Topcon Positioning Systems says it has made several regional additions to its reference station service, Topnet Live.

New service areas are available through expansion within California, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Washington, with 180 full-wave geodetic reference stations added to the network.

Network corrections offer centimeter accuracy for high-end engineering, surveying, construction and agriculture measurement and guidance systems. This service is also utilized in many other markets, such as the turf industry, for automated mowing and input applications, line marking and imaging, as well as UAV operation for mapping and delivery.

A Farmer Can Dream, Right? Tesla Robots As the Farm Labor Force of the Future?

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 18:57:14 GMT

With a visual form ripped straight from a skin-crawl inducing robot thriller, Tesla’s new AI-bot, Optimus, is eliciting strong reactions from tech advocates and flip-phone touting technophobes.

Let’s indulge our imaginations for just a second and imagine how a farmer could put one of Musk’s $20,000 helper robots to work around the family farm in, say, the year 2040. I use 2040 because, even though the prototypes in the video below look awesome, it turns out the AI behind it needs more work before any farmer would feel safe setting a squad of them loose on the farm.

Our own Clinton Griffiths was also inspired by Optimus’ unveiling. In his upcoming column in the November issue of Farm Journal, Clinton gets right to the heart of the issue, and that’s whether the bots will pan out on the farm?

The real test, he writes, “will be whether it can keep its glossy finish motoring along regardless of whether or not the field is mud-free.”

I couldn’t agree more, Clinton. Serving up fancy drinks during an unveiling party on a glitzy Hollywood film studio lot is one thing. Standing up to all the dust and heat and tough conditions of your average farm or ranch is a different beast altogether.

In that vein, we offer up the following farm chore list Optimus can take over from here on out.

No, seriously Opti, you don’t need our permission. Just go ahead and take care of these few little things every single day for the rest of time, and we’ll be off, I don’t know, fishing at the lake with the kids, rocking on the front porch, or something.

Farm equipment maintenance tech
Director of crop protection jug disposal
Backpack spraying around-the-clock weed warrior
Chief grain bin inspector
Head ladder climber
Irrigation pivot inspector general
Head high in July crop scout
Pig loader and unloader extraordinaire
Master bottle mixer and calf feeder

Now that you’ve read my list, I’m curious how you would use a robot that walks, talks and moves like a real human (and never gets tired, bored or spends 20 minutes staring at its phone) on your farm? or click

Share your robot wish list by clicking the green “Respond Here” button or click here .

Your Next Read: As the Wizard of Yield, Ken Ferrie Reveals His Secrets on Unscripted

Autonomy in Farming: What Manufacturers and Tech Companies Are Working On

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 13:28:11 GMT

A bold, new era marked by mass adoption of autonomous machines is nearing realization. Farmers are more interested than ever in the shift to full automation.

Ohio State University professor John Fulton points to the current farm economy as one catalyst driving interest. He believes challenges in recruiting skilled labor and an increasing comfort with technology will continue to advance buy-in from growers.

“You’re going to see more of it being embedded into machines, and we’re right on the cusp of seeing more autonomy adopted by farmers,” Fulton says.

Let’s dive in and explore what some companies developing autonomous solutions have been working on.

Retrofitting Robotics

Sabanto is developing retrofit kits to convert existing tractors into autonomous machines. The approach is grounded in founder and CEO Craig Rupp’s belief the next generation of highly capable, high horsepower tractors – what he deems the “Swiss Army Knives” of farming – are already in farmers’ machine sheds.

Rupp says rather than buying a new tractor with the latest autonomy features, farmers should first explore upgrading their current machines. Installation of Sabanto’s retrofit autonomous tractor kit is available today on John Deere’s 5E and 6E Series, as well as Kubota and Fendt models.

Sabanto is focusing on integrating farmer feedback into its autonomous tractor kits.

One potential low-hanging fruit is autonomous field-to-field traversal. This would shuttle the tractors autonomously between fields connected by a private drive, and someday do the same on public roads. Autonomous machines today are trailered from field to field.

In early summer 2024, Sabanto implemented the first virtual Field Operator (vFO) position.

(Sabantoag.com)

Sabanto is also forming a team of virtual field operators , made up of young people with experience in farming simulators, Rupp says. These operators will remotely oversee and control Sabanto machines across the country. After a farmer trailers a tractor to a field and unloads it, the virtual operators will manage tasks and oversee in-field operations in real time.

Rupp says Sabanto engineers are also improving in-field path planning and extending active hours with the goal of running robotic tractors around the clock.

From his viewpoint, the former electrical engineer turned ag entrepreneur is convinced autonomous farming will happen at a large-scale.

“We’ve gone beyond the when and if, and we’re at the stage where it comes down to how it is going to be done,” Rupp says.

2030 or Bust?

John Deere has released autonomy-ready packages for its tractors and tillage tools.

(John Deere/Bill Krzyzanowski)

John Deere’s transition from equipment manufacturer to data and ag tech innovator plows ahead at full steam. The manufacturers’ model year 2025 class of machines showcased more factory-installed autonomy features than any previous class in its long history.

A recent key development is the release of John Deere autonomy-ready packages for its tractors and tillage tools. The aftermarket kits include all of the necessary hardware and safety features for autonomous operations. To unlock full autonomy, farmers will only need to add a perception system, which consists of cameras and vision processing units.

In the future, Michael Porter, go-to-market manager – large tractors, says the perception system will be available alongside its retrofit precision ag technology kits through John Deere’s Precision Upgrades program.

“These elements are a key step in preparing farms for autonomous operations, and making those tools available [aftermarket] demonstrates the commitment we have to helping farmers at every phase along the autonomous journey,” Porter adds.

John Deere’s runway to bringing its machines to life without an operator at the helm is short: The company is in a race against the calendar, having pledged to delivering a fully autonomous fleet of machines in corn and soybeans by 2030.

The next opportunity to learn what John Deere is planning for its row-crop technology stack looks to be the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 2025. Last year, the company showcased its 8R autonomous tractor and Furrow Vision seed furrow sensing technology.

Specialty Crop Starting Line

CNH-owned New Holland recently announced a tie up with ag robotics startup Bluewhite. The partnership will enable collaboration on distribution, manufacturing and integration of Bluewhite’s autonomous technology with New Holland tractors in North America.

According to Paul Welbig, director of precision technology, New Holland, the Bluewhite kits consist of many common components, such as front-facing LiDAR and various arrays of connected sensors around the tractor. Cursory mechanical drive components, as well as software to link everything up and make it all “talk”, or work in concert, are also included.

New Holland and Bluewhite will partner to deploy Bluewhite’s autonomous solutions for New Holland tractors used in orchards, vineyards, and other special crops.

(Photo courtesy of New Holland)

New Holland has also started building out its autonomy portfolio in row crops, starting with its driverless grain cart technology, Raven Cart Automation, that links up a grain cart (pulled by a tractor) and combine autonomously, removing the need for an additional driver during harvest.

“The practicality and return on investment [for that system] come in when you run more than one machine with only one operator,” Welbig explains. “That’s really how you start to see value; we can support multiple combine and tractor combinations – up to six machines total – today.”

