Completely autonomous tractors may be on the verge of becoming a reality in the UK, and one farm in Cambridge is using John Deere technology to get as close as possible to this goal. Lydia Wombwell finds out more.
Automation in arable farming operations is advancing, enhancing work comfort, improving precision and ultimately increasing productivity. A closer look at the key solutions from John Deere reveals that many of today’s tasks can be automated.
Guillaume Ripoll from Lacougotte-Cadoul, Tarn, Southern France has long been a fan of precision farming. Responsible for 1,200ha of crops, the contractor finds that automation systems like AutoPath help control the bigger equipment on the farm, particularly in fields with complicated layouts.
Over the past three years, John Deere has been testing and enhancing its Autonomous Tillage solution in collaboration with customers and dealers, specifically focusing on the Midwest region of the US. We spoke with Brandon Page, Autonomy Product Marketing Manager, about the technological requirements and transformative potential of this innovation.
Hans-Peter Tramsen began investing in renewable energy such as biogas, wind power, and photovoltaics decades ago, ensuring the sustainability and profitability of his farm through animal husbandry, organic fertilisation and multiple crop rotations. Now, his son, Jakob, is focusing on automation in dairy cow husbandry and arable farming to optimise time and further develop the farm’s resources.
In many European countries, policy makers require farmers to minimise the use of mineral fertilisers to reduce their environmental impact. One approach to this is site-specific nitrogen fertiliser application. John Deere and the fertiliser manufacturer Yara have together made this task significantly easier. A report from the field.
For over 20 years, John Deere has been providing AutoTrac guidance systems to help farmers and contractors maximize their efficiency. In August 2024, John Deere launched the Precision Ag essentials packages – a retrofit solution compatible with all types of equipment, regardless of its brand or age – making smart farming easier and more accessible. Here we share some first-hand experiences from the field.
Germany’s More Sustainable Milk project is aiming to assist its dairy industry in lowering its CO2 equivalent emissions to reach a greener future. Investigating how technology and data can help reduce methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions, the project’s participating farms have outcomes to share. The Furrow finds out more.
Lithuanian young farmers are joining the green trajectory with precision technology and smart farming helping them lead the way.
Drones are increasingly being used in agriculture. As well as monitoring crops, their high altitude potential and versatility means they can be used to spray fertilisers, biostimulants, pesticides and even biological control agents.
A joint field trial by John Deere and Saaten-Union is investigating the influence of various parameters such as fertilization, seed density and growth regulators on the yield and protein content of winter wheat.
Farms are getting bigger. Therefore, when it comes to weed control, an “electronic eye” in the field can be very useful. To ensure a new product works reliably right from the beginning, extensive tests are carried out before the launch. Customer Damien Menuel from North Eastern France tested John Deere’s See & Spray Select system for a second season in spring 2023.
In addition to arable farming and fattening pigs, the Anschütz family relies on energy production from biogas and photovoltaics, and provides heat to 90 households through a heating network. Networks also play a big role in the family's farm management: Their tractors are equipped with the AutoTrac steering system, the John Deere Display and JDLink, all connected to the John Deere Operations Center. For a crop protection agent trial, the Operations Center was additionally connected with xarvio from BASF.
Over the past two years, cost of fuel, fertiliser and crop protection has reached historically high levels. Therefore, more and more farmers ask themselves: What savings are possible? Here are some figures from research and consulting institutes.
In an interview, Christoph Wigger, Director Small Grains Production Systems at John Deere, explains how farmers can reduce their input costs and optimise their fertilisation and crop protection measures.
For Sven Borchert, head of the Gross Germersleben agricultural company, documenting all farm and field procedures is a matter of course. He records important data during harvest with the HarvestLab 3000 – so what conclusions does he draw from it?
The government is increasingly restricting the use of agricultural inputs. In addition, prices have risen to unimagined heights. Many farmers are wondering how to use fertilisers, seeds, growth regulators and crop protection chemicals more efficiently. One possible answer is to implement precision farming: Those who work with application maps based on satellite images can achieve more uniform yields.
Bernd Bund no longer wants to combine crops without using the HarvestLab 3000 NIR sensor to directly measure the protein content of his wheat, because it is easier for him to market.
Customers of agricultural contractor Flaskamp have been benefiting from the advantages of precision farming for over 10 years. The company supports simple entry level operations as well as complex precision farming tasks.
Sustainable business practices are often associated with higher costs. But a tool for optimising crop cultivation available through the John Deere Operations Center shows that it can also save farmers money.
