Tillage Equipment

Soybean Gall Midge Emerges As Top-Tier Threat

Mon, 11 May 2026 20:19:27 GMT

Soybean gall midge is no longer just a curiosity or annoyance for many Midwest farmers. The pest is chewing into yield and profitability for soybean growers across parts of at least seven states – Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.

Iowa State University Entomologist Erin Hodgson reports the pest’s footprint is significant, present in at least 42% of the 45.4 million acres of soybeans farmers harvested across the seven states in 2025.

“At least 19 million soybean acres are potentially impacted by this pest,” Hodgson says, noting that the pest continues to spread. Eight new counties were confirmed in 2025, with five of those being in Iowa .

According to a recent farmer survey led by University of Nebraska Entomologist Doug Golick, the pest has become a major threat in parts of Nebraska. “In the last year or two, soybean gall midge is approaching as near high of concern as herbicide-resistant weeds for survey respondents,” Golick says.

Since 2018, the soybean gall midge has spread to 185 total counties in seven states, including five new counties in Iowa this past year, according to Erin Hodgson, Iowa State University Extension entomologist and professor.

(Erin Hodgson)

Look For Small Orange Or White Larvae

Damage from the insect starts at the base of the soybean plants, largely out of sight. Adult midges emerge from the ground in May and June, then seek out tiny fissures in young soybean plants near the soil line to lay eggs, according to Thales Rodrigues da Silva, a master’s student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

The larvae cause severe, localized yield losses from 20% to 100% loss along field edges and 17% to 50% reductions in entire fields average under heavy infestation, according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension. The larvae – small, orange worm-like pests – feed inside the base of the stem, causing plants to wither, die, and lodge (break), with damages sometimes extending 100+ feet into fields. Scouting for the pest should occur after the second trifoliate (V2) growth stage, according to the Crop Protection Network.

This damage in a soybean plant at the soil level shows the result of soybean gall midge larvae feeding.

(University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension)

Because the pest often feeds along field edges, the damage in affected plants is often mistaken for issues caused by compaction or herbicide injury, according to Stine Seed Company .

To confirm the pest’s presence, Stine agronomists recommend digging up compromised soybean plants and splitting open the stem. If white or orange larvae are found feeding within the inner layers, growers should check the Soybean Gall Midge Alert Network tracking system to determine whether the pest has been reported in their area. Next, they should contact their local Extension specialist to help confirm the diagnosis and report the finding if their county is not yet documented in their area.

Cultural Practices Show Promise

Unfortunately, there are few strategies to manage and control soybean gall midge, according to Tony Lenz, Stine technical agronomist.
With no labeled, consistently effective in-season insecticide program and no established treatment threshold, researchers are testing cultural and mechanical tactics that might give farmers at least partial relief.

Tillage ahead of planting — a tough sell in no-till systems — shows some promise in reducing early infestations in current-year soybean fields.

“Turns out that disking alone, at least in (our) study… did reduce infestation,” says Justin McMechan an entomologist and associate professor at UNL.

“There’s a significant reduction as we move from no-till to that… where it’s just disked and planted into, and then disking and hilling (a practice used in growing potatoes), which really is effective, because you’re covering up the infestation site,” McMechan adds.

He notes that even subtle changes in seedbed shape may help by covering fissures or altering microclimates at the stem base.

On planters running row cleaners, McMechan says adjustments at field edges might be one of the more accessible tools.

“There are not huge differences, but they are statistically significant,” he adds.

Field edge management has been another area of experimentation, including mowing or managing dense vegetation next to infested fields. Results are mixed, but McMechan says there are situations where mowing modestly cuts pressure.

“Nebraska saw on occasion where mowing would reduce infestation and lead to marginal yield benefit… we’re talking like 6-bushel differences,” he says, adding that weather and nearby corn canopy can override those gains.

There are no insecticides currently available to control soybean gall midge. A combination of cultural practices and mechanical efforts is likely the best option, for now, to stop or slow the pest.

(Justin McMechan)

Scientists Evaluate ‘Out-Of-The-Box’ Practices

Other work by researchers is pushing even further outside the box to find control measures. At UNL, graduate research assistant Kristin Heinrichs Stark is testing whether a biodegradable surface barrier called BioWrap can physically trap larvae in the soil and prevent emergence.

The work is early-stage and raises reasonable questions about cost and field-scale application rates, but it points to the kind of layered, non-chemical tactics Extension researchers say will likely be needed to address the pest.

Even as these cultural and physical strategies are developed, Hodgson reminds farmers that the ag industry still lacks any clear control option once larvae are inside the soybean stem.

“We really don’t have a treatment threshold, or a rescue treatment option at this time,” she says. “We know that the soybean gall midge certainly can cause yield losses, plant death, and that directly relates to yield. But we don’t really have great answers on like, how many plants does it take? How many larvae per plant (causes yield loss)?”

For now, farmers dealing with soybean gall midge are being asked to combine careful field scouting, crop rotation, and targeted cultural tactics to address the pest as the research community races to find answers and close those gaps.

Specialists from three Midwest universities provided the latest updates on soybean gall midge (SGM) this spring in a webinar, available at the link below:

Boost Your Bottom Line By Keeping Your Soils In Place

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:21:09 GMT

Not every cost on the farm shows up on an invoice. In the view of Eric Beckett, some of the most expensive losses corn and soybean growers face this spring will be invisible — soil carried away by winds moving across their fields.

Beckett, an agronomist with Sunrise FS, says a combination of windier springs, tighter margins and volatile fertilizer prices is forcing a reckoning with long-standing tillage and nutrient application habits. The goal for farmers, he contends, shouldn’t be just agronomic performance this season but risk management, as well.

“Anytime we drag a piece of tillage equipment across the field, we are essentially breaking down that soil aggregate into smaller aggregates,” Beckett says. “That makes soil more susceptible to loss.”

While Beckett isn’t calling for an end to tillage, he is urging farmers in Illinois and beyond to consider the “ramifications coming down the road” before making multiple passes to clean up winter annuals or level tile lines.

A Growing Storm in the Midwest

Beckett’s concerns are grounded in shifting weather patterns. Meteorologists like Victor Gensini at Northern Illinois University have noted a rise in the frequency of convective storms and damaging straight-line winds across the Midwest and Southeast.

Likewise, Nutrien principal atmospheric scientist Eric Snodgrass reports that the Midwest is in a rapid transition from La Niña to ENSO-neutral conditions. While this “swift exit” can open planting windows, it also creates erratic atmospheric patterns. High-velocity winds are expected to surge through the Mississippi and Missouri River valleys through early April.

Beckett offers a concerned reminder for farmers tempted to push through windy conditions: “You’ve paid good money for that fertilizer. Why would we go out there when it’s windy and we have no idea where that fertilizer is going to end up, especially if it’s a variable-rate application where we know specific areas of a field need those nutrients?”

Calculating the True Cost of a Pass

Beyond the risk of blowing nutrients, Beckett suggests farmers “crunch the numbers” on the physical cost of every pass. With diesel prices hovering around $5 a gallon currently and tractor leases reaching $300 to $400 per hour, the overhead of extra tillage adds up quickly.

Beyond hard costs, tillage in what are currently dry soils will create additional costs. Beckett describes the ground in his area as “dry as a bone” six to eight feet down.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, this isn’t just an east-central Illinois issue: 41% of the U.S. corn-producing area and 42% of soybean acreage are currently experiencing some degree of drought. In droughty conditions, every unnecessary tillage pass further dries out the seedbed and can impact topsoil.

Navigating the Label and the Law

Wind doesn’t just steal nutrients; it creates significant legal liability. Most herbicide labels cap applications at 10 mph—a limit that is a legally binding mandate for many products, not a suggestion.

“If you are applying outside those windows and something goes wrong, you can be held liable,” Beckett cautions. To navigate these tighter windows, he suggests focusing on three tactical areas:

Carrier Volume: Increasing from 5 or 10 gallons per acre to 15 or 20 gallons can improve coverage and reduce the risk of fine, drift-prone droplets.
The Dust Factor: Even if winds are within legal limits, fine soil particles can “tie up” product and carry it off-target before it even hits the ground.
Drift-Reduction Tools: While not a license to spray in a gale, modern spray tips and drift-reduction agents are underutilized tools that can significantly improve stewardship.

The New Era Of Documentation

As new requirements tied to the Endangered Species Act take hold, Beckett says the burden of proof for compliance falls squarely on the applicator—whether that is the farmer or a custom applicator.

“Each field has got to have its own documentation,” he says. “Even if it’s just a manila folder... fill out what your mitigation practices are, what your setbacks are. Have that established in a file so the applicator can add to it as the season progresses.”

This level of detail is necessary because the industry is “under the microscope.” In an era where every passerby has a smartphone camera, Beckett says an application in a dusty field can end up on social media in minutes.

Ultimately, Beckett is asking farmers to make a deliberate pause to question habits and routine applications.

“I’m not standing here saying that everybody’s got to put cover crops on and turn every field green,” he says. “But if, collectively, everybody took it a little bit more upon themselves, I think we’d be in a lot better shape.”

Beckett addresses the topic of managing tillage and spray applications in unpredictable weather conditions during a recent episode of the Illinois Field Advisor podcast. You can watch the complete podcast here .

Could Strip Tillage Be Your Key To Lower Costs And Higher Yields?

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:51:54 GMT

Strip tillage has provided Ron Verly with a valuable resource nearly every farmer wants more of during planting season: time.

The southwest Minnesota farmer says he is able to create a good seedbed while leaving residue between rows for erosion control and moisture conservation. The result is a significant head start on every season.

“I build strips in the fall, and then I plant right into those strips in the spring,” he says. “While [conventional till farmers] are trying to figure out which field they can go hit with the field cultivator, I’m already out setting my planter.”

Verly’s experience reflects a key benefit: using strip-till can reduce field time by nearly 50%, according to the Strip-Till Farmer 2025 Operational Benchmark Study.

Efficiency in Fuel and Horsepower

Five years ago, Verly was looking for a way to transition away from conventional tillage. The move to strip-till allowed him to reduce his high-horsepower needs and fuel consumption.