Welbig and the New Holland executive team see autonomy as a five-step journey. The first step is auto guidance and GPS, and step two is ensuring all machines are connected and exchanging data. The highest level of autonomy, step five, represents a complete removal of both the driver and the farmer from the field altogether. At that level the farmer sits in a central location, managing and tasking multiple machines from a computer or tablet.

“Steps two, three and four in between, there’s still a lot of meat left on that bone,” Welbig admits. “As autonomous technology continues to evolve in the future, we’ll continue to evolve with it.”

Fully Cycle Autonomy

AGCO’s newest joint tech venture, PTx Trimble, is now solidly off the ground, and the company is advancing its autonomous grain cart tech heading into 2025.

The group’s vision of bringing autonomy to the full ag production cycle is also coming to life, although like its competitors, it’s going to take time for the full vision to come to fruition.

PTx Trimble’s automated grain cart system, OutRun.ag, will be available for purchase in 2025. For year one, single cart configuration is unlocked. The next evolution is enabling swarming of two autonomous grain carts around the same combine.

PTx Trimble also has an autonomous tillage system currently in development. The company figures many farmers will happily give up running a tillage tool across the field to a robot.

A clear differentiation point is PTx Trimble’s use of cellular connectivity and edge computing over low orbit satellite connectivity. This allows for operation in remote areas with sub-par connectivity.

RELATED: Planting A Flag: AGCO All-In On Mixed-Fleet Aftermarket Ag Tech

One limiting factor to adoption is farmer sentiment toward field work, and the types of tasks they’ll agree to give up to a machine. Ultimately, it will be up to the technology to fully prove its worth.

“As you automate you have the option of pulling the operator out [of the cab],” says Eric Hansotia, AGCO CEO. “But where is the farmer going to feel comfortable giving up that control? And can we find an autonomous solution there and build up farmer trust?”

Your Next Read: Making Purchases for 2025: All You Can Do Is Your Best!

AGCO Gives a Peek Under the Hood: 4 Prototypes Are Previewed

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 02:07:53 GMT

At a recent field day hosted in Kentucky, AGCO showcased its latest machinery and technology, including several prototypes.

Many of the machines still be developed highlight AGCO’s stated goal of providing autonomous solutions for every season in crop production by 2030.

Selective Spraying With Symphony Vision

In the next one to two years, AGCO will be introducing Symphony Vision via its Precision Planting aftermarket channels. The goal of the equipment is to intelligently apply (spot spray) the right rate of herbicide and only where needed by using machinery learning and artificial intelligence.

The company says early beta tests of the targeting spraying system have shown a 77% reduction in post application of herbicides.

As an example, a herbicide program with Symphony Vision pre-plant applies to 25% of the field, first post application applies to 35% of the field; and second post application applies to 15% of the field. Whereas a traditional herbicide program would cost $51/acre; Symphony Vision could reduce input costs to $20.25/acre–saving more than $30/acre.

Precision Planting aims to have vision-based systems for all self-propelled sprayer platforms as well as a pull-type sprayers.

Engineers say the system is a green-on-green solution that is being built to identify crop vs. weed vs. residue as well as weed height. Priority crops are corn, soybeans and cotton with other row crops in development.

[This system will likely be commercialized around the same time as One Smart Spray, which has commercialization support from AGCO as well ]

Autonomous Grain Cart

Planned for limited introduction in 2025, AGCO is developed an autonomous grain cart system along with the team at JCA, which was acquired by the company in May 2021.

Intentionally designed as a retrofit system, AGCO’s autonomous grain cart is already showing a 33% increase in harvest efficiency by avoiding delays in logistics and keeps the combine harvesting to avoid yield loss. Additionally, the technology can ease labor shortages and help remove the bottlenecks in grain harvest.

To enable the autonomous grain cart system it requires the following technologies: perception, machine controls, guidance and navigation, mission management, safety systems, human-machine interface, communication and data management.

The system has three stages during its workflow: cart staging, cart alignment, send to truck. In the field it runs alongside the combine, and in the combine, the operator has a camera view of the grain unloading, which is automatically adjusted to uniformly fill the cart. The tractor/cart path is automatically mapped by the system, and only includes areas of the field that have been harvested.

AGCO and JCA team members say they’re testing multiple tractor platforms for the system, and at its launch will have compatibility across multiple tractor brands. The team also shares their goal for providing autonomous solutions specific to the task, including the prototype grain cart, future developments for fall tillage, and others.

Electric Fendt Tractors

With a demonstration of a prototype Fendt e100, AGCO is showing it’s progression toward selling battery-powered electric tractors up to 150 hp by 2030.
Battery electric powered tractors are part of AGCO’s three-prong approach to alternative fuels which also includes renewable fuels and fuel cell solutions.
The Fendt team is focusing on battery powered tractors for working times up to 6 hours before recharging.

The Fendt e100 has a 50 kw e-motor and geared with CVT, and it’s also outfitted with standard PTO and 3-point hitch interfaces.

It’s charging ports are standard for electric vehicles and can be restored to 80% battery life in as little as 40 minutes.

The company says this power range of a battery powered tractor will be launched in Europe in 2024 and in North America in 2025.

Autonomous Baler

The Germany-based Fendt engineering team is prototyping a fully autonomous tractor and round baler setup.

Fendt engineers says they are still testing the blocking blocks of the setup, the first which will be commercially available in 2025 is swath detection and auto-guidance—where the baler pickup position is automatically adjusted for a full intake based on the swatch location. A LIDAR sensor on the tractor cab is used for swath detection as well as obstacle detection.

The remaining components include route planning, wayline sharing, collision avoidance, and task automation. Then all have to be integrated into the tractor platform to form a fully autonomous system.

During the field demonstration Farm Journal attended, the farm dog walked in front of the tractor during the baling process while in fully autonomous mode and no one was in the cab—and the system stopped.

The prototype is running at 3 mph, which the engineers say brings an added benefit of not stressing the baling components as much as running at top speed. If the baling process is interrupted due to an issue in the bale chamber, sensors detect increased pressure and stop automatically.

During autonomous operation, a supervisor can view the full operational details on a tablet.

The application of autonomy in the baling process isn’t about labor cost savings, the team Fendt highlights, but rather providing the security of having the task completed regardless of tight labor availability.

Whereas the JCA-based technology used in the autonomous grain cart is being developed as an aftermarket system, this Fendt system has the goal of being factory-installed.

John Deere Introduces Its First Add-On See & Spray Kit

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 01:24:42 GMT

Whereas See & Spray Select and See & Spray Ultimate are factory-options, for the first time, John Deere is introducing a selective spray system as an upgrade kit.

See & Spray Premium is available for John Deere model year 2018 and newer self-propelled sprayers in the U.S., which have factory-installed an ExactApply System or an ExactApply Performance Upgrade Kit and are on 15” or 20” spacings with a steel boom.

Built on the See & Spray technology, the kit uses a vision system powered by artificial intelligence to precisely apply crop protection products by spraying the weeds and not the entire field.

In milliseconds, multiple images captured by the cameras and with a machine learning model areas are diferentiated to be weed or crop. Detected weeds send a command to the John Deere ExactApply nozzle, and then the weed is sprayed.

