Equipment-Asset Tracking

John Deere Aims To Revolutionize Agriculture Through Autonomy

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 18:46:12 GMT

Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show with nearly 5,000 watching the live stream introduction, John Deere introduces its full autonomy solution for tractors, which will be available to farmers later in 2022.

“20 years ago, when self driving first made its way to the farm, it was transformational technology. Suddenly, farmers no longer had to focus their attention on steering the machine through the field. Instead, they were able to pay attention to the million and one other things they need to think about on their farm every day,” says Deanna Kovar, product strategy at John Deere.

Kovar says farmers are presented with a the challenge of a highly dynamic environment, and they are constantly looking for ways to increase their output lower their costs and improve sustainability. Boiled down, she hones in on three large challenges:

Find skilled labor
Getting work done when it needs to be done
Doing it consistently to maximize crop yields

John Deere is looking to provide solutions to all three in one package—a fully autonomous tractor. You can watch an intro video here.

“Technology has been and will continue to be the answer to help farmers navigate through challenges like these,” Kovar says.

Its tractors are outfitted with:

Six stereo cameras
360 degree obstacle detection
Trained on 50 million images
AI and machine learning
Real time data sharing
Remote monitoring and management

(Farm Journal)

Farmers can monitor and control machines remotely via the JD Operations Center app on a phone, tablet or computer. They can access the app whether they are in a machine themselves or in their office, or anywhere else.

Kovar points out that unlike autonomous cars, tractors need to be able to do much than just be a transport shuttle from point A to point B.

“When tractors are going through the field, they have to follow a very precise path, and doing very specific job,” she says. “An autonomous 8R tractor is one giant robot. Within one inch of accuracy, it is able to perform its job without human intervention.”

She highlights three benefits to autonomy

Timeliness
Efficiency
Improves the quality of life for farmers

“The road of today’s technology is paved with the technology of the past,” says John Deere’s Chief Technology Officer, Jahmy Hindman. “In 1918 John Deere introduced its first two tractors, and about 100 years later, we have robotic machines used on the farm to feed the world.”

Hindman says artificial intelligence and machine learning are key technologies to John Deere’s vision for the future. In the past five years the company has acquired to Silicon Valley tech startups: Blue River Technology and Bear Flag Robotics.

Joe Leifer product manager for autonomy at John Deere was on AgriTalk to discuss this introduction in detail:

This specific autonomy product has been in development for at least three years as the John Deere team has collected the images for its machine learning library. The team highlights the engineering work that went into the final product to deliver consistency and help build trust with farmers to get the job done.

“We are basically asking the farmer to hand over a task that needs to be done to their high standards of quality. Otherwise it’ll impact their crop, and ultimately their livelihood. All of this tech is ultimately intended to earn, and to keep that trust,” says Julian Sanchez, director emerging technology.

Users have access to live video and images via the app. The real-time delivery of performance information is key, John Deere highlights, to building the trust of the system’s performance.

For example, Willy Pell, senior director of autonomous systems, explains even if the tractor encounters an anomaly and an undetectable object, the team built in safety measures to stop the machine.

And the company expects the technology to be able to deliver 24-hour operations to farmers.

One beta tester said this technology is going to be a “life-changer” and help him run his farming business better.

While the initial introduction of the fully autonomous tractor showed a tillage application, Jorge Heraud, Vice President Automation & Autonomy, John Deere, shares three other examples of how the company is bringing forward new solutions with technologies. He says it’s key to be using the best, most accurate and more real-time data in each.

First, he shares in planning, John Deere has automated the path of the tractor for very straight, consistent rows.

“And that’s not all. We also automate the placement of every single seed, so every single seed is raised in exactly the same distance regardless of the speed at which the farmer drives. This allows every single plant to have exactly the space that it needs,” he says.

The second example is advancements in the spray applications of crop protection products.

“Throughout the year, it’s very important for the farmer to apply its product only where it’s needed and then find out farmers do this. We added cameras on sprayers and placed these cameras on the boom so they can tell exactly where each plant is and apply the product as needed, and only where it’s needed. Doing this can save about 80% of the amount product for the farmer,” he says.

And the third example is with the combine at harvest.

“We use cameras inside that the combine to tell us the crop conditions and adjust the settings of the combine perfectly so that the harvester is doing the best job it absolutely can.”

The leaders at John Deere say the road to the future is continuing to be expanded with new technologies on the horizon.

Syngenta Group and Yara adopt Varda’s Global Field ID system

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 19:08:42 GMT

Norway-based crop nutrition company Yara and the Syngenta Group have entered into a partnership with agtech startup Varda, which was founded by Yara.

The two companies want to accelerate the adoption of Global Field ID, a new technology standard that helps facilitate field data discovery and data sharing in the agriculture and food industry, according to a news release.

Varda digitally maps agricultural land and assigns unique IDs to land plots, creating a “QR code for fields,” delivered to users via an application programming interface (API), the release said. The aim of the service is to create a “common geospatial language” for the whole industry.