“With conventional till, we run a 500 QuadTrac, which can burn over 25 gallons of fuel per hour, and I’ve eliminated a pass,” Verly explains. “I’m running a smaller tractor with my strip-till. There’s a lot of variables to doing strip-till, but if you add them all together, there’s savings to be had.”

Beyond time and fuel, strip-tillage allows for better precision in nutrient management. Verly aligns his fertility program directly with the strip.

“My fertilizer is right where I’m putting my corn and soybean seed,” he says. This targeting helps him maximize every nutrient dollar spent on the ground his grandfather started farming more than 80 years ago.

Before making the switch to strip-till, Ken Ferrie advises farmers to balance pH levels since soil will no longer be mixed. “After you begin strip-tilling, you can then apply smaller lime applications more frequently,” notes Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

Navigating the Learning Curve

Transitioning to strip-till is a management shift that requires a flexible mindset. Garrett Asmus, a fifth-generation farmer from north-central Iowa, suggests that new adopters be prepared to deal more with residue.

“You’re not working the ground and hiding the residue, so there can be times when there’s a lot more of it on the surface to manage,” Asmus says. “Make sure your planter is equipped to handle it.”

Asmus also emphasizes the important role technology plays in the process: “GPS lines are very important with strip-till because you’re putting that narrow strip down (usually 6” to 10”), and then you have to come plant directly over that, so accuracy is really important.”

Verly agrees that “tinkering” is part of the process. “Every year is different. Some years it’s a breeze, and some years you’re out there struggling a little bit,” he says. “There’s a ton of adjustability on these machines, and you need to be willing to make adjustments for your conditions and for each season.”

Asmus, who farms with his dad, Harlan, says they started their journey to strip-till in 2002, working with an experienced custom operator who could teach them the ropes and minimize the potential for costly mistakes. They continued the arrangement for nearly a decade.

“At that point, we invested in our own strip-till bar, and went 100% strip-till,” Asmus recalls.

Timing and Resilience

While Verly and Asmus prefer to build strips in the fall, Ferrie notes that creating spring strips are an option, provided the weather cooperates.

“We’ve built strips in March and early April, and when we got rain to settle them we got a decent seedbed,” Ferrie says.

However, in dry years, he notes that spring-built strips can dry out too much — but there is a Plan B available. “If it’s too dry to plant in the strips, it’s usually dry enough to no-till,” he adds.

The Long-Term Payoff: Yield and Soil Health

Strip-till requires a “long game” strategy. Verly notes that the most valuable results can take a few seasons to achieve.

“You’re not going to see results the first year. You’re going to see results the third year, the fourth year, the fifth year,” he says.

For Verly, the proof is in the bin. Before the switch, he says his soybeans had hit a yield ceiling of 50 to 55 bushels. “By my fourth or fifth year with strip till, I was getting 70 to 72 bushels,” he says, adding he expects to see additional yield increases over time.

“Soil health equals plant health, plant health equals yield,” he says.

Is Strip-Till Right for You?

Ken Ferrie offers five questions for you to consider if you’re contemplating making a move to strip-till:

How well can you manage disease pressure?
Are you willing to take the time to adjust your planter for conditions in each field?
Can you control gully erosion in strips on rolling ground?
Can you control weeds with a burndown herbicide?
How will you manage traffic so you don’t drive over the strips with herbicide and fertilizer applications?

John Deere Unveils New High-HP 8-Series Tractors Alongside Key Planter and Combine Updates

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:04:15 GMT

John Deere is pushing its flagship 8 Series tractor into new territory, launching a ground‑up redesign that aims to give farmers 9 Series power in an 8 Series body — without sacrificing the maneuverability growers rely on for planting and row-crop work.

“We’re really excited to introduce this new line of 8R and 8RX tractors,” said Michael Porter, marketing manager during a media event at the company’s Austin, Texas, facility. “Our customers have been asking for a tractor that really fits this gap where we need the power of our 9 Series but still delivering the maneuverability and comfort of a row crop tractor.”

Bridging the Gap Between 8R and 9R
Until now, Deere’s 8R lineup topped out at 410 hp, with the 9 Series picking up from there. The new high‑horsepower 8R and 8RX models (444, 490 and 540, wheels and four‑track machines) slide in squarely between those platforms.

The goal: pull ever‑larger planters, high‑speed tillage tools and big manure tankers while still feeling like a row‑crop tractor.

“This needs to feel like an 8 Series,” Porter said. “It needs to turn super tight, feel nimble and not feel like a bigger tractor.”

JD14 Engine and ‘Punching Above Its Weight’
At the heart of the new tractors is the JD14 engine, borrowed from the 9 Series and dropped into an all-new 8-Series frame. Deere pairs that with an updated power strategy Porter says fundamentally changes how these tractors perform under load.

“We’re introducing what we call peak power IPM (Intelligent Power Management),” he said. “We’re taking our max engine horsepower and adding IPM to it to get an additional 40 horsepower on top of that which allows the 8R and 8RX 540 to max out at 634 hp under some conditions.”

Porter says the result is a machine that “punches outside of its weight class when it comes to power and performance, able to pull massive implements like DB90 planters, high-speed tillage tools
and large grain carts.

“This tractor has no problem pulling a 90‑foot high speed planter at 10‑plus mile an hour speeds,” Porter said, adding it can cover 1,200 acres a day under favorable conditions.

Off‑Board Electric Power at 56 Volts
Beyond raw horsepower, Deere is baking in electrical capability that ties tractor and planter more tightly together.

“This is also going to unlock our new [56V power] offboarding option,” Porter said of the Electronic Variable Transmission (EVT). “You’ll have one plug… that’ll power our electric row units straight from the tractor, really showcasing that ultimate planting solution.”

Instead of separate PTO or hydraulic power generators for modern electric planters, Deere’s vision is simple: plug the Deere planter into the Deere tractor and go.

Although the new 8R machines are visibly larger, Deere redesigned the frame, steering and ballast system around one non‑negotiable: “One thing we were not willing to sacrifice is the nimbleness and the feel of our row crop tractors,” Porter said. “We wanted it to turn like an 8 with the power of a 9.”

New John Deere Operator Experience
The new tractors are the first to receive Deere’s completely redesigned cab, CommandARMand drive controls, which will roll out across the 8 Series.

Highlights include:
· Push‑button start and a standardized left‑hand reverser
· A new seat with expanded adjustments, optional heating and massage, and ventilation
· Integrated wireless phone charger
· A new convenience display
· Simplified, highly configurable paddle switches and buttons on the CommandARM

Deere is also unifying drive controls into three new drive strategies (CommandX, CommandX Plus, and CommandX Pro). This suite allows operators to tailor their driving experience. Each level builds on the previous one unlocking additional features and customization to help meet each farmer’s needs.

To determine which new 8-Series tractor model will best fit your farming operation, contact your local John Deere dealer or visit deere.com.

New Planter Enhancements

John Deere is introducing several new planter enhancements – all designed to help farmers meet key agronomic success factors, including uniform emergence, uniform spacing, correct seed population and nutrient availability. Advancements in planter technology have been made in furrow application, furrow depth and residue management, uptime and logistics.

“Farmers look for agronomic success at planting as their entire season depends on it,” said Anthony Styczinski, marketing manager, planters and air seeders. “Increased input and seed costs demand we do everything we can to give the seed the best chance.”

Correct fertilizer application at the time the seed hits the ground is a part of the equation to give the seed the best possible start. Model year 2027 John Deere planters will have an option for a dual-product fertilizer system that allows operators to carry and apply product in-furrow and/or off to the side.

(John Deere)

Fertilizer Application Enhancements
Correct fertilizer application at the time the seed hits the ground is a part of the equation to give the seed the best possible start. Model year 2027 John Deere planters will have an option for a dual-product fertilizer system that allows operators to carry and apply product in-furrow and/or off to the side to give the corn plant the right nutrients at the right time of the growth stage, leading to higher corn yields.

The dual-product system includes both ExactShot and ExactRate. ExactShot is John Deere’s in-furrow application that delivers nutrients directly to the seed where they are used most efficiently. ExactShot saves up to 66% of in-furrow nutrient input. The second part of the dual system is ExactRate, which applies high-value fertilizer off to the side.

The combined system includes dual liquid tanks, and a dual set of stainless-steel fertilizer lines with pumps relocated under the tanks. Both liquid tanks have fertilizer-level sensing, making it easy for the operator to know how much product is available in each tank.

Another update is a new agitation system that keeps certain chemicals suspended and separated in the tank to ensure even product coverage. An auxiliary tank option enables the use of high-value micronutrients, biologicals, fungicides, and insecticides.

The dual fertilizer system is available from the factory on model year 2027 1775NT – 16/24R, and DB60 – 24R planters.

Furrow Optimization
“The importance of consistent seed depth and a clean furrow are critical to getting that seed off to the right start,” Styczinki said. “Studies show that uniform emergence can improve yield up to 20 bushels per acre, emphasizing the need to optimize the furrow as much as possible.”

New this year to John Deere planters is ExactDepth, an electric depth control that supports an in-cab on-the-go range of depth adjustments and individual row unit depth calibrations. ExactDepth also allows operators to optimize depth with prescriptions for each field and/or subfield zones.

Furrow residue has shown that one day of delayed corn emergence can reduce plant yield by 6%, on average. John Deere’s FurrowVision solution helps operators identify when residue is impacting the furrow, allowing them to manually optimize row cleaner settings. This system features three in-furrow cameras mounted on the planter that provide real-time sectional views of the furrow, as well as depth measurement readings, residue detection filter and additional quality map layers in the John Deere Operations Center.

Another new feature to improve furrow quality is Downforce Automation powered by FurrowVision, optimizing downforce settings and making it easier to create the best furrow in every field. Downforce Automation optimizes the amount of applied downforce by taking into consideration ground contact, soil resistance and furrow health as measured by FurrowVision.

Planting Logistics
Tight planting windows demand keeping the planter rolling as much as possible. Logistics is a new feature available through the John Deere Operations Center for those with the G5 Advanced license. Logistics provides real-time monitoring of equipment location, work status and product levels, keeping everyone on the farm informed and updated.