“Farmers continue to face rising input costs,” said Jordan Lang, marketing manager for John Deere. “Once a See & Spray Premium performance upgrade kit is installed on their sprayer, farmers can cover more acres than before on a single tank – while using targeted spray – making fewer stops to fill and using less chemical. Only weeds are sprayed, so less chemical is used, making it possible to decrease input costs. When activated, See & Spray generates an as-applied map that shows exactly where product was applied in the field.”

See & Spray Premium is a single tank system (so not dual-product such as See & Spray Ultimate.)

“See & Spray Premium provides farmers who are happy with their current sprayer, or who recently traded into a sprayer, a way to take advantage of the latest John Deere technology that can help them reduce chemical use and lower their input costs,” Lang said. “See & Spray Premium makes it possible to use less herbicide and water to treat a field and greatly reduces the potential for product drift.”

Boom stability is provided by the John Deere BoomTrac Pro 2.0 so spray integrity is maintained and cameras mounted on the boom capture clear images.

See & Spray Premium generates a weed pressure map in the John Deere Operations Center.

A Robot To Replace The Need For Farmers To Go Inside the Grain Bin

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 21:33:22 GMT

The Grain Weevil powered by JLI Robotics is a mobile robot that scurries across the top of the grain inside of a storage bin performing tasks that no human should ever do. The startup Is led by Ben Johnson and Zane Zents, who are part of the AgLaunch 365 program and recently received the 2021 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize.

The Grain Weevil is a remote controlled specialized robot designed to engage with the grain directly to aerate, move and manage the grain.

“It stemmed from an idea from our family friend who is a farmer, who said, ‘hey, look, you guys build robots. Why don’t you build me a robot so I and my children never have to go into a grain bin again?’ says Johnson.

The two entrepreneurs recently joined Chip Flory on AgriTalk, and you can listen to the full interview here:

“After hearing some farmers talk about how they’ve lost a loved ones or how they themselves have gotten injured, I got really passionate about the project,” Zents says.

He describes the robot’s design that includes two augers with an auger drive system.

“It manipulates the top of the grain–basically shifts it around and levels it like you would with a shovel. It can break up clods, it can gather data and do inspections alongside your sensors you already have in the bin and it can also help you feed the extraction augers so you can have a more efficient extraction process,” Zents says.

For the team, farmer feedback has been essential in designing the robot to be effective and ready for on-farm use.

“What we’ve learned from the farmers we can’t measure– it’s the most important thing for us in designing this robot,” Johnson says and shares they will be doing on-farm testing in multiple states this year via the AgLaunch network.

The money from the MIT prize will also be used by the team to further develop and test the Grain Weevil.

How This One Technology Helped a Michigan Farmer Cut His Herbicide Use by 60%

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 22:24:15 GMT

Settled just south of Holland, Mich., it’s always busy on Scenic View Dairy. This time of year, with 2,000 head of cows being milked and a couple thousand acres of crops in the field, it’s bustling more than ever.

“The crops look pretty good this year,” says Brian Geerlings, a partner in Scenic View Dairy. “We got off to a little bit of a slow start with a cooler spring, but we’ve got some heat right now that’s really making crops turn around, and they’re looking good.”

Geerlings says while weather is a challenge year-to-year on the farm, his other biggest challenges as a dairy producer are milk prices and finding enough labor.

“Labor has been a challenge, obviously. It seemed like after the Covid pandemic, we couldn’t get people to work quite as well,” says Geerlings. “The pricing [of milk] has been a challenge. There’s been ups and downs. It’s not a lot of fun when we can’t pay our bills. And that weighs heavy on us when we can’t. So, pricing matters a lot in those situations.”

The reality for dairy producers is milk prices had been below the cost of production for consecutive years. Geerlings says lately prices have turned around, so the dairy side of the business is a little more optimistic.

That’s good news for Scenic View Dairy, because the partners are serious about milking cows and pumping close to 40 million pounds a day. But Geerlings says the operation is much more than a dairy farm. The producers are progressive, proactive and always on the hunt for the best technologies.

“We’ve done several things in the last 20 years,” he says. We’ve put in anaerobic digesters, drones for spraying fields and now this new See & Spray technology with John Deere, that I think have been very valuable. There are other technologies we’ve looked at and passed on either because they didn’t seem to be a good fit for our farm, or they didn’t provide good ROI or a payback.”

Geerlings says they definitely don’t shy away from technology. From turning methane gas into natural gas and putting it in a pipeline, to finding new ways to spray crops, the partners are always looking for ways to become more efficient and are often early adopters of technology.

One of the recent additions to the farm was a sprayer. Instead of buying a new sprayer, the dairy opted for a used sprayer, but added a precision upgrade kit with See & Spray .

“We’re working with some weeds that are herbicide resistant. It’s really no secret that those are out there, and we have a couple that are a problem for us,” he says. “But we really wanted to be able to control costs. The weed isn’t widespread, it’s in certain areas or spots in the field. So to broadcast-spray the entire field would have been very costly.”

He says weed-control programs can cost anywhere from $20 to $30 per acre, but by being able to see and spray only the weeds actually present in a field, the technology is producing a savings even bigger than he imagined would be possible.

“I have a couple of fields that I was spraying last week, and I think we saw 26% of an area applied in one field. And then in another field we sprayed around 43% of it. So, there are fields with the higher weed pressure and some with lower. But in either case, the benefits add up quick.”

He says he’s cut his herbicide use by 60% in some fields, and even more in others.

“We were going to be happy if it was a 50% reduction,” Geerlings says. “We’re pretty much exceeding what we were hoping for, which obviously makes the technology pay even more. It’s really working well for us.”

That herbicide cost savings even caught their local retailer by surprise.

“He showed us some maps and he was at 34% in this one field of applying product. So, he’s saving a significant amount,” says Josh Rabbers, ag sales manager at GreenMark Equipment in Michigan. “I think this is a big game changer for what we’re going to see in the future just to have chemical savings and benefits in just spraying those certain problem spots in the field.”

Geerlings says watching the sprayer work in the field has been impressive.

“It’s amazing that the cameras that are on the booms are seeing weeds that I can’t see as an operator,” he says. “These machines are so wide; nowadays, they are 120-feet wide. From the seat, you have to be able to see 60 feet each direction. And to be able to see weeds that are an inch tall or less at times, you can’t possibly do a good job of spot spraying.”

What he’s been really impressed with is watching the nozzles fire on and off as the camera sees and sprays a weed. And that’s exactly how the technology works. Each camera serves as a set of eyes, finding weeds so small that not even Geerlings or the farm’s sprayer operator can see them.

“It has cameras along the boom, and it’s looking ahead of it and seeing the weed that’s there. It’s spraying product on just the weed there,” Rabbers says.

For a dairy that sits close to Lake Michigan, the savings isn’t just about dollars. Less herbicide use means applications are more environmentally friendly than ever.

“My dad always said farmers were the first environmentalists. So, it really fits with our philosophy of trying to not use more product than we absolutely have to,” Geerlings adds.

Geerlings is seeing solid savings result in dollars and environmental costs, and in the process uncovering even more opportunities on the farm, making Scenic View Dairy truly leading-edge.

