John Deere is helping farmers adopt the latest agricultural technologies by addressing one of the largest issues facing adoption – cost.
Over the years, the original equipment manufacturer has expanded its digital capabilities to include agronomic advice through its Operations Center and precision spraying, like its See & Spray technology, which helped farmers save more than 30 million gallons of herbicide mix, AgTechNavigator reported.
When it comes to getting these products into farmers’ hands, John Deere created multiple entry points for growers, Erin Jost, manager of customer journey marketing for precision ag, told AgTechNavigator.
For instance, farmers can either buy the hardware component and purchase a license to gain access to the most advanced features, or a grower can purchase a Precision Essentials Kit, paying a lower upfront cost for the crucial components and auto-track capabilities, Jost explained.
“Obviously, cost was a large barrier to entry. A lot of this technology is quite pricey when you’re talking about electronics and componentry going onto this equipment, plus the time it takes to install. So, we spend a lot of time focusing on different business models that could help us lower that barrier to entry — lower that upfront cost — and allow customers to experience the technology by spreading that cost out over time,” Jost elaborated.
John Deere’s precision ag building blocks
John Deere’s precision agriculture capabilities are built on three core technologies, including an in-cabin G5 touch screen display, an SF 7500 GPS receiver, and one of John Deere’s various JD Link modems to connect the machine to John Deere’s cloud service Operations Center, Jost explained.
Farmers who want to get started with digital farming capabilities can download Operations Center Mobile to gain access to agronomic and equipment information, Jost noted. Also, farmers can use John Deere’s Mobile Equipment app to learn about precision ag technologies and gain access to operator manuals and other educational tools, she said.
“If your machines are equipped with a modem, you could download Operations Center Mobile and create an account and start streaming that data into the Operations Center, capturing things like productivity of your equipment or logistics information where your ... grain carts might be in relation to your combine or your tender trucks might be in relation to your sprayer, and how you could make improvements there to make those machines more efficient,” Jost added.
Building the future of precision ag
John Deere has been active in the agtech start-up space, partnering with Reservoir Farms and acquiring companies like GUSS Automation and Sentara. Beyond working with start-ups, John Deere is working with farmers to understand their needs, which influences the OEM’s product pipeline, Jost noted.
“We are constantly looking at start-ups, taking a look at what technology is out there, but our main source of portfolio building is really going to come from our customer feedback. So, we like to take the word of our customers, what they’re looking for, what their problems are, and whether that comes directly from our customers or through our dealer network. We’re always compiling that feedback and making decisions for the portfolio that make sense in the precision ag space,” she elaborated.