Combine and Front-End Equipment Updates

John Deere is making a wide range of updates and enhancements to its model year 2027 X9 and S7 combines and front-end equipment. Utilizing the latest in predictive and automated technologies, these new features promise to help farmers harvest under more diverse and dynamic crop conditions, utilize the automation across more crop types, and minimize the level of intervention required by the operator.

For model year 2027, Predictive Ground Speed Automation features Green Crop Detection. This new feature uses enhanced processing power and a highly trained algorithm to accurately detect green crops within an otherwise-mature stand. The result: The combine can adjusts its ground speed in response to a wider range of crop conditions, improving overall harvest efficiency.

(John Deere)

“These updates will enable our customers to achieve three critical goals: getting their crops out during tight harvest windows; helping less experienced operators perform better in the field; and achieving an efficient, high-quality harvest,” said Nathan Kramer, John Deere harvesting marketing manager.

The new model year 2027 combine features include:

Harvest Settings Automation updates
Harvest Settings Automation helps operators get into the field faster by automatically setting concave clearance, fan speed, rotor speed, sieve clearance and chaffer clearance, all based on the combine model, crop type and geolocation. After the operator inputs limits for grain loss, foreign material and broken grain, the system automatically adjusts the five combine settings to stay within the selected limits.

Harvest Settings Automation is currently available for corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, canola and rice. For model year 2027, Harvest Settings Automation will add lentils, peas, rye, triticale, oats and sunflowers to the list of crops from which producers can choose.

Predictive Ground Speed Automation updates
First offered for model year 2025, Predictive Ground Speed Automation controls the combine’s ground speed based on crop height and biomass measurements taken pre-harvest from satellite scans and from on-the-go measurements made by cab-mounted cameras.

Predictive Ground Speed Automation uses terrain maps to automatically adjust combine speed for sensitive areas like waterways, ditches, and terraces. Cab-mounted cameras add real-time detection of conditions such as down crops or dense weed patches, allowing precise ground speed regulation through these areas for optimal performance.

For model year 2027, Predictive Ground Speed Automation features Green Crop Detection, a new feature that uses enhanced processing power and a highly trained algorithm to accurately detect green crops within an otherwise-mature stand. Green Crop Detection allows Predictive Ground Speed Automation to adjust the combine’s ground speed in response to a wider range of crop conditions, improving overall harvest efficiency.

John Deere is also launching Precision Upgrade Combine Automation Packages allowing customers that purchased the Select Technology Package with a MY25 or newer S7 or X9 from the factory to upgrade to Premium or Ultimate Technology Packages. Farmers who purchased the Premium Technology Package from the factory now have the option to upgrade to the Ultimate Technology Package.

Other MY27 features include:
Tru-Threshconcaves with remote concave and separator grate adjustment. New half-length concaves allow modular installation, improved durability and are compatible with new model year 2027 X9 combines.

HarvestLab Install Ready. All model year 2027 X9 combines will feature factory pre-cut openings in the clean grain elevator suitable for HarvestLab mounting making installation easier.

JDLink Boost. Both X9 and S7 combines can come equipped with a JDLink Boost receiver from the factory providing satellite connectivity in areas with limited or no mobile connectivity.

Power folding ladder. All model year 2027 John Deere X9 and S7 combines will feature a new power folding ladder option similar to those available on select John Deere sprayers.

New 35’ (10.7m) unloading auger. The new unloading auger on the X9 offers an additional 4ft (1.22m) of clearance between the header and unloading auger, enabling the use of wider headers.

New 550-bushel grain tank capacity. The optional 550-bushel grain tank on the X9 allows for longer time between unloads, more capacity when opening fields, and includes heavy-duty final drives.

To learn more about the new John Deere planter options, combine enhancements and front-end equipment updates contact your local John Deere dealer or visit deere.com.

Ken Ferrie: Answers To Tough Questions On Vertical Tillage

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:00:27 GMT

Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist, recently fielded several questions from farmers during a virtual agronomic forum to help reset how they think about tillage, soil structure and long-term crop performance.

Following is the first question, which came in from a farmer in northeast South Dakota. The grower explains that some of his acres were disk-ripped last fall while others were chisel plowed. This spring, he plans to use either a high-speed disk or a VT super coulter to finish and ready the seedbed in those fields. He asks Ferrie which tool would be the best one to use.

Start By Assessing Fall Tillage Results

If the goal is to go with vertical tillage this spring, Ferrie advises the farmer to first confirm that his fall tillage achieved full-width shatter in the top 4" to 6" of soil.

He advises the farmer on how to go about the process of evaluation:
1. Raise the front cutters on the fall tool so residue can still flow but so the blades aren’t doing most of the tillage.
2. Then, dig behind the implement and look for shattering across the full width of the machine, 4 to 6 inches deep.
3. Once full-width shatter is verified, lower the cutters only enough to hit the residue level you want on top, not to drive the tillage.

He offers a practical rule of thumb: tillage depth ≈ half the shank spacing.

On a chisel plow at 14” to 16" spacing, that means running 7” to 8" deep, which is very achievable, Ferrie says.
On a disk ripper at 30" spacing, that would require 15" deep tillage—and is where most farms hit the wall on horsepower or traction, he notes.

Ferrie points out that many disk rippers were built for horizontal systems, where columns of untilled soil are left from the surface down. In a horizontal program, a spring horizontal pass shears off those columns and smooths everything for planting.

Why Tool Choice Depends On Soil Structure

This is where the tool decision becomes critical. Ferrie explains:

The VT super coulter “levels from the top” but does not knock out those vertical columns of untilled soil left by horizontal fall tools.
If the columns remain, they create a rough ride and uneven crop development: Corn over shattered, well-structured soil grows faster. Corn rooted in intact, dense columns lags behind.

Ferrie offers the farmer a simple in-field test for evaluation purposes: drive a pickup crossways over the fields where fall tillage was done.

“If the pickup bounces hard, and you feel it in the dash and your seat, you do not have full-width shatter—columns are still intact. In that case, use the high-speed disk to shear those columns horizontally,” Ferrie advises.

If the ride feels “soft, squishy, and smooth,” with no bouncing, you’re likely looking at good full-width shatter. Under those conditions, Ferrie advises going with the VT super coulter, because the underlying soil structure is already fairly consistent.

Check out Ferrie’s latest Boots In The Field podcast to learn his answer to these two additional questions:

Does vertical tillage on wet soil create a drastic density layer?
If I don’t put ‘gang angle’ on my vertical harrow, I can’t get the weeds out. How can I manage weeds?”

Get Ferrie’s insightful and detailed answers to those questions here:

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

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:01:39 GMT

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

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

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

Autonomy Creates New Efficiencies

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

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

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

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

(Rhonda Brooks)

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

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

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

See & Spray Upgrades

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

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

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

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

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

Computing Power Gets Updated

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

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

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

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

Additional Enhancements

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

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

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

Updated Name for DA Series Applicators

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

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

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

Drought Conditions Require Careful Attention To Fall Tillage Practices

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:57:39 GMT

With harvest now in the rearview mirror in many areas, farmers are focusing their attention on fall tillage. The soil type you’re working in and where you farm are making a big difference on how fall tillage is going, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

Some fields in Illinois and surrounding states that had excessive rainfall last spring have ruts and compaction to address but are currently in the midst of D2 and D3 drought levels. With that challenge in mind, Here’s a look at some tillage options by system:

Strip-Till: In lighter soils – particularly light silt loams – Ferrie says farmers are creating good strip-till berms, with few to no chunks or clods that will have to be addressed next spring.

“These will mellow out and create a pretty decent seedbed next spring. Even though the soil is hard and dried out, the lighter soils are stripping nice,” he reports.

That’s not the case where farmers are working heavier ground with clay to clay-loam soils. Strip tilling in these soils is creating a rougher environment that Ferrie is afraid will lead to some tough seedbeds next spring.

“If you’re running a strip freshener next spring, much of this problem can be corrected, but only if you’re running that freshener before these large clods become dried clods in the spring,” he says. “Clods that get smashed into the furrow by the planter next spring will create some germination issues.”

If you use a strip freshener, one avenue Ferrie says you might consider is to bypass the fall strips and just freshen them in the spring to achieve a good seedbed. But if conditions continue to be dry going into next spring, he would advise farmers to conserve available moisture and just no-till the field.

Conventional-till: To eliminate ruts in conventional-till, use a chisel plow or disk ripper on cornstalks, then follow with a leveling pass next spring. Run a chisel plow at a slight angle across the wheel tracks to break up soil compaction.

In bean stubble with 4" ruts, use a soil finisher and level in the spring. If ruts are 6" to 8", use a chisel plow to fill them in first. If possible, spot chisel to fix only the areas in the field with ruts. Follow with a soil finisher pass next spring. Use aerial imagery from the growing season to help determine whether you can patch the field or if it all needs to be worked.

Vertical-till: In a corn-to-soybean rotation with ruts or severe pinch rows, use a chisel plow in the cornstalks followed by a vertical-till leveling pass next spring. When using a chisel plow, make sure you achieve full width shatter from shank to shank for optimum results, Ferrie says.

In a soybean-to-corn rotation, use an in-line ripper in bean stubble when dealing with pinch rows and 4" ruts. Run the in-line ripper at an angle to make sure you cross the ruts or pinch rows. If you run with the rows, it might not bust wheel tracks apart; it will only pick them up and set them back down. In these scenarios, it will likely take two passes with a vertical-till leveling tool next spring to eliminate the tracks.

In 6" to 8" ruts, don’t use an in-line ripper. Instead, Ferrie suggests using a chisel plow. If ruts are spotty, chisel them in first and then in-line rip the entire field, leaving a large portion of the field covered in residue. If deep ruts appear across the entire field, run the chisel plow across it all.

Be sure to respect land contour to eliminate erosion.

Deep ruts usually aren’t an issue in strip-till and no-till fields because the soil is more firm. However, take action to fix tracks and 2" to 4" ruts, as the benefits far outweigh the risks.

No-till: Ruts usually aren’t too big of an issue in no-till fields because the soil is firm. However, don’t let a 4" rut or pinch rows fool you. Both can be hard on ear counts the following year.

