KC Sheperd, Farm Director is visiting with the manager for Precision Ag, Matt Olson, talking about John Deere products and future of automated machines.
“There is definitely never a dull moment working at John Deere, and it is for sure a privilege to be associated with this great company and be able to talk to you and your listeners about all the exciting things we are doing to help them on their farm,” Olson said.
Olson said he is thankful for U.S. producer’s ability to accomplish a bountiful harvest this year despite many headwinds. While many farmers dealt with some challenging weather conditions this year, Olson said it was a good opportunity to look at the data that came from machines used to farm and reflect on that data to make decisions for 2023.
“Technology is constantly evolving and one thing that we say is that it has never been as fast as it is today, and it will never be this slow ever again,” Olson said. “So, that is a great way to think about the journey we are on and for sure, we are progressing towards an increasingly automated machine, and we have access to a lot of data, whether it is the farm itself or the machine and how it is performing.”
With new technology, Olson said there are so many opportunities for a farmer to really take control and look at ways that they can tighten their farm up even better than they are already doing today.
“Farmers that are in business today have earned that right through intense focus on the bottom line, Olson said. “This technology and the equipment that we bring from John Deere is really designed for farmers, in mass, is that we have something for everyone.”
When a farmer already has existing John Deere equipment or other brands of equipment, Olson said Precision Ag wants to make sure that they work with those farmers to identify where their farm needs are to ways of adding incremental value to their farm and the equipment that they already have.
“For sure, I love talking to them about selling them a brand-new piece of machinery, but the best thing for their farm and their bottom line may be just enhancing the equipment they already have,” Olson said.
Over the next five years, Olson said John Deere is having conversations based around data and Increasing levels of automation of the equipment.
“In 2022, at the consumer electronic show, we introduced to the market our plans to be bringing a fully autonomous 8R tractor and a chisel plow to the marketplace,” Olson said.
Some farmers are interested in upgrading to these products, and some would prefer to stick to the machinery they already have and improve on that, Olson said, and both those types of customers are correct.
“For those folks that are looking to take that next step in autonomy, we are going to have something here in the near future that they can actually go to their dealer and talk about and purchase,” Olson said.
This journey to a fully autonomous machine, Olson said, is just a few steps away. Olson said that in order for farmers to ensure that their operations are progressing with the new technologies, they can easily bite off a small piece at a time.
“We want customers to always be able to say, ‘I do business with John Deere because nothing runs like a Deere,’” Olson said.