Make The Most Of Your Resources With Financing And Automation

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 20:17:34 GMT

By Andrea Mowers, ARA, and Danielle Schinke, KeyBank

Today, the demand for smart automation spans nearly every business sector. Organizations are challenged to make the most of every resource—capital, material and human—during every minute of operation. Many ag business owners find equipment financing not only enables them to expand, pivot and innovate their business models but also achieve increased profitability, speed to market and stakeholder satisfaction.

Global food demand is expected to increase by 35% to 56% between 2010 and 2050, according to a study conducted by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. To help meet the growing demand, equipment financing and automation enhance productivity and reliability, increase performance and reduce operating costs.

Moving to automation and robotics has proven to be a good investment for ag-based businesses. By automating equipment from field to export with the help of a trusted farm adviser, a potato grower with multiple U.S. locations may achieve better nutrient distribution, higher water efficiency and the ability to process a higher yield of superior quality more quickly. Automation also may improve work-life balance and job satisfaction for employees.

Creative, lucrative ideas are abundant among business owners in all industries. Finding the capital and resources to implement them, however, is often a roadblock, and agribusinesses may shy away from automation because of the cost. Fear not, though! Plenty of options exist to acquire the automation technology needed to allow businesses to grow, increase their profits and maximize their competitiveness.

Financing Benefits
Financing does not require large cash outlays up front. Fixed monthly payments spread over time free up cash and working capital for other expenses or business needs. In addition to enhancing cash flow, financing improves budgeting and forecasting.

Leasing automation assets offers flexibility for ag businesses, allowing them to use the “try before you buy” option. It also keeps business operations nimble as owners determine the best strategy for their particular goals and opportunities.

Other flexible financing advantages include the following:

Terms that are tailored to align with budget and seasonal revenue requirements
Add-on features to support scalability and expansion
Mid-term upgrades to optimize new technologies and protect against owning obsolete equipment

Financing also offers the ability to bundle all related costs—equipment, software, installation, training and even consulting fees—into one payment plan. This enables business owners to acquire the total solution they need now rather than try to form a piecemeal strategy based on a constrained budget.

Why Invest Now
The continued adoption of automation in the U.S. has helped companies position themselves for growth and improve their resilience against economic disruption. Research from consulting firm McKinsey & Company reports successful implementation of connectivity in agriculture has the potential to add $500 billion in value to the global gross domestic product by 2030. That’s a nearly 10% increase from the industry’s expected total by the end of this decade.

What New Normal?
Since 2020, the trajectory of business growth has been anything but a straight line. Following the pandemic shutdown, automating processes became tantamount to survival for many businesses. Despite the loss and confusion COVID-19 imposed on our world, it also presented new opportunities. For some ag industry businesses, this meant automating services or creating 100% virtual systems; for others, it required pivoting to a new model altogether.

As we learn to adapt to and adopt new technologies, infrastructure and even work-life balance, new challenges continue to emerge in an unprecedented, unpredictable pattern. U.S. businesses and consumers have been on a roller coaster of cyclical, complex activity for 30 months with no sign of certainty ahead.

But despite these historically tumultuous conditions, businesses have proven to be remarkably resilient and resolute. Amidst this unprecedented disruption, however, one factor is equally tenacious and undeniably consistent: the rapid rate of technological advancement.

Interested In Hearing More?
Members of the Agricultural Retailers Association can take advantage of a white glove needs assessment with KeyBank that helps you better understand daily financial operations and identify opportunities to grow your business more efficiently.

This document is designed to provide general information only and is not comprehensive nor is it legal, accounting or tax advice. KeyBank does not make any warranties regarding the results obtained from the use of this information. Credit products are subject to credit approval, terms, conditions and availability and subject to change.

New Products: AGCO, Bayer, Case IH, Firestone Ag, Great Plains, New Holland, PTx Trimble and Solinftec

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:30:07 GMT

AGCO Launches Fendt 600 Vario Tractor, Massey Ferguson 9S Series Tractor, Gleaner T Series Combines

Fendt’s 600 Vario Tractor series is available now for order in North America and features four models (614 Vario, 616 Vario, 618 Vario and 620 Vario) ranging from 149 to 209 rated-engine hp. The tractors are powered by the all-new AGCO Power CORE50 4-cylinder, 5-liter engine.

The Massey Ferguson 9S Series tractor is also available now in North America. The machine features a duo 8.4-liter AGCO Power engine, Dyna-VT transmission and Massey Ferguson’s Protect-U cab design. AGCO says operators have experienced up to a 15% reduction in fuel consumption with the 9S Series.

The Gleaner® T Series combines are available in 322-430 horsepower configurations (depending on model) and feature 4 bushel per second unloading rates as well as improvements in control and comfort, AGCO says. Its Dura Drive feature reportedly improves performance and productivity by allowing faster harvesting speeds of up to 25 mph.

Learn more from AGCO here.

Bayer FieldView Drive 2.0 Available Now

Bayer has unveiled FieldView Drive 2.0, a small plug-and-play device that farmers can use to connect, monitor and record activities across different farm equipment types and brands.

The multinational crop protection company says FieldView Drive 2.0 provides more processing power, data storage, and in-field connection stability than its previous iteration.

Bayer says hundreds of farmers have field tested the device and it will begin shipping the new hardware in the U.S. starting early next year.

Learn more about FieldView Drive 2.0 here.

Case IH Announces New Tech Solutions, Equipment Innovations

Case IH is launching a wide range of farm equipment and technology solutions that pair precision technology and equipment to make operations easier, more efficient and more productive, the company says in a recent press release.

Among the new introductions and releases:

The all-new FieldOps mobile and web application, which it says redefines the way farmers connect, view and manage operations. Expanded API integrations allow farmers to connect with third party providers and manage mixed fleets.
Connectivity Included eliminates subscriptions on new qualifying equipment (various machines) while precision technology packages simplify the technology purchase experience.
New AF9 and AF10 (pictured above) combines, which Case IH says are both redesigned from the ground up to maximize capacity and crop flow with efficient horsepower and simplified maintenance. The single-rotor AF9 (634 hp) and AF10 (775 hp) complete the new AF series, which launched earlier in 2024 with the AF1. The AF series offers a full suite of precision technology, as well.
A new C500 corn head series, which pairs with the AF and 260 series combines.
For Model Year 2025, Soil Command will be factory-fitted on select sizes of the Case IH Speed-Tiller 475 high-speed disk and VT-Flex 435 vertical tillage tool and will work on any ISO-compatible tractor.
Case IH Active Implement Guidance is available now and gives farmers access to an easy-to-use, plug-and-play system to correct implement drift while navigating planting, tillage and side-dressing.
Model Year 2025 Puma series tractors, for 185 to 260 models, have been upgraded to provide flexibility to manage row crop and livestock tasks on diversified farms.
New Model Year 2025 Steiger Series Tractors that Case IH says elevate the operator’s experience all around with powerful tools like Connectivity Included and farmer-centric functionality.
Case IH is expanding the Early Riser 2000 series planter lineup to bring more accuracy, customization and productivity to operations utilizing 20" and 22" row spacings with the new Early Riser 2160 48-row configurations.
For Model Year 2025, the Patriot 50 series sprayer and the Trident 5550 combination applicator include a new all-aluminum boom with factory-installed Boom Recirculation, increasing efficiency and chemical use.
For Model Year 2025, the Trident 5550 combination applicator also includes a new Dry Hi-Flow option, boosting product output and hydraulic flow.