If you’re dealing with wheel tracks in a no-till soybean scenario, there’s a good chance freezing and thawing paired with a vertical-harrow tool will do the trick. If fixed, you can return to no-till the following year.

With 4" to 6" ruts in cornstalks followed by soybeans, plan to shallow chisel the field to achieve full width shatter and then level with a vertical harrow. Once fixed, the field can return to no-till the following year.

In soybean stubble with ruts in small portions of the field, patch it with tillage and continue to no-till the rest of the field. If pinch rows or ruts are present across the entire field, use vertical tillage to address the problem and then return to no-till in future years.

“Ultimately, in order to avoid long-term yield effects, fields might have to come out of no-till or strip-till to fix ruts and compaction issues,” Ferrie says. “Ruts often show up in aerial imagery for two to three years. As soon as the problems are fixed, the field can return to no-till or strip-till.”

Anhydrous Ammonia Considerations In Dry Soils
Without some rainfall in areas suffering from drought, Ferrie is concerned anhydrous ammonia (NH3) applications will be challenging to seal. In some cases, when growers are smelling ammonia a day after application, that means the product is making its way to the soil surface and being lost.

Ferrie says you should be able to stand out in the field as NH3 is applied and not see it or smell it. That was not the case this past week in some central Illinois fields.

“I saw one field that had cracks big enough that you could put your hand down in them. The anhydrous bar was not only smoking around the knives, gas was coming out through the cracks in the soil between the knives,” Ferrie reports.

Anhydrous ammonia will move in soils until it finds enough soil moisture to convert from ammonia to ammonium. In dry soils, an inhibitor will be ineffective because it is designed to stop nitrification and not volatility.

“That’s why growers wonder why they can smell ammonia leaking out of a dry soil when they use N-Serve. It doesn’t work like that. You’re not protected against volatility,” Ferrie explains.

Instead, N-Serve acts to slow down the bacteria that converts ammonium to nitrate, keeping nitrogen in the ammonium form longer.

European Corn Borer Populations Rebuild
Ferrie says he had a number of farmers call in this fall regarding certain hybrids that were dropping ears. Most of the fields contained non-GMO hybrids, and in many cases the problem was caused by European corn borer and the hybrid was not at fault.

Ferrie advises farmers to inspect ears from the fields in question, if still available, for telltale signs of the pest. “Look at that butt of the ear in the shank,” he says. “Corn borer will leave a tunnel in the shank, or through the center of the cob, coming out the butt of the ear into the shank.”

Ferrie says he is seeing populations of the pest starting to rebuild in areas where non-GMO corn has been grown multiple years.

“Corn borers have been gone so long, most growers have forgotten about them, or they’re too young to have farmed when corn borer was a threat,” he explains. “Inspecting some ears now will give you insights on what you’re dealing with and a leg up on what you need to plan for next season.”

Learn more of Ken Ferrie’s recommendations on how to address tillage, NH3 and pest control in his latest episode of Boots In The Field:

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Don't End Up In The Ditch! Update Your GPS Guidance Lines For 2026

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 16:53:34 GMT

Farmers who use a local RTK network or state-run Real Time Network (RTN) — Iowa and Ohio both offer these signals — for auto steer and GPS guidance systems will need to recapture new GPS coordinates for field boundaries and A-B lines before spring planting.

That’s because The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) will soon replace two outdated reference frames, NAD 83 and NAVD 88, with a new corrections datum. The shift could knock your current A-B lines and GPS field boundaries off by anywhere from 1 to 4 meters, according to a pair of Iowa State University Extension precision ag specialists.

The Ohio State University Extension and FABE professor Dr. John Fulton issued a similar warning last fall at the Ohio Farm Science Review.

Iowa State University precision ag engineer Luke Fuhrer and digital Extension specialist Doug Houser say farmers using a major commercial satellite RTK network, such as those offered by John Deere and Trimble, should be OK for 2026.

Farmers who need to make quick updates to field boundaries or A-B lines, or check on the potential impact to existing telematics data this winter, are being told to use the free NGS Coordinate Conversion and Transformation Tool (NCAT) to shift their GPS coordinates from NAD 83/NAVD 88 to NATRF2022.

Fuhrer and Houser also want you to consider:

Physically recollecting GPS coordinates for field boundaries, control points or benchmarks using a system aligned to the new datum.
Recalculating your historical data using updated reference points or transformation software.

Example Scenario

(John Deere/Mel Koltai)

The Iowa State researchers share the following scenario as an example of a farmer who will need to make updates before spring planting:

“A farmer in eastern Iowa has been using a local RTK base station tied to NAD 83 to map field boundaries with sub-inch accuracy to avoid a neighbor’s fence line.

“After 2026, the new NATRF2022 datum will shift those GPS-defined boundaries by several feet. While the fence hasn’t moved, the guidance lines will now show up partially in the neighbor’s field. Without correction, auto-steer will drift across actual property lines.”

Before spring 2026, Fuhrer and Houser want this farmer to:

Back up all current GPS files and data.
Talk to his/her equipment dealer about firmware updates or new coordinate system support.
Use NCAT or dealer-provided tools to test a few key points and see how much they move.
Consider a quick resurvey for high-value areas.

For more info, check out the NGS “Get Prepared” resource here .

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

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:57:38 GMT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Additional Information

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

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

Healthcare benefits employees can receive during a layoff include: 

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

Other benefits laid-off employees may receive include: 

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

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

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:48:46 GMT

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

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

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

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

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

MSN.com screenshot

(MSN.com)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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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FTC vs. John Deere: Two Experts Answer Key Questions

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 21:30:02 GMT

On Jan. 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court accusing John Deere of creating and presiding over a monopolistic and anti-competitive repair and dealer service system that puts farmers and independent repair professionals at an unfair disadvantage.

The news of this legal action has sent shock-waves through the ag equipment world. Deere has since offered an official statement condemning the action as “meritless…baseless…brazen partisanship.”

Incoming FTC chair, commissioner Andrew Ferguson, who has been appointed to head up the agency under President Trump, issued a statement that simultaneously recognizes the importance of allowing farmers to diagnose and fix their machines while indicating he disagrees with the decision to file the lawsuit. Fergusons’ statement was cosigned by fellow FTC commissioner Melissa Holyoak.

What happens next?
According to a post at FTC.gov, once the agency files a lawsuit the respondent – in this case, John Deere – has the right to contest the charges. FTC may then issue a final order, which can be appealed to the courts. The agency may also seek civil (i.e. financial) damages or request an injunction against Deere.

Plaintiff’s counsel have requested an injunction against John Deere. The lawsuit expressly asks for “a permanent injunction and other equitable relief against Deere to prevent its unlawful conduct in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act” along with several state statutes in Illinois and Minnesota.

The Interviews
Now that we’ve set the stage, here is what two experts who have paid close attention to the case have to say about it:

James Kovacs is an antitrust attorney with Shinder Cantor Lerner (SLC), a national litigation firm that specializes in antitrust law.

Q: Is what FTC is accusing Deere of difficult to prove in a court of law?

A: “This is actually a very interesting topic that has been going on now for a number of decades, called right to repair. And right to repair within the antitrust space, which is where I practice, has to do with whether or not restrictions placed by the original equipment manufacturer, in this case John Deere, and what we call an aftermarket, which are the areas in which people compete for repair or service, whether those, you know, aftermarkets are being harmed. And so looking at whether people cannot either independently repair their own equipment or whether independent retailers or repair centers are also restricted as well. With these cases, really any monopolization case is challenging, but here I will say that the practices of John Deere, I think, are quite open and notorious.

“For a long time, people have been aware that farmers have been restricted from repairing their farm equipment. There are a variety of means, most of which are sort of technical issues in which the data and information necessary to perform the repair or the tool, which I believe is called the Service Advisor, has been restricted. And so, when the farmer or the independent repair center goes to fix the John Deere equipment, they are not able to access the necessary technical information to complete the job. And now the farmer can only do those types of repairs through a John Deere retailer, an authorized retailer.

“And so, this type of conduct within the right to repair market dates back to cases in the 1990s, in particular, with Kodak printers. And it can be found to be anti-competitive, wherein there’s an entity with basically complete control over the repair market who applies these types of restrictions. So, this is not something that is uncommon. And it’s something that’s seen quite an uptick in interest since the Biden Administration made it a priority. And when the FTC issued their initial report, called Nixing The Fix, that sort of got the ball rolling on the FTC’s interest in these types of cases.”

Q: In your opinion, does FTC have a strong case here?

A: “In my experience, the FTC does not bring complaints unless they feel like there are strong grounds to do so. Again, I also think there are a couple key factors at play here. One, I think the public is becoming quite aware of John Deere’s practices. I know that there are several reports and public sources out there who have spoken about these issues and their impact on farmers and their farming equipment.

“The second aspect to keep in mind is there is also a private litigation against John Deere alleging the same practices. That case has proceeded past a motion to dismiss. And so, what that means is the allegations have been proven to be sufficient to allow the parties to proceed into discovery. And I think that gives credence to the fact these claims are not necessarily merit-less at all. But in fact, people who have been looking at these issues believe there are merits to these claims. And I think the FTC does not typically act unless they believe strongly that an issue could be problematic.”

Q: FTC, through their legal team, has requested an injunction against Deere along with their co-plaintiffs, the state attorney generals in Illinois and Minnesota. Let’s say I’m a farmer in Illinois or Minnesota, and I’m using Deere equipment. I may be looking to have some repairs made before spring planting by a John Deere dealer. Could there be implications at play for those users?

A: “I think it’s important to note that the FTC’s jurisdiction is nationwide. And so, what the FTC is seeking through its injunctive relief, as I understand it, is access to what they call the ‘full function Service Advisor (program).’ As of right now, there is sort of an incomplete Service Advisor that the independent repair pros and the farmers have access to, but that doesn’t give them the full suite of options to repair all the needs of their farming equipment. And the allegation is that John Deere has withheld some of this technical information out of a desire to sort of capture the repair market under the injunctive relief.