Having a unique ID for every field is a necessary step to effectively collaborate toward a more sustainable, resilient and transparent food system, according to the release.

Today, farmers and agribusinesses use different formats to identify fields across their digital farming tools, which hinders interoperability and collaboration across industry, the release said.

For farmers, Global Field ID will mean improved connectivity between their digital farming tools and more efficient communication with stakeholders beyond the farm gate, the release said.

More produce tech news: Instacart’s new tools to help independent grocers, along with big retailers

The system will be used as an additional data layer within the companies’ own digital farming tools, building a shared reference framework to annotate field-level data, which is expected to generate multiple benefits, the release said:

Enabling interoperability — A common identification system allows fields to be more easily paired by users and digital farming tools, resulting in increased connectivity and simpler data integration. This will also provide a benefit for farmers, offering improved data insights and cross-supply chain connectivity.
Increasing transparency around regenerative agriculture — Widespread adoption of a unique Global Field ID can significantly reduce risks of double-counting of land-based carbon sequestration or biodiversity improvement claims, enhancing the credibility and trust in land-focused climate finance and supporting existing verification protocols.
Enhancing traceability — Assigning a shared identifier to each field will make it simpler to establish an uninterrupted chain between agricultural input, field practices and crop supply chains.

The release said the service is currently available in France and the United Kingdom and will be progressively released in Brazil, the U.S. and key European agricultural markets in 2023, with plans for further expansion in coverage and features going forward, the release said.

“We believe that Global Field ID is an indispensable step to break ‘data siloes’ and make information sharing simpler, reducing time spent on information aggregation, accelerating the spread of precision agriculture and the mobilization of climate finance that are necessary to drive efficiency, while preserving soils long term health,” Davide Ceper, Varda CEO, said in the release. “We are proud to be partnering with two industry leaders recognized for their sustainability credentials and are eager to engage with many more companies to establish Global Field ID as an industry standard, accelerating the transformation of our food systems.”

Feroz Sheikh, chief information and digital officer for Syngenta, said digital technology will help growers maximize yield, while taking care of the planet through sustainable farming practices.

“Working together with Yara and through Varda’s Global Field ID system we strive to improve connectivity between digital farming tools, making it more open, faster, and more efficient with the data owner’s consent,” he said in the release. “We invite other industry players to join this collaboration to improve the interoperability of systems to the benefit of farmers and the entire innovation ecosystem.”

How to Acquire Tech-Savvy Employees

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 21:29:12 GMT

A couple of years ago, John Deere CEO Sam Allen memorably quipped: “Most people don’t realize that one of our 8000 Series tractors has more computing power on it than the first space shuttle.”

That statement is awe-inspiring—and maybe a little terrifying. The average farm worker makes less than $11 per hour, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. Yet workers are sometimes asked to operate expensive, sophisticated equipment. With the flood of new agtech making its way to market every year, farm workers likely will need to master an increasingly tech-savvy skillset in the future.

That requires a bit of crystal-ball gazing, says Dwight Koops, vice president of Crop Quest.

“How do you hire people for stuff that hasn’t even been invented yet?” Koops says. His Kansas-based full-service ag consulting firm has eight precision ag specialists on staff. His simple solution—hire the right people—is easier said than done, he admits. When farmers look for tech-savvy employees, he says, the mindset of prospective workers is just as important as their skillset.

“We’re looking for creative innovators, self-starters who are willing to fail along the way,” he explains. “It certainly helps if the person has an interest in technology and computers, and likes to take things apart and put them back together.”

The Four Cs. More and more, employers desire workers who display the 4 Cs, says Charles Fadel, an author and education expert. That means they think critically, work creatively, communicate effectively and are able to collaborate.

“This is not a new need, but it has been growing in importance as competition and time-to-market pressures intensify,” Fadel says. “Just about any contemporary question requires innovative and critical thinking.”

In a recent Facebook post, former “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe wrote about the mindset that modern employees need to thrive in the workplace. The encouraging factor, he argues, is that this mindset is free for the taking.

“I believe a solid work ethic and a measure of ambition are essential ingredients to success, and readily available to anyone,” Rowe wrote. “Obviously, the desire to succeed and the willingness to work hard are not enough to guarantee success, but success without either is impossible.”

The technology you use on your operation matters, too, Koops argues. Some agtech is relatively easy to learn, while other technology requires a much steeper learning curve. Are you giving employees the time and training to master each one?

“There’s no easy button,” he says. “You have to put in the work.”

Give employees some wiggle room for trial and error, Koops adds. His precision ag specialists are instructed to research as much new technology as they can. Clarifying that goal has proven to be an important step, he says. It helps them sort through a “boatload” of hardware and software to land on the most practical and tangible solutions.

Technology training isn’t easy, Koops acknowledges. It’s a moving target. The important thing is to remain diligent and open-minded when it comes to enhancing employee agtech skills.

“It’s a tough topic because I’m not sure anybody has good answers,” he says.