More information on Case IH products and services can be found online at https://www.caseih.com

Firestone Ag Announces Bridgestone Availability In North America

Firestone Ag is bringing its Bridgestone tractor tires to U.S. and Canadian farmers, according to a press release from the company.

All three ag tires in the Bridgestone lineup feature triple-defense rubber engineered to resist wear, protect against stubble and enhance durability. Firestone’s patented Involute lug design is said to maximize traction and minimize soil disturbance and energy loss caused by tire slip, helping farmers reduce fuel costs.

In field trials, the Bridgestone VX-TRACTOR tire delivered 45% more wear life than a competitor, the company claims. Bridgestone tractor tires are backed by a 10-year limited warranty.

Contact your local Firestone Ag dealer or visit FirestoneAg.com to learn more.

Great Plains Ag Enhances Field Cultivators for High Speed Tillage

Great Plains Ag has enhanced its line of field cultivator implements with a new frame design, new shank system, and new finishing attachments.

The new CT8400 and CT8410 cultivators reportedly offer greater leveling, weed control, and residue management capabilities at faster operating speeds.

Available in 24' to 51' working widths, the new cultivators are offered with two hitch options:

The CT8400 features a constant-level hitch for operation on flat ground and open fields
The CT8410 is a floating hitch model for rougher terrain or fields with lots of variation.

Both implements are ready to order for the 2025 season.

Learn more about the CT8400/8410 Field Cultivators at www.GreatPlainsAg.com.

New Holland Announces CR10 Combine, Many New Innovations

New Holland Agriculture is launching the new CR10 combine (shown at top of article). The CR10 joins the previously launched CR11 and is set to maximize output, minimize grain loss and address operational economics in a platform that features the next generation of harvesting technology, the company says in a recent press release.

CR10 is powered by a 12.9-liter FPT Cursor 13 engine, delivering 635 horsepower. Paired with a 455-bushel grain tank with a grain unload rate of 4.5 bushels per second, the CR10 drives harvest efficiency.

Extended Twin Rotors provide threshing and separation performance, and the CR10 features a TwinClean cleaning shoe, which incorporates two sieve systems and automation sensors that continuously monitor and adjust for even material distribution and grain loss.

The CR10 is also compatible with a range of existing and new headers and features a redesigned operator cab.

CR10 will be available for 2025 harvest.

The manufacturer also announced the following developments:

A new FieldOps mobile app is now available for download. New Holland says it is a versatile farm management tool with over 40 API connections. Customers can use the app to view and monitor connected machines, and existing MyPLM Connect users can transition to FieldOps and their data will be there when they log in.
“Connectivity Included” grants customers limitless connectiviy with no recurring subscription fees on new connected machines built on or after October 1, 2024.
Connectivity Included is one key aspect of New Holland’s new Technology Packages, which the manufacturer hopes will make access to precision technology easier for farmers. Now available in select markets, packages come in three options on qualifying machines: Value, Core and Advanced.
Active Implement Guidance is a new plug-and-play aftermarket solution designed to be installed and link up guidance lines between the tractor and the implement. Use of this solution greatly reduces or stops implement drift, resulting in more reliable product placement, according to the company.
Model year 2025 New Holland FR Forage Cruiser self-propelled forage harvesters are receiving multiple upgrades. This includes an enhanced cab interior with new controls and electronics, a new system to reduce the risk of machine overload and blockage, and the CustomSteer system, which New Holland says speeds up headland turns. The new FR Forage Cruisers are available to order for availability in 2025.
New Holland has extended the Power Command full powershift transmission as an option for the T7.270 Long Wheelbase (LWB) tractor. New to the tractor are 60-inch tire settings, a quick-hitch frame, and PLM Intelligence solutions and digital technologies. Order writing for the T7 LWB is available now with deliveries starting in October 2024.
Several features aimed to increase operator productivity have been added to the new TH Series telehandlers. These include a redesigned operator cab, distinct operating modes such as Forklift mode, Loading mode, Transport mode, and Active Bucket Shake. Under the hood is a Stage V-compliant 4.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine built by FPT Industrial.

To learn more about New Holland’s new digital technology solutions and Iron releases, visit www.newholland.com.

PTx Trimble Introduces Autonomous Retrofit Grain Cart For Mixed Fleets

PTx Trimble is ready to introduce OutRun, its first commercially available autonomous retrofit grain cart solution.

Farm Journal viewed OutRun back in June at AGCO’s Tech Days event in Salina, Kansas. You can read more about that here.

OutRun is a self-contained retrofit kit that enables autonomous grain cart operation on John Deere 8R or 8000R tractors with IVT. The grain cart can be staged or be called for unloading without the need for another driver. The combine operator can also send the grain cart to a predefined truck unload zone for manual unload.

OutRun will be available for production release in 2025. The company is accepting beta customers in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri for 2024.

For more information, visit outrun.ag.

Robotic Sprayer Adds Docking And Filling Station

Solinftec has announced its newest development in the field of agricultural robotics: the autonomous docking station. The filling station will allow Solix Ag Robotics to operate 100% autonomously throughout the season, without the need for a manual refill.

The docking station is autonomous, solar-powered and integrated with the Solix platform, enabling continuous field management by ensuring the robot has unfettered access to products for 24/7 operations. The station incorporates scouting data obtained throughout the growing season to ensure the right products are available for day-to-day executions.

Solinftec is validating final features and concepts as the docking station nears production.

Learn more about Solinftec here.

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Planting A Flag: AGCO All-In On Mixed-Fleet Aftermarket Ag Tech

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:29:10 GMT

Farmers have long self-segmented solely on the paint color of their favorite brands of farming equipment.

Oh, you’re a green guy? You prefer John Deere tractors, combines and sprayers.

Or maybe you overheard someone make an offhand remark that your farm is “all red.” That’s not a shot at your political party affiliation. It means Case IH is your preferred brand of equipment.

No matter how you slice it, if you spend any time hanging around farmers it’s clear: they value loyalty and relationships. These long-standing, dyed-in-the-wool equipment allegiances do not die fast. They’re passed down like coveted family heirlooms from grandfather, to father, to son and daughter, and so on.

It’s rather fitting then that AGCO Corporation, a major farm equipment player long left out of these pigment-based affinity groups, has signaled another evolution in its go-to-market strategy.

How is AGCO shifting gears?

The company is planting its flag as the farmer-first, mixed-fleet leader for aftermarket and OEM precision ag technology and data solutions .

This new game plan correlates with what AGCO has been up to of late: The Duluth, Ga.-based manufacturer built its precision technologies segment via big dollar acquisitions, the same way Manchester City football club built its Premier League soccer dynasty.

AGCO acquired aftermarket solutions innovators such as Precision Planting (2017) and more recently Trimble (2023), the latter being the single largest ag tech acquisition by dollar amount to date. Trimble cost AGCO upward of $2 billion, to be exact. The company has a storied history of acquiring machinery brands since its inception in the 1990s.