“As I understand it, if the FTC were to be successful in any litigation and a jury ultimately found in their favor, then ultimately the farmers would be able to get access to this full Service Advisor tool and therefore be able to complete more repairs. Whether or not John Deere comes up with additional ways of restricting repairs is going to be open to interpretation, but at least this is a very specific injunctive relief. And there’s also sort of broader language to sort of prevent them from continuing this unlawful conduct. And so, I think it could be substantial relief.”

Willie Cade is a Washington, D.C., lobbyist and Right to Repair advocate. His grandfather was on the board at John Deere and worked for the company as a chief engineer. He can be reached by email at willie@graceful.solutions .

Q: What have you learned about this legal action that sticks out to you?

A: “A couple of things really stick out in my mind. No. 1, deep into the filing, around paragraph 111, they talk about how this monopolization of repair actually affects all repairs.

“Yes, it’s not monopolization of every repair, but it affects the price of every repair, which is remarkable. And they really call it a monopoly. They’re flat out about it. I love the way they took the time – we initially filed the complaint with the FTC and I worked on that with the attorneys that filed it three years ago. So they did their homework and they’ve done a really good job. And I really recommend to the farmers who really care about this issue, that they read the complaint because it reads really well. It reads like they know the industry, like they know what they’re talking about and that kind of thing.

“The other thing that was kind of interesting is, is they have lots (of evidence). They have a number of John Deere executives on record saying that, yeah, we knew we were doing this. So, I mean, they’ve really nailed it from that point of view. And when you look at the dissenting opinion from the two Republican commissioners, it’s a non-dissent dissent. There really was no objection to the substance of the suit, just the timing.”

Q: Are you aware of any other major farm machinery companies that might be engaged in similar conduct?

A: “They’re all doing it. They all use the same similar kind of technology — the CAN bus. Caterpillar is a little different because it’s not a CAN bus, it’s a hub. But those are just technical details. They’re still wanting to, I assert, illegally control the consumer after they sell the product. That’s a legal concept called tying. And tying has been illegal for almost a century now. And the electronics allow you to do it today where you weren’t able to do it before, other than physically. So we’re going to nail this. It’s going to take a year or two and then we’re going to move on. We’re going to move on to some even more important issues in agriculture. But I won’t tell you what that is yet.”

Q: Could you see this becoming sort of a win-win situation, where the farmers win out on this and even Deere comes out of this looking somewhat okay and maybe better for the long term?

A: “Well, here’s the interesting thing. Due to the lack of rights to repair their own farm equipment, farmers stand to lose $4.2 billion a year. About 20% of that is realized in higher prices for repair and services. The rest is in lost yield. So, could you imagine if farmers could get that rough number, that $3.8 billion back or even $3.7 billion back? And it’s all profit, by the way. By the time you get the yield, it’s all profit. If they could get that as profit, of course John Deere is going to do better with sales.”

Watch this video for additional coverage from the Jan. 18, 2025, episode of U.S. Farm Report.

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BREAKING: FTC Files Right to Repair Lawsuit, John Deere Issues Statement

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 18:37:23 GMT

It is bone-chillingly cold throughout the Midwest, yet the Right to Repair issue is heating up once again.

Farm Journal Washington correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer learned early Wednesday morning that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is filing a lawsuit against Deere & Co. for allegedly violating U.S. competition laws.

The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 15, 2025, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Western Division. You can review the redacted filing by clicking here.

Update (6:31 pm CST): John Deere has released a statement vowing to fight the lawsuit, characterizing the FTC’s claims as “baseless” and “meritless.” It can be viewed here.

Wiesemeyer shared the following summary of key points from Deere’s response:

Commitment to repair access: John Deere emphasized its long-standing dedication to customer self-repair, noting its history of publishing manuals, selling parts directly, and providing digital tools like Customer Service ADVISOR.
Defense of innovation: The company stated that the lawsuit “punishes innovation and pro-competitive product design.”
Settlement efforts: John Deere disclosed ongoing settlement negotiations with the FTC prior to the lawsuit and criticized the agency for relying on “inaccurate information and assumptions.”
Recent initiatives: Highlights included the launch of Equipment Mobile in 2023, upcoming upgrades to the John Deere Operations Center, and a pilot program to enhance farmer’s repair options.

RELATED: What Does Right to Repair Really Mean?

What happens next?
According to a post at FTC.gov, once the agency files a lawsuit the respondent – in this case, John Deere – has the right to contest the charges. FTC may then issue a final order, which can be appealed to the courts. The agency may also seek civil (i.e. financial) damages or request an injunction against Deere.

According to the Jan. 15 filing, Plaintiff’s counsel has asked for an injunction against John Deere. The lawsuit requests “a permanent injunction and other equitable relief against Deere to prevent its unlawful conduct in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act” along with several state statutes in Illinois and Minnesota.

Farm Journal has reached out to its contacts in the ag law realm to find out what the implications are if an injunction is granted against Deere in Illinois and Minnesota, and what that would mean for Deere customers in those states. We’ll update with more information as soon as we have it.

Why is FTC filing against Deere?
Reuters and other news sources confirm the agency has been actively investigating John Deere since 2021 .

Weisemeyer has been following the situation closely. He has learned the agency claims Deere’s equipment design often necessitates proprietary software available only to authorized dealers, which in turn limits farmers and independent repair shop’s ability to perform repairs.

Deere had previously agreed in January 2023, through an accord with the American Farm Bureau Federation, to expand access to its repair tools, but according to Weisemeyer and reporting from Bloomberg, concerns over compliance with that agreement persist.

According to reporting from online publication Agriculture Dive, a court last year ruled against the heavy equipment giant’s bid to dismiss a similar lawsuit from a group of farmers.

In yet another twist in this ongoing saga, FTC Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson has issued a dissenting opinion, which is cosigned by FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak. President Trump announced on Dec. 10 that Ferguson will serve as the new Chair of the FTC under his administration.

You can review that dissenting opinion here.

Deere’s news release on expanding self-repair solutions
On Jan., 14, 2025, John Deere issued a news release outlining its commitment to expanding access to various digital tools and resources to help independent repair technicians and farmers diagnose equipment and make repairs.

The full statement is posted to Deere’s online newsroom.

The statement details what Deere calls its “Commitment to Repairability” and includes a list of tools that are available today to “support customers throughout their machine ownership and repair journey.”

Deere also writes that a “latest addition to Deere’s suite of digital solutions will further empower customers and independent repair technicians by, among other things, enabling them to reprogram Deere-manufactured electronic controllers.” The new capabilities are being integrated into the John Deere Operation’s Center, Deere adds, and will “offer more comprehensive solutions for diagnosing and repairing equipment while ensuring machine reliability, safety, and compliance.”

The manufacturer also says it will have additional announcements regarding a “customer and independent repair technician pilot” which is due to launch in the U.S. and Canada by the second half of 2025.

The news release directs interested parties to visit Deere.com/repair for more information.

Your Next Read: 5 Tech Companies Embracing Electrification, Autonomy

John Deere-Starlink Satellite Service Available Now, New High-Speed Disk Series Debuts

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 15:17:04 GMT

John Deere announced the release of JDLink Boost, a satellite connectivity solution designed to work in fields with little to no cellular coverage, and a new high speed disk tillage solution.

The new JDLink Boost kit supports the partnership between John Deere and Starlink by SpaceX network.

Deere reps say JDLink Boost will benefit farmers operating in fields where cellular coverage is limited or unreliable by providing a secure and faster connection along with real-time access to machine and agronomic data. This improved connectivity enables more timely decision-making regarding irrigation, fertilization, pest control and harvesting.

You can read more about JDLink Boost here. The news release does not detail how the new service will be priced. Reach out to you local John Deere dealer for more information.

New High-Speed Disk Series

John Deere announced a new lineup of high-speed disks, a dual-season tool that it says provides excellent field finish and residue management. It also comes autonomy ready from the factory, Deere says.

(Steve Dolan )

Deere’s new high-speed disk line replaces the largest models from the 2680H series, according to a company press release. Available in widths ranging from 25’ to 45’, Deere says there is a disk size that fits nearly any tractor and farm.

The new high-speed disk line offers improved residue flow, helping reduce plugging in tough tillage conditions such as high field moisture or high residue situations. In the new model, an additional 4” was added between the disk and the finishing basket, which helps provide better overall residue flow.

The high-speed disks come autonomy ready in-base from the factory, and are equipped from the factory with a receiver mast, harnessing, lighting package and TruSet.

Visit your local John Deere dealer or deere.com for information on the full line of tillage equipment.

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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Ferrie: Farmers Are Strip-Tilling Covers Now. Is That A Good Idea?

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 15:12:20 GMT

With good weather conditions across much of the Midwest, farmers are working on fall tillage and fertility applications.

Ken Ferrie says many growers in central Illinois are telling him how challenging tillage is this fall. Many fields are dry and the ground is hard, making equipment tough to pull and achieve full shatter.

“Farmers are burning up points, shear bolts and diesel fuel,” he says.

His agronomic crew at Crop-Tech Consulting, near Heyworth, Ill., was putting in tillage plots this week and had some similar challenges as local farmers.

“I was the parts runner for the team and went to three different places only to find that everyone was out of grade five shear bolts,” he says, noting that’s an indication of how tough area soils are.

For farmers in a vertical tillage program, he says to remember the golden rule: “You need full-width shatter, meaning you will need to add ballasts to the tractor and shift down if need be. In some cases, you may need to

flip the outside shanks on your seven-shank rippers and make them five shanks to get the job done,” he adds.

Is Strip Tillage A Solution?
Some farmers are strip tilling through cover crops, a move that Ferrie believes is partly due to their disappointment over yield results in fields this season. He believes strip tillage in those fields can potentially help corn yields by reducing some of the allopathic issues and carbon penalty issues that are present.

“It does allow you to let the covers grow longer, and while it does reduce some of the agronomic issues, it doesn’t completely remove them,” he cautions.

Strip tillage ahead of soybeans has some of the same benefits: Beans get out of the ground faster and are not as affected by the carbon penalty of a decomposing cover crop. However, if the decision to use strip tillage ahead of soybeans is a practice change, it needs to be weighed against the original plan.