Digitalisation is crucial for agriculture and its sustainability ambitions, according to Stefan Stahlmecke, regional director of intelligent solutions at John Deere, speaking at the Digital Farming Conference in Berlin. But what does this mean for farmers? We questioned him to find out more.
A robotic revolution is upon us, bringing with it one of the most advanced developments of its kind: A lettuce harvesting robot.
A new "Precision Farming Free DLC" game for Farming Simulator 22 will be released on April 19. Benedikt Dahme and Markus Steinmüller from the John Deere gaming team have tested the free game expansion and reveal which new features make the sim even better.
Prof Yves Reckleben is convinced that it is possible to replace mineral fertilisers to a large extent with farmyard manure. The Professor of agricultural and process engineering at Kiel University of Applied Sciences explains why this is the case in our interview.
Digitisation creates new opportunities for farmer and contractor Rainer Eichhorn, supporting his work in the fields. Since last summer, he has been using the John Deere Operations Centre, organising fieldwork across 1,100ha of land better than ever before.
What is the first Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) attributed to an agricultural product not intended for human consumption? It is the famous Crau Hay, which in 2021 remained the only such PDO. The irrigated meadows from which this hay, renowned beyond French borders, is produced has a history that dates back to the 16th century. This heritage is maintained with passion by Olivier Tommasi and his team.
Together with Saaten-Union, John Deere is looking for new ways to optimise drilling. To do this, technical expertise and agronomic knowledge must go hand in hand.
The newest generation of tractors from the 9 series promises enormous productivity along with excellent comfort and a plethora of intuitive precision farming tools. Simon Schowalter, product marketing manager for large tractors, spoke to us about developing the tractors and what the features really bring to the field.
In his guest article, Markwart von Pentz, president of John Deere's agricultural machinery division, outlines the biggest challenges facing agriculture and shares his outlook on how to overcome them.
Nowadays, when it comes to weed control, farmers have a number of new, sustainable and efficient agricultural technologies at their disposal. Apply the agtech correctly, and farmers can strike the perfect balance between meeting their legal requirements and economic targets as well as improving agricultural sustainability.
The HarvestLab 3000 Near Infra-Red (NIR) sensor tells the farmer exactly what their slurry consists of. Alexander Berges, productions systems manager at John Deere, explains how this facilitates better fertiliser planning and reduced diesel consumption.
Targeted N fertiliser application in wheat using NIRS technology on slurry can boost yields by up to 5%, with additional yield after just one application. Holger Huffelmann attended a practical test at Haus Düsse and explains the setup and possibilities offered by NIRS technology.
Agriculture is generating more and more data, and more and more farmers are engaging in precision farming. Insightful facts and figures on the topic of digitalisation.
Introducing precision technologies into day to day farming practice can be a challenge. However, no one needs to start out alone. We place the spotlight on two stakeholders in the green sector, who are playing a central role in the adoption of digital agriculture: Dealerships and agricultural contractors.
Agricultural contractor AIS Schier has been focusing on core fertiliser and lime applications for many years. General manager Holger Schier describes how they even out the pH value of a field and why this approach is a good starting point for precision agriculture.
The right food makes both animal and farmer happy Contractor Andreas Feil knows this well. Thanks to the HarvestLab™ 3000, he can analyze the corn harvest down to the last fiber while still in the field, thus harvesting only the best silage.
Technology has boomed in popularity over recent decades – its advancement hailed as the making of a fourth agricultural revolution. But while precision technology has a sleekness in design it is far from vanity gadgetry and offers producers an insight into sustainable data.
At John Deere's site in Kaiserslautern in Germany, Torsten Kreutzer works on developing mobile apps for modern agriculture and precision farming. At the family business based in his hometown, he personally tests the applications in the field.
The cloud-based Operations Centre offers solid base functionalities plus more than 180 third-party software products to serve special requirements. In the South West of France, one farmer has put this feature to the test.
Precision farming can make farms more efficient, sustainable and economic. But with the multitude of possibilities, the question often arises: "Where to start? We show examples of three farmers who have dared to take this step and tell you how they did.
Cameras, algorithms, drones, and other new ideas: Intelligent technology can make plant protection much more efficient. We explain how it works, what John Deere is working on and why the farmer still plays the decisive role.
What would an electric tractor look like if we didn't have to think about the power supply anymore? Simon Pfaffmann from John Deere's ETIC invites us to take part in a thought experiment – and explains how real this idea is.