That’s all a long way to say that today, this AGCO – a legacy equipment company most known for its Gleaner combines and RoGator self-propelled sprayer series – says it no longer gives a rat’s you-know-what the color of equipment farmers want to use.

OK, so that’s not entirely true. The company still intends to sell plenty of machines from its family of large equipment brands such as Fendt, Massey Ferguson and others, to farmers.

But when it comes to precision ag technology, AGCO is done rowing upstream against the green and the red guys. Now it’s time to play nice and make sure the only kid in the sandbox AGCO says it cares about – the farmer – is content.

That means taking a different approach: Gone are the days, in AGCO leadership’s minds, when you must buy new to get the latest and greatest technology. As long as the equipment is 10 years old or newer, you can bolt this aftermarket kit onto your tractor and experience similar smart farming capabilities as the guy up the road who just plunked down half a million on a brand new 2024 model.

According to AGCO, there are a lot of users who see value in the hole it’s trying to fill: a brand agnostic technology partner. Its recently unveiled PTx Trimble, AGCO’s newly imagined precision ag tech brand, intends to be just that for farmers going forward.

Setting the Scene

The company detailed its new tactics last week at its 2024 Tech Days event, held at Ade Farm, a 3,300-acre soybean and wheat operation outside Salina, Kan., that runs its own mixed fleet of machines and is a loyal AGCO customer.

AGCO says globally it has 55,000 active users across 158,000 connected ag machines planting, spraying and harvesting across 84 million acres worldwide annually.

“It’s about having one comprehensive solution across all brands,” says Corey Buchs, senior director – data cloud, PTx Trimble. “We see an opportunity, a missing piece in the market we think will help our farmers by helping them manage their operations in a mixed fleet environment, regardless of make, model or age of the machine.”

Full Cycle Autonomy – Coming Soon

The concept on display at Ade Farm was visually intriguing: laser precise planters equipped with the latest fertilizer application technologies, smart sprayers that can target tiny weeds in a field full of crops and driverless tractors pulling tillage tools and grain carts. It was all there to showcase the potential of upgraded autonomous machines in an ag environment challenged by labor woes along with razor-thin profit margins.

Even the farm office data management process – shown in a small but spacious converted shipping container replete with flat screen monitors and multiple computing terminals – was accounted for.

At each stop, product managers in crispy white polo shirts made their presentations as the various machines worked autonomously off in the distance. It would have been nice to get closer to the machines, and you can bet farmers will want to look inside the cab and see some of the components of these aftermarket kits up-close before they buy, but apparently that would have triggered the safety features on the autonomous tech, stopping the machines dead in their tracks.

Another 2030 goalpost?

Unlike some of its counterparts, AGCO is not putting a 2030 finish line in front of the project. Many of the concepts we saw in Salina were just that: concepts in the alpha (which is PTx Trimble’s internal description for its earliest stage of product development) or beta stages. Once a solution hits beta stage, AGCO says it is ready to be tested with real farmers on real farms, such as the Precision Planting Vision System we saw working on a John Deere sprayer, making the 2018 sprayer a selective spraying “smart” machine. The new Vision System is PTx Trimble’s green-on-brown aftermarket kit – able to tell small weeds from corn or soybean plants at an impressive 25 mph, AGCO says.

Perhaps most notable was the automated grain cart system PTx Trimble showed in beta stage. Dinen Subramaniam, product and marketing manager, PTx Trimble, says there will be 10 Outrun.ag autonomous grain cart units testing on farms throughout the Midwest this harvest season. Plans are to have it available for purchase in 2025. The first target is single cart configuration, while the next logical evolution is enabling two autonomous grain carts.

The autonomous tillage system PTx Trimble has in alpha stage also appeared quite capable. Many farmers would happily give up running a tillage tool across the field to a machine. Running the PTx Trimble system and connecting your Panorama FMIS app in the cab will also capture that elusive-yet-critical data layer that Farm Journal ag tech columnist Steve Cubbage talks about from time to time: tillage data.

One clear differentiation point that emerged is AGCO/PTx Trimble’s reliance on cellular connectivity and edge computing versus the growing-in-popularity low orbit satellite connectivity offerings that others are putting forth to connect and control machines. Once fully autonomy is unlocked, satellite connectivity will likely be a requirement, according to PTx Trimble reps, but the company says it can connect machines and provide comparable performance without the need for high-cost satellite subscription services.

Questions Remain

Chiefly among them, will farmers buy in?
Historically, AGCO has been pigeonholed as the third or even fourth option when it comes to OEM ag tech solutions, so that begs the question: Will farmers in large numbers get on board with PTx Trimble’s tech stack?

PTx Trimble reps attempted to address those concerns by stressing:

quick, year one ROIs on most of its hardware solutions.
a 3% to 5% average increase to net farm income for farmers who adopt its autonomous technologies, based on how the machines performed on Ade Farm during it’s pilot phase.

While that sounds good on paper, farmers know each farm is different, and what pencils out on a wheat and soybean farm in central Kansas might not be a dollar to donuts fit elsewhere. PTx Trimble acknowledged that fact, and, again, keep in mind the bulk of what we saw in Salina is still in development and will likely evolve further before hitting the market.

It is a bit perplexing, though, that attendees of the 2024 Tech Day weren’t provided the opportunity to meet or hear from the actual farmer that runs Ade Farm, where all this autonomous technology has been field tested. His perspective – if it were a positive one – could have hammered home the message AGCO worked very hard to convey. Maybe he was just too busy that day? Farmers will always put more stock in hearing it straight from another farmer, so that was a bit of a missed opportunity, if I’m being honest.

Then there’s this: PTx Trimble is hoping to lock farmers into one single data management log in, via what it is calling the PTx Data platform, which includes elements of Precision Planting’s Panorama app, PTx Trimble Ag Software, and AGCO Connect. Reps at the event claimed to have research that shows 65% of farmers are using digital technology such as FMIS software and apps. Our own Farm Journal Smart Farming research report from earlier this year, however, shows a much lower level of farmer adoption of those tools.

Consider the crowded company this campaign to lock farmers in to one single agronomy and machine data platform places AGCO in: battling it out with the Climate FieldView’s, Corteva’s and the SMS’ of the world. Will farmers ultimately believe in and switch all their data management to this new software package? And potentially pay for it, too?

That seems like a tough mountain to climb.

Will Farms Be Able to Depend on Automation?

Another roadblock that AGCO might run up against (this isn’t exclusive to AGCO/PTx Trimble) is a general skepticism of advanced technology – fully autonomous tech is about as high-level as it gets – being reliable and dependable when the farmer needs it the most. Where some see tractors motoring around fields with empty cabs and think ‘Wow, that’s some amazing technology’, there are farmers who just see more things that can go wrong, more potential troubleshooting headaches and more downtime waiting for a service technician to get you back up and running again. That’s the KISS crowd, not that I must spell that acronym out for anyone here, and they will likely stick with humans over autonomous tech for as long as they can afford to.

AGCO has an answer there, too, it says. Its new FarmerCore mobile service network and the recently announced same day direct-to-farm delivery of parts campaign will be crucial enablement pieces in delivering the timely service that could put farmer minds at ease and get them to adopt.