Ferrie says If the plan was to plant narrow-row soybeans, and you’re now switching to wide-row beans, there are a couple things to think through:

1. First, evaluate the potential impact on yield outcomes in 2024.

Based on Farm Journal Test Plot plot research in previous years, narrow-row soybeans tend to yield more than wide-row beans.

“This yield gain is higher in dry years when the 30-inch rows have trouble closing, like in this year, when the narrow-row beans were out-doing wide-row beans by 6 bushels to 8 bushels per acre in our side by side trials,” he says.

2. Second, and perhaps more importantly, consider the impact of tilling covers on weed management.

“Due to prolonged sunlight reaching the ground, our wide-row beans here tend to have late breaks in waterhemp,” Ferrie reports. “When these waterhemp break, many times it is too late to fix them with a herbicide because we’re already in the mid-R growth stages in the beans, especially if we planted them early.

So, you’re left with few options – possible cultivation, weed zapping or walking the weeds out.”

For growers already using 30-inch rows with soybeans, this is likely a non-issue. But for growers going to 30-inch rows for the first time and, on top of that, growing non-GMO soybeans, Ferrie says to be cautious.

“Have a long talk with your chemical supplier on how you’re going to manage these weeds,” he says. “A cover crop will help with the winter annuals but not the late-breaking waterhemp.”

As a point of reference, Ferrie says the combination of cover crops and dry weather conditions locked-up soybeans this season for three to four weeks, which led to more weed issues in 30-inch rows.

“Again, strip tilling through the covers will help some but will not eliminate all the issues,” he emphasizes. “I am seeing a lot of nice strip-tilled fields, though. This stretch of good weather has created a window to create some of the nicest strips we’ve seen in a while. This will be a big plus for next spring,” he adds.

Ferrie provides additional insights on strip tillage in cover crops, as well as a brief report on initial test-plot results, in this week’s Boots In The Field podcast available below:

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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.

Your Next Read: Is This John Deere? Rare Photo Discovered of Agriculture Icon

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.

6 Ways to Test Drive and Profit from Technology

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Port of Baltimore Shuttered: What Does It Mean for Farm Equipment?

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 12:16:55 GMT

Farm Journal offers our sincere condolences to the families of the six victims who presumably have lost their lives in this accident, as well as all of the brave first responders and all affected in the aftermath. We have reached out to several of the OEMs for comments or updates regarding equipment delivery times. We’ll update this post as more information becomes available.

The now shuttered Port of Baltimore is an economic behemoth on the East Coast, handling $80 billion in international import traffic just last year alone.

As the East Coasts’ busiest automobile import hub, it stands to reason that ag machinery produced overseas makes the same main channel journey the DALI was attempting before tragically colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has expressed concern that there will be far-reaching supply chain implications if that crucial access point remains choked off.

Robert Hanfield, professor of supply chain management at North Carolina State University, told ABC 11 News in Baltimore that the port is a significant import point for bulk commodities as well as farm equipment like tractors, combines, and hay balers.

Via CNN.com , Maryland Governor Wes Moore says the port indirectly employs over 100,000 people and imports 51 million tons of foreign cargo - more cars, trucks, and agricultural equipment than any other port in the country.

Immediate estimates have the port closed off through December 2024, but crews will surely try to get the wreckage cleared and reopen the main channel as soon as possible. On Sunday morning, Buttigieg told CBS’ Face The Nation that “officials don’t yet have a timeline for reopening the channel or rebuilding the bridge.”

As of 7am ET on March 27, maritime traffic tracking app Marine Traffic showed a constellation of 11 large container vessels from a number of international ports queued just south of the closure near the Port of Annapolis. Seventeen large carriers are also holding near Norfolk, Virginia, although it’s impossible to tell whether these vessels were bound for Baltimore and diverted after the accident.

Mahindra USA has shared the following statement with Farm Journal:

“We are fortunate to not have been impacted by this tragedy and we wish to offer our condolences to all of those who may have lost loved ones or have been impacted in anyway. Mahindra’s main ports of entry for imports coming through the East Coast are ports in Norfolk, Virginia, and New York, New York. Our logistics team has confirmed that those ports currently have enough capacity to handle the diverted traffic from Baltimore and we anticipate no impact to Mahindra customers or dealers at this time. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones and all those impacted.”

UPDATE: 3.28.2024, 12:21 CST. Kubota USA issues the following statement:

“First and foremost, our thoughts are with the families of the workers who were lost, the people of Baltimore, and the first responders who are involved in the search and recovery efforts. We can confirm that Kubota has frequent shipments arriving into the Port of Baltimore. However, we are working on contingency plans to find alternative solutions while the port manages this difficult situation.”

Additional coverage:

Will The Collapse Of The Baltimore Key Bridge Impact Agriculture?

Shatter Your Yield Barriers One Layer At A Time

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 22:41:59 GMT

Layers of dense or compacted soil will prevent vertical farming systems (no-till, strip-till and vertical tillage) from reaching their potential. That’s important in light of coming government incentives pushing you toward surface residue and cover crops.

So — you have probed or dug and found the layers put in place by horizontal farming tools. What’s next?

“Now it’s time to find the best way to remove them,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.

Here are some factors to consider:

1. Two goals: depth and shattering.

“If there are multiple layers from different horizontal tillage programs, such as moldboard plows, field cultivators and disks, focus on the deepest one,” Ferrie advises. “If you remove it, you’ll get rid of both.

“At the same time, we must get complete shattering of the top 4" to 6" of soil, across the width of our implement. That surface shattering creates a uniform environment for consistent seed depth, spacing and seed/soil contact. That’s the environment you get with horizontal secondary tillage tools, but their shearing action created the layer you’re now trying to remove. If your primary tool fails to shatter the surface, vertical harrowing can’t fix it because vertical harrows level from the surface, simply knocking peaks into valleys.”

Non-uniform shattering causes uneven crop growth, often showing up early in the season as streaking patterns at the angle you tilled.

“Areas between the shanks that aren’t shattered at the surface will be like no-till compared to the shattered areas,” Ferrie says. “Besides uneven growth, your operators will complain about the rough ride all season long. That rough surface will remain even after long-term no-till.”

2. Balance depth, spacing and horsepower.

Standard chisel plows might not work to remove deep layers. “To remove an 8" plow sole, it will need to run 10" or 12" deep,” Ferrie says. Better choices for 6" to 12" layers include in-line rippers, disk-rippers and what Ferrie calls hybrid chisels. Those chisels feature high clearance for deep tillage and residue flow, adjustable depth and gang angle for the front cutters, and multiple options and depth control for the leveling section on the rear.

But selecting the ideal tool is a balancing act. “As a rule of thumb, the depth you run needs to be half of the shank spacing, to get full-width shattering in the top 4" to 6" of soil,” Ferrie continues. “But the shanks also need to run about 2" to 3" deeper than the layer to remove as much of it as possible.

“So a hybrid chisel on 15" spacing must run 7½" deep for full shattering at the surface. That will work fine for layers that are 4” to 5” deep, but if the layer is 8" deep, and the shanks need to run 10" to 12" deep to remove as much of it as possible, a hybrid chisel will struggle to get deep enough.”

Avoid Recreational Tillage

Removing deep layers can take several years running the tool at different angles. “A disk ripper on 30" spacing with parabolic shanks also needs to go 12" deep to take out an 8" layer,” Ferrie says. “But you need 15" of depth to get full-width shattering at the surface. At that depth and spacing, growers often run out of horsepower and/or traction. If they shallow up and run the tool above the layer, they’re doing nothing but recreational tillage.

“Running shanks with wings will remove more of the layer,” Ferrie says. “But the wings must run below the layer. At that depth, growers often run out of traction and horsepower. Straight chisel points let you go deeper with the same amount of horsepower and traction, but the amount of layer they remove is reduced.”

Removing Layers with Strip-Till and Cover Crops

“A combination of strip-till and cover crops may help remove layers on highly erodible land where you are not allowed to till,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie.

“Strip-tilling with a knife can break through shallow layers in the 4" range. Move the strips each year. Be careful if the field has much slope; rain can run across the soil surface into the strips, causing blowouts on steeper areas.”

Cover crops might be able to punch bio-channels through soil layers. “It depends how severe the layer is,” Ferrie says. “Often, covers cannot penetrate compact layers very well. I have found density layers after seven years of cover crops.”

Bio-channels from worms, night crawlers and roots will help maintain a vertical system, but they will develop much faster and deeper if you take the layers out before going vertical.

Residue Complicates Your Choices

If you wish to preserve surface residue to prevent erosion, or if your approved conservation plan requires it, that further complicates the task of layer removal. Some options include:

Some hybrid chisels designed for vertical systems can be set up with straight coulters in front, little or no changeable gang angle, cutters controlled separately from shank depth and with a leveling device on the rear — what some call a conservation chisel. “Running these tools through soybean stubble leaves some surface cover to protect soil in the spring,” says Farm Journal field agronomist Ken Ferrie. “Running them in corn stalks leaves enough residue that you can hardly tell anything was done.”

In-line rippers, properly operated, are excellent for taking out deep layers while preserving surface cover. “On 30" spacing, run your in-line ripper 15" deep,” Ferrie says. “Keep it level and keep going deeper until the soil lifts evenly across the implement, from shank to shank. The soil should roll through the ripper like a wave. If it is blowing out around the shanks and not being lifted in between, you need to go deeper.”
Ferrie recommends avoiding wings on ripper shanks. “They make the soil blow out more, covering the residue and leaving a rough surface,” he says. “They also increase horsepower and traction requirements, often causing operators to shallow up and not get full-width shattering of the surface layer.”
Keep ripper shanks in line, rather than offsetting some of them. Offsetting will force you to run deeper and require more horsepower.
In-line rippers are not the best choice for shallow layers. “Layers in the top 4" of soil will lift up and slide through the ripper like a sidewalk, settling back down into place,” Ferrie says. “If you run rippers too fast in these conditions, the surface will flip up like little gravestones. Ripping will help, but you’ll still have a layer, requiring several years to remove.”
If you have both deep and shallow layers, use an in-line ripper in soybean stubble, removing the deep layer and leaving maximum residue, Ferrie suggests. “Come back the next year with a chisel in corn stalks, taking out what’s left of the shallow layer when you have more residue to work with.”