“The feedback we’ve gotten so far – not only do the farmers like it, but the dealers like it a lot – because it’s a much more flexible way for them to grow with these mobile truck service units, instead of having to put up brick-and-mortar,” says Eric Hansotia, AGCO president and CEO .

Questions were also raised around the recurring subscription revenue model that AGCO/PTx Trimble is eyeing for some of the aspects of its autonomy stack. The good news there is the company does have ideas for ensuring farmers are billed fairly – they detailed a metric called “active task hour” that measures when the actual autonomous capability is engaged and only charges farmers for that time – but AGCO executives did acknowledge that farmers historically have not taken kindly to technology that requires annual subscription fees.

Still, all that being said, what AGCO showed last week in Salinas could potentially raise it up on a parallel track with its competitors, all of whom are chip, chip, chipping away at the autonomous farming future. Deere and CNH both are on record with 2030 as the goal in demonstrating a fully autonomous production system in row crops.

PTx Trimble is eyeing that same deep pool, although right now it appears to be dipping its toe in to check the temperature versus sending it with a full-on cannonball. Automating things such as tillage passes and grain carts are relatively simple at this point in the game. It’s those ultra-important practices such as planting and spraying where building farmer trust in the technology will drive adoption by the tech skeptics.

“We’ve got an evolution [in mind] and we think it’s a combination of two things. One is, how automated is that process? Because you’ve heard us talk for a number of years about applying smart features to a machine so we can automate that feature, and as you automate more features you can have the option of pulling the operator out, so one is tech up,” Hansotia says. “Another one is farmer back. If you look at our planter, it’s super automated, so it checks that box. But where is the farmer going to feel comfortable giving up control? Tillage is like ‘Well, if I get it wrong I can go back and fix it,’ but getting planting wrong? There’s nothing I can do to catch that back up. It’s not a technology problem but one of farmer confidence. So, we’ve got these laid out at the intersection of those two critical questions: Where can we find an autonomous technology solution and where can we build farmer trust fast?”

Key Takeaway

Building farmer trust in its newly imagined tech stack should be priority numero uno moving forward at PTx Trimble. How that work fares will likely have a huge impact on whether this latest transformation garners farmer buy in and, ultimately, increases its relevance in the future of autonomous farming.

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Three Final Destinations For Mineral’s Tech And Patents Named

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 12:07:54 GMT

After seven years of heading up Mineral, a subsidairy of Alphabet who is also the parent company of Google, focusing on developing technology for agriculture, Elliott Grant says this type of work is more like a marathon than a sprint.

And with Alphabet dispersing Mineral–its patents, ongoing work and team–Grant says it’s like passing the baton.

“We chose to pass the baton at this time because it’s the best way to maximize our impact in agriculture globally,” he says.

As of this week, we know what entities are picking up the technology, patents, and ideas from Mineral:

John Deere will acquire dozens of patents and a technology suite to support development of its See and Spray platform.
Google Research Africa, The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT will carry on the work setup by Mineral’s phenotyping methods.
As previously announced in July, Driscoll’s will acquire and embed Mineral’s yield forecasting and quality inspection tools.

“This is the fastest way to transfer our technology to other players and for them to pick the baton and go and to take it to the next leg,” Grant says. “We needed to work with world leaders in agribusiness who we felt had to capacity to pick up this technology that we developed because it’s powerful technology.”

John Deere provided the following statement: “John Deere has acquired a technology suite from Mineral. This includes patents, pending patents, plant images, and machine learning tools developed by Mineral, a subsidiary of Alphabet. These assets will support the development efforts of John Deere See & Spray solutions to be delivered to more growers. See & Spray technology allows John Deere sprayers to see, target, and kill in-season weeds using advanced cameras and machine learning that distinguishes crops from weeds and selectively target sprays only the weeds. That means less herbicide, less costs, and less impact to crops and land.”

In Mineral’s work—which never had a business model to be sold directly to farmers but rather made accessible via partnerships—Grant says the team concluded partners with access to data, hardware, or end users will be ideally placed to serve farmers and solve the problems specific to agriculture.

“Our mission has always been to make a meaningful, positive difference to the global food system - which we knew was an audacious, high-risk undertaking–so we would regularly ask ourselves: “is this the best way to maximize impact?” and “are we reaching the diversity of farmers we want to, worldwide?” We’ve shared before that we’ve been looking for new and innovative partnerships that can transcend traditional approaches,” Grant says.

He goes on to share that over the past 18 months, the pace of change in foundational artificial intelligence (AI) improved even more rapidly than expected. This caused the team to rethink the value and differentiation it was bringing to farmers.

“Therefore we selected organizations to pass the baton to which had the talent, data, market position, and recognized the acceleration that Mineral technologies brings,” Grant says.

He adds about the assets John Deere acquired, “We had developed ag-specific ML Ops tools that were optimized for the unique challenges of training and tuning high performance plant perception models. The tools allowed a 75% reduction in training time per epoch (i.e. one complete pass through the entire training data set), and slashed training time to less than two days for 100K images. We knew that every farm and every crop and every season are slightly different - so the ability to retrain and fine-tune quickly is critical to scaling to more farmers and more geographies. These custom ML Ops tools also produced more robust AI models (that means models that work in diverse environments, in uncontrolled lighting conditions, and situations that differ from the training data), which is critical for farmers to capture the economic benefits that will drive adoption of new technologies like precision spraying.”

In addition to the work on the model training tools, Mineral also built and deployed robots, apps, sensors and ingestion pipelines which added up to dramatically improved data collection speed, fidelity and quality.

“While it can be tempting to focus on observable hardware alone, scaling to reach every farmer and achieving the promise of precision hardware requires a full stack of capabilities that are mostly hidden from view,” Grant says.

When Mineral started, in six months the team could collect data, train the model and then release it. This past year, that same work was able to be done in five days time.

“In many ways, that’s been the breakthrough—we’ve radically changed the velocity and the speed at which we could build something. Now it’s up to these new partners to make it available commercially,” Grant says.

Grant sees in the near future when we won’t talk about how AI is used because it will be fully part of products and tools.

“We’re at the beginning of a huge transition for the ag industry, which is the integration of AI into agriculture,” Grant says. “If AI continues to develop at the pace it’s going today, in ten years from now, it’ll be a thousand times more powerful.”

As for the team and talent Mineral employed, Grant says they too will be valuable across different businesses in the industry.

“I am proud those Mineral technologies will enable and accelerate some of the most forward-thinking and consequential organizations in global agriculture: John Deere, Driscoll’s, and CIAT. I’m also proud that the team we assembled are dispersing their expertise into the broader ecosystem,” Grant said.

Google’s Parent Company Alphabet Disperses Its Ag Tech Subsidiary

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 12:19:13 GMT

Announced earlier today, Mineral, Alphabet’s ag company, will wind down its operations.

“Mineral will no longer be an Alphabet company, and our technology will live on inside of leading agribusinesses where they can have maximum impact,” said Mineral CEO Elliott Grant in a blog post.

Mineral was founded in 2018 as part of X, the moonshot factory of Alphabet, and it had about 100 team members.

What did Mineral develop and build:

• an image database of more than 17 crops in every stage of growth in multiple environments.

• A four-wheeled semi-autonomous rover platform with multiple configurations and the core functionality as a data collection machine.