Interested in learning more about how to convert to a vertical farming system? Ken Ferrie shares more here .

Başak Traktör Acquires Buhler Industries along with FarmKing, Versatile Brands

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 20:50:01 GMT

Buhler Industries and ASKO Holding have announced Başak Traktör, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASKO Holding, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase all of the common shares of Buhler Industries owned by Combine Factory Rostselmash Ltd.

The shares to be acquired by Başak Traktör represent approximately 97% of all of the outstanding shares, according to a NewsWire Canada press release.

In addition, Başak Traktör will acquire all of the outstanding debt of Buhler Industries owed to Rostselmash. The aggregate cash purchase price to be paid by ASKO is CAD $60.5 million.

The agreement is the culmination of the process initiated by Buhler Industries to identify a long-term investment partner, which was announced in July 2023.

“We are very excited to partner with ASKO Holding. We believe that ASKO Holding’s deep understanding and involvement in the agricultural equipment industry will assist the company in achieving its potential for future growth and innovation.” said Grant Adolph, chief operating officer, Buhler Industries.

“Buhler Industries and its iconic brands, Versatile and Farm King, have a deep history and legacy in the agricultural industry and we are enthusiastic about working with Buhler Industries to take the next steps in the evolution of its business.” said Sami Konukoglu, chairman, ASKO Holding.

Headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey, Başak Traktör began manufacturing agricultural equipment and machinery in 1914. Today, the company manufactures tractors up to 120 horsepower as well as soil tillage, planting and plant protection machinery, harvesting and garden equipment.

Linamar Acquires Broad Acre Seed Outfit Bourgault For $640 Million

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 20:46:14 GMT

Linamar announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Bourgault Industries Ltd. (based Saskatchewan, Canada) aiming to advance its position as a short-line agriculture equipment manufacturer.

Linamar’s existing agricultural brands include MacDon harvesting equipment and Salford tillage and crop nutrition. Linamar leaders share how Bourgault is highly complementary to these divisions and enables the company to market a fuller lineup of products in the broader crop production cycle

The transaction, representing the purchase of 100% of the equity interest of Bourgault, is for CAD $640 million. Bourgault will become part of a new Linamar Agriculture division once finalized.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bourgault Industries into the Linamar family. Bourgault is another Canadian manufacturing success story that draws many similarities to Linamar’s history of entrepreneurism and technical innovation,” said Linda Hasenfratz, executive chair and CEO, Linamar. “The Bourgault name is synonymous with broad acre agricultural seeding innovation and offers a tremendous opportunity for Linamar to further diversify and grow our agriculture platform.”

The Bourgault acquisition is Linamar’s third strategic acquisition of 2023, and the company leaders say the deal enables it to better serve farmers in Western Canada and the U.S. Midwest.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and expected to close in Q1 2024.

Now's the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 14:45:53 GMT

For decades, moldboard plows, disks and field cultivators, all horizontal tillage tools, have been the go-tos for fieldwork. That’s changing as fears about climate change come into focus.

Sooner or later, you’re going to be pushed (or led, depending on your perspective) toward vertical systems by government incentives.

“The world is asking farmers to fight climate change by reducing tillage and planting cover crops,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist.

“Governments want you to adopt vertical systems to disturb the ground as little as possible and keep it covered year-round — essentially what existed when our cropland was covered by native prairie. I expect climate-smart initiatives will include financial incentives for reduced tillage and cover crops. That will create opportunities for farmers in vertical systems. However, soil layers left by horizontal, full-width tillage systems could cause those vertical systems to fail.”

No one argues horizontal farming doesn’t have advantages.

Tillage-2.png“Vertical farming tools are like golf clubs,” says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal field agronomist. “Each has its own purpose. You use some every season and others only when needed. In golf or farming, having the right tools and knowing how to use them is crucial to success. That includes planter setup, weed management and tillage tools. While treating all fields the same makes farming simple, it’s like going golfing with only a driver and a putter — it won’t get you the best score.”

“Horizontal spring tillage lets us plant into warmer soil with more uniform moisture,” Ferrie says.

“That gets plants off to a faster start. Weed control is cheaper, and fewer specialized attachments are required on planters. But unfortunately, horizontal tillage doesn’t match up with the climate incentives I see coming down the pike.”

Vertical farming can be profitable, but it’s harder to manage.

“Among our consulting clients, vertical systems — no-till, strip-till and others — produce the highest return on investment,” Ferrie says. “On the other hand, they also produce the lowest. It depends on whether growers understand and know how to manage their vertical systems.”

This story is the first in a series of articles that will explain how to transition to vertical farming. Let’s set the stage:

What is vertical farming?

“Merely no-tilling or using a vertical harrow or similar vertical tool does not mean you’re in a vertical system,” Ferrie says. “A vertical system exists only after all horizontal layers, usually caused by horizontal tillage, are removed, and the soil is managed so as to not put them back in.

“A vertical system lets roots grow downward without restriction,” he adds. “The soil’s bulk density changes gradually, versus suddenly, so roots can adjust and penetrate, rather than flattening out along the top of a layer. Likewise, without sudden density changes, water will move downward and be stored in pore spaces. It will wick back up as water evaporates from the surface of the soil or through plant leaves.”

Horizontal versus vertical

“Pretend you have a huge vacuum that sucks up all the loose soil following a tillage pass,” Ferrie says. “After horizontal tillage, you would find a flat horizontal plane. Vertical tillage leaves a rougher sawtooth effect.”

Tools for vertical farming

Vertical tools include disk rippers, in-line rippers, chisel plows, field cultivators with spikes instead of sweeps, strip-till bars, row warmers, vertical harrows and no-till planters.

“Most farmers mix and match tools for primary and secondary tillage,” Ferrie says. “In horizontal systems, they might use a vertical tillage tool, such as a disk-ripper, in the fall for primary tillage and follow with a disk or field cultivator when spring rolls around. Or they might make one pass in the spring on soybean stubble with a soil finisher or high-speed disk. But all these secondary tools leave a horizontal tillage layer, a sudden density change that roots might have trouble coping with.”

For vertical farmers, typical programs include:

Chisel plowing in the fall and one or two passes of a vertical harrow in the spring.
Vertical harrowing in the fall, leaving a sterile seedbed for planting in the spring.
Vertical harrowing in the fall, followed by one pass with a vertical harrow in the spring to warm and dry soil for planting.

Conventional vertical tillage is fall primary tillage with a chisel, disk-ripper or in-line ripper (shattering soil across the width of the implement) and leveling in the spring using a vertical tool with no gang angle. “The leveling pass is like screeding concrete — knocking peaks off into the valleys, rather than using a sweep to level soil from below,” Ferrie says.

No-till or strip-till after all the old soil layers have been removed.

Most farmers need to implement multiple practices.

“In some fields, no-till might work great on 70% of the acres, but the other 30%, with drainage or soil-type issues, need to be strip-tilled,” Ferrie says. “So the whole field will work better in a strip-till format. Sometimes a more aggressive fall program is required to manage continuous corn residue, wheel track issues, manure application or new fields that need compaction removed or fertilizer mixed in.”

Golden Rules of Vertical Systems

When consulting clients consider transitioning from a horizontal to a vertical farming system. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie offers four rules he considers essential:

The shallower a horizontal soil density layer, the more it costs in terms of yield and profit. “A 2"-deep layer causes more problems than an 8" plow sole,” Ferrie says.
The last tillage pass before transitioning to a vertical system must not be horizontal (because it will leave a density layer that will last for years).
Keep the seedbed sacred. “Ear count is always of utmost importance,” Ferrie says. “That requires a perfect seedbed, and creating one takes more management in vertical systems. If you’re not ready to put forth the time and management to achieve a uniform stand in a vertical system, it’s better to remain in a horizontal system.”
Allow three years to transition to a vertical system. “It will take that long to acquire management skills and equipment and prepare your soil for a vertical system,” Ferrie says.

Considering Vertical Tillage? Here are 5 Benefits

Thu, 25 May 2023 12:45:10 GMT

The concept of vertical tillage is well-known, but what it actually entails isn’t fully understood in some corners of farm country.

One important thing to note is that vertical tillage is a comprehensive system, says Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist. It’s not a single tool, nor a single pass in the field.

Ferrie says using a true vertical tillage system involves understanding the soil profile, addressing compaction issues, ensuring that each pass achieves the goal of the system, respecting residue cover and providing a well-prepared seedbed for the planter pass. Simply put, a vertical system means managing the entire soil profile for uniformity.

In return, some of the benefits farmers gain from a well-managed, uniform soil profile include:
1. improved water infiltration and drainage
2. quicker soil warm-up for spring planting
3. more efficient use of nutrients
4. better drought tolerance
5. uniform growth and pollination

Seeing Is Believing
In the following, 1-minute video, Ferrie shows the type of residue coverage that a vertical tillage system can provide in a field. The field shown had one pass with a true vertical harrow last fall. A member of Ferrie’s agronomic team then sterile seedbed planted into the field this spring.

“What you can see is a lot of cover and very little dust out here,” Ferrie says. “As we zoom in closer to the ground, you can see the amount of residue cover that’s left behind.

“Even though this had one pass with vertical tillage in the fall to size residue, it’s still covered compared to a high-speed disk where we would bury all this residue and leave that soil surface exposed – especially if we hit it a couple times,” he adds. “So again, (you can see) a big difference between a high-speed disk and a vertical pass that’s designed to leave the residue on top.”

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Is There Movement On The Right To Repair?

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 15:23:47 GMT

American Farm Bureau Federation hosted a high-profile beef squashing at its annual convention in January. The organization announced it had negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Deere & Company that would make it easier for farmers and independent repair shops to access software, diagnostic codes and data on John Deere equipment.

This would provide farmers with more flexibility to make repairs without having to use a John Deere-authorized repair shop.

The MOU wasn’t created in a vacuum. There is momentum behind right-to-repair legislation in several states that would limit the ability of manufacturers to permit only affiliated technicians to make repairs to farm equipment.