• in-field harvest analysis and post-harvest crop condition ratings for berry crops in partnership with Driscoll’s

• a geospatial analysis platform that has collected more than 450 million acres of farmland.

• Phenotyping databases and analysis

• And additional machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies.

Here’s a link to previous coverage about Mineral.

Driscoll’s has confirmed it will license the tech it partnered with Mineral to develop.

“Mineral had partnered closely with Driscoll’s - the world’s leading berry company - to develop AI tools to improve crop phenotyping, better forecast yields, optimize quality inspections, and reduce food waste in the supply chain. Some of the technologies we developed have now been transferred to Driscoll’s and will be integrated into their systems to help achieve their sustainability ambitions. Driscoll’s is the first agribusiness to receive Mineral technology, and is a first step towards ensuring that our breakthrough technologies achieve the greatest impact,” Grant said.

In closing he gave an analogy of the company’s name to the how it can be applied as a verb in the agricultural context:

“In soil science, mineralization is the process by which the nutrients in organic matter are released in a form that makes them available to the plants around them. I think this is a fitting metaphor for the new chapter of Mineral - as our technologies will be mobilized into the agriculture ecosystem, with the goal of making it more sustainable, and more resilient.”

Machinery News: New Holland Announces Aftermarket Autonomy Partner, Layoffs Continue

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 17:39:23 GMT

Equipment Manufacturer Layoffs Roll On at AGCO, John Deere

As ag equipment companies continue to face weakening demand and a farmer user base discouraged by low commodity prices and high operating expenses, another round of job cuts was announced this week.

John Deere is handing out pink slips to 279 workers at its East Moline, Illinois, Harvester Works plant, according to WRAM 1330 AM in Monmouth, Illinois. The dismissed employees last day is August 30th, according to the report.

Combined with rounds of layoffs in Urbandale, Waterloo, and Ankeny, Iowa, John Deere has slashed just north of one thousand workers from its employment base over the last two months.

One of John Deere’s chief rivals in the large ag equipment space, Duluth, Georgia-based AGCO Corporation , confirmed this week that it will reduce it’s overall salaried workforce by about 6%. The company did not specify which of its locations will be affected by the cuts.

The company estimates that it will incur charges for one-time termination benefits of approximately $150 million to $200 million in connection with severance payments, employee benefits payouts, and related costs.

According to KSN.com in Wichita, Kansas, AGCO reps said the decision to reduce its workforce is not directly related to its shift in production to Mexico, which was announced earlier in June.

Meeting with a group of ag media this week at its 2024 Tech Day event in Salina, Kansas, AGCO President and CEO Eric Hansotia expressed his dismay in confirming the layoffs. He pointed to the cyclical nature of the ag equipment industry while pledging that his organization will uphold the affected workers dignity and respect as the process moves forward.

New Holland, Aftermarket Autonomy Startup Collaborate on Driverless Orchard Tractors

New Holland and Bluewhite, an autonomous technology company, announced a multi-phase partnership to collaborate on distribution, manufacturing and integration of Bluewhite’s autonomous solutions for New Holland tractors in North America.

The partnership will enable New Holland tractors to operate fully autonomously in orchards, vineyards and other specialty crop operations.

Now select New Holland dealers in the western U.S. have the rights to sell, distribute and service Bluewhites’s aftermarket kits for existing New Holland tractors.

Order writing will begin this summer, with future regional and global expansion to come.

New Holland says the capabilities of Bluewhite’s technology bolsters its strategy to bring autonomous solutions across all segments it serves, and it builds upon CNH’s acquisitions of Raven, Augmenta, and Hemisphere, which are driving New Holland’s autonomy offerings for row crop and broad acre farmers.

“The integration of Bluewhite into our technology stack allows our customers to access much-needed autonomous technology in an attainable aftermarket solution,” said Carlo Lambro, Brand President of New Holland.

Bluewhite, formerly Blue White Robotics, leverages AI, sensor fusion, advanced vehicle integration and precision implements control to help growers remotely manage their fleets and data. Bluewhite leadership says its autonomous farming technology has been field tested on multiple crops and tractor models across 150,000 acres in the U.S.

Founded in 2017 by Ben Alfi, Yair Shahar and Aviram Shmueli, Bluewhite is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with offices in Fresno, California.

“Our long-term partnership with CNH and New Holland combining autonomous technology with tractors and harvesters in the orchards and vineyards sector is a milestone in achieving our mission of making cutting-edge innovation accessible to the agriculture sector,” said Ben Alfi, Chief Executive Officer, Bluewhite.

New Holland and Bluewhite are also exploring future possibilities for factory-installed solutions.

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Nutrient Efficiency Comes Into Play

How Does Autonomous Machinery Stack Up Against Labor Costs on Midwest Row Crop Farms?

Survey Says: Smart Farming Has Big Impact On U.S. Farms, And There’s Room for More

The next big thing?

New Telemetry Platform Helps Farmers Unlock Efficiency Insights

Meet The Forge: Kelly Hills Unmanned Puts New Spin on Ag Tech Field Testing

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

Research to Results: Salin 247 Robot Advances Iowa Corn Strip Cropping Knowledge

Carbon Robotics adds autonomous tractor solution

Yamaha Ag Q&A: When Can Growers Buy Farm Robots? North America Rollout Explained

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

Robot Bees? Check Out This New Pollination Innovation

5 Tech Companies Embracing Electrification, Autonomy

John Deere Introducing Next Generation Perception Autonomy Kits

Machinery News: AE50 Innovation Winners, Deere Details Its U.S. Manufacturing Investments and More

We Asked, You Answered: What I’d Do With A Tesla Robot

Ag Tech News: Smart Farming Innovations Make Time Magazine List, Universities Advance Research

A Farmer Can Dream, Right? Tesla Robots As the Farm Labor Force of the Future?

Autonomy in Farming: What Manufacturers and Tech Companies Are Working On

AGCO Gives a Peek Under the Hood: 4 Prototypes Are Previewed

Selective Spraying With Symphony Vision

Autonomous Grain Cart

Electric Fendt Tractors

Autonomous Baler

John Deere Introduces Its First Add-On See & Spray Kit

A Robot To Replace The Need For Farmers To Go Inside the Grain Bin

How This One Technology Helped a Michigan Farmer Cut His Herbicide Use by 60%

Make The Most Of Your Resources With Financing And Automation

New Products: AGCO, Bayer, Case IH, Firestone Ag, Great Plains, New Holland, PTx Trimble and Solinftec

Planting A Flag: AGCO All-In On Mixed-Fleet Aftermarket Ag Tech

How is AGCO shifting gears?

Setting the Scene

Full Cycle Autonomy – Coming Soon

Another 2030 goalpost?

Questions Remain

Will Farms Be Able to Depend on Automation?

Key Takeaway

Related:

Three Final Destinations For Mineral’s Tech And Patents Named

Google’s Parent Company Alphabet Disperses Its Ag Tech Subsidiary

Machinery News: New Holland Announces Aftermarket Autonomy Partner, Layoffs Continue

Equipment Manufacturer Layoffs Roll On at AGCO, John Deere

New Holland, Aftermarket Autonomy Startup Collaborate on Driverless Orchard Tractors