This legislation enjoys support from several farm organizations and right-to-repair advocates. With software increasingly integrated into farm equipment, it can be frustrating to have a breakdown that requires an affiliated repair shop to access software or reset a code, especially if the farm does not have a local authorized dealer.

NATIONAL VERSUS STATE

The MOU provides some significant concessions to farmers and independent repair shops while allowing Deere to attempt to the terms, rather than a patchwork of state legislatures. Deere has committed to allowing farmers and independent repair shops with electronic access to manuals, diagnostics, software code and other items necessary to make repairs without having to hire a Deere-authorized repair shop.

Deere is not offering these services for free — the MOU provides the information can be accessed on “fair and reasonable” terms, including subscription services or equipment and technology purchases.

In exchange for the concessions in the MOU, Farm Bureau agrees to encourage state Farm Bureaus to recognize the MOU and refrain from supporting legislation that exceeds the terms of the MOU.

Under the MOU, both parties have the right to walk away from the agreement if any state or federal right-to-repair legislation is enacted.

THE MOU LIMITS

Although the MOU includes significant concessions, it has limits. The MOU is an agreement between Farm Bureau and Deere; it’s not a contract between Deere and individual farms. A farmer or independent repair shop would not prevail if it sued Deere for not following the MOU terms.

Also, Deere is not the only manufacturer and Farm Bureau is not the only organization interested in right-to-repair issues. Both are respected and significant players in their respective fields, but this issue is much broader than the agriculture sector.

Consumer electronics, automobiles and medical devices can experience the same right-to-repair challenges, which could cause state legislators to forge ahead regardless of the MOU.

On March 9, the American Farm Bureau Federation and CNH Industrial brands, Case IH and New Holland, signed a MOU that provides farmers the right to repair their own farm equipment. The MOU follows a similar framework to the John Deere agreement.

The Results Are In: These Are the Top Two Tillage Types

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:04:57 GMT

With more than 1,500 responses, we have a clear winner for the two most common tillage types.

An AgWeb poll asked:
What is the primary type of tillage system you use?

Conventional Tillage: 35%
Vertical Tillage: 19%
Strip Tillage: 9%
No-Till: 37%

1572 Responses

Clearly no-till and conventional tillage are the top two choices.

Why Run Multiple Tillage Systems?

While we asked for the primary method, many farmers mix and match tillage systems based on a variety of factors, such as topsoil depth, climate, farm size, economics and soil drainage all can help push you to a certain system.

Significant time and management is required to select tillage systems and learn to operate each one, not to mention added costs. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie ticks off these reasons for multiple systems:

Manage around each soil’s weakness.
Call audibles at the line of scrimmage when wet weather throws a monkey wrench into your plans and jeopardizes timely planting.
Reduce cost when possible.
Facilitate timely planting.
Transition fields to a more profitable, more sustainable system.
Meet the requirements of landowners (who might want no-till on highly erodible land, for example) and government (who might require you to plant covers to qualify for a farm program).

Read More:
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Set Your Tillage Goals

Tale of Two Tillage Systems

A System for Every Soil

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 22:46:26 GMT

You manage the weakness of each field or soil type by choosing the best hybrids, varying plant population and fertilizer rates and selecting the appropriate herbicides and disease-control measures. That’s precision farming, and it’s profitable and sustainable. But there’s one more link in the precision-farming chain, one that can enhance stewardship and profitability and make planting season go more smoothly.

That link, says Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie, is applying a production system that can overcome each field’s weakness. He calls it multi-disciplinary farming or systems management — the art of implementing two or more production systems in one farm operation.

Know Your Options

The first step to choosing the ideal production systems for your farm is to understand the various systems. The list on the next three pages is not all-inclusive, but they are the most common systems among Ferrie’s clients.

There are pros and cons of each system. “Take moldboard plowing,” Ferrie says. “No winter annual weeds to contend with, no carbon penalty to pay in the spring and faster planting. But, on the other hand, there’s no surface cover to protect the soil from wind and water erosion. In May, 2017, parts of central Illinois looked very much like the Dust Bowl. Blowing soil caused auto accidents and highway closures.”

Mix and Match

”Your systems must be compatible, Ferrie says. “A good match would be no-tilling soybeans and using strip-till, vertical tillage or conventional vertical tillage to plant corn into soybean residue,” he says. “Both of those systems are designed to keep soil in a vertical format, with no changes in density. In a vertical format, you have more options — you can strip-till, vertical-till or plant cover crops. For example, you can run a strip-till bar or row warmer to dry the row for no-till planting.

“But no-tilling soybeans into corn and then making one horizontal tillage pass before planting corn into soybean stubble is a mismatch. You’re combining a vertical system, no-till, with a horizontal tillage system that puts a density layer back into the soil. If a field is in a horizontal tillage system it is better to mix and match with other horizontal systems,” Ferrie adds.

Multiple Systems Come With A Cost

To estimate the cost to adopt a new system, Ferrie turned to custom rates listed on Iowa State University’s (ISU) Ag Decision Maker website. He averaged the cost of the tools used in each pass for each system. He also used the ISU calculator to determine hours of labor required by each system, from combining until harvest the next year, based on 1,000 acres farmed by one person.

Some primary tillage with moldboard plow, disk ripper, chisel, in-line ripper or a heavy offset disk, in spring or fall, followed in spring by one or more horizontal leveling passes by a soil finisher or field cultivator, finishing disk or vertical harrow with gang angles; this is the most widely used system.

Pros:

Cheaper weed control.
Easier to get a uniform seedbed.
Creates a warmer seedbed for faster emergence.
Allows earlier planting.
Less disease because residue is buried.
No residue management attachments required for planter.

Cons:

Leaves soil subject to erosion and crusting.
Puts in a horizontal layer that might cause water problems during the growing season.
Causes loss of soil carbon and structure.
More machinery and fuel expense; more labor.

Implementation cost: $44 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 419 per year

One pass (or sometimes two) on untouched soybean stubble or corn stalks with horizontal tillage tool (disk, soil finisher, field cultivator or vertical harrow with gang angles) before planting.

Pros:

Cheaper weed control.
Easier to get a uniform seedbed.
Provides a warmer seedbed for faster emergence.
Facilitates earlier planting.
Less disease.
Requires no planter attachments to manage residue.

Cons:

Leaves soil subject to
erosion and crusting.
Creates a horizontal layer that might cause water problems during the growing season.
Destroys soil structure.

Implementation cost: $23.25 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 285 per year

Primary tillage in spring or fall with a disk ripper, chisel plow or in-line ripper, leveled in fall or spring with vertical harrow with slight or no angle to gangs.

Pros:

Easier to get a uniform seedbed.
Warmer seedbed facilitates faster emergence.
Permits earlier planting.
Creates no horizontal layers, which promotes deeper roots.

Cons:

More expensive weed control.
Need residue cleaners on planter.
More horsepower for full soil shatter across width of tool.
Loss of soil carbon and structure.
Must manage pinch rows.

Implementation cost: $47.50 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 419 per year

One pass in fall or spring by vertical harrow with straight or no gang angle.

Pros:

Easier to get a uniform seedbed.
Warmer seedbed promotes faster emergence.
Facilitates earlier planting.
Absence of horizontal layers leads to deeper rooting.
Lower cost of tillage.

Cons:

Higher cost for weed control.
Must equip planter with residue cleaners and down pressure control.
Residue on surface might float off-site (creating a “bathtub ring” around ponded areas).

Implementation cost: $46.50 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 317 per year

Fall or early spring pass with zone- or strip-builder tool; can apply fertilizer and build strip for planting; might run row warmer in spring to freshen strip.

Pros:

Facilitates timely planting.
Leaves less old-crop residue in row.
Promotes faster emergence.
Soil retains more carbon, so it leads to better soil health.
Pinch rows not an issue.

Cons:

Higher cost for weed control.
Wet weather in fall or spring might delay operations.
Creates a rougher seedbed.
More disease pressure.
Strips on hills might erode.
Higher equipment cost.

Implementation cost: $47 to $59 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 379 per year
(Depends on if a row-warming tool is used, a fall or spring burndown herbicide is applied, etc.)

Plant directly into old-crop residue with no primary or secondary tillage.

Pros:

Lower cost for equipment.
Requires less labor and fuel.
Less soil erosion.
Fewer crusting issues.
Better soil health.
Easier to retain organic matter.
No pinch rows.

Cons:

Must equip planter for residue.
Higher weed control cost.
Cooler seedbed.
More pest pressure.
Later planting.
Possible yield drag in corn-on-corn.

Implementation cost: $21 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 258 per year
($12 per acre more than conventional planting and $9 per acre for a spring burndown herbicide application.)

Plant directly into old-crop residue and a cover crop with no other passes.

Pros:

Lower labor, fuel and equipment costs.
Less erosion and crusting.
Better soil health.
Maintains organic matter levels.
No pinch rows.

Cons:

Must equip planter for residue.
Cost of cover crop seed.
Higher weed control cost.
Slower emergence.
More pressure from pests.
Potential for delayed planting.
Possible yield drag in corn.

Implementation cost: $51 per acre

Man-hours of labor: 368 per year
(includes the cost of cover crop seed, planting the cover and a spring burndown herbicide.)

Why Run Multiple Tillage Systems?

Significant time and management is required to select tillage systems and learn to operate each one, not to mention added costs. Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie ticks off these reasons for multiple systems:

Manage around each soil’s weakness.
Call audibles at the line of scrimmage when wet weather throws a monkey wrench into your plans and jeopardizes timely planting.
Reduce cost when possible.
Facilitate timely planting.
Transition fields to a more profitable, more sustainable system.
Meet the requirements of landowners (who might want no-till on highly erodible land, for example) and government (who might require you to plant covers to qualify for a farm program).

Systems for Success

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie helps you zero in on the best production systems for your farm to close the last link in your precision-farming chain at AgWeb.com/systems-for-success

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Now's the Time to Transition to a Vertical Farming System

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Golden Rules of Vertical Systems

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Is There Movement On The Right To Repair?

NATIONAL VERSUS STATE

THE MOU LIMITS

The Results Are In: These Are the Top Two Tillage Types

Why Run Multiple Tillage Systems?

A System for Every Soil

Why Run Multiple Tillage Systems?

Systems for Success