The latest farm technology doesn’t always come in the form of a new tractor, planter, or combine. Quite often a precision ag upgrade can take equipment to a new level to help farmers reduce inputs or have a significant impact on yield.
At the 2023 Farm Progress Show at Decatur, Illinois, John Deere rolled out a host of technology upgrades for its planting, spraying and harvesting machinery. In this interview, Deere business agronomist Yancy Wright looks at the company’s latest precision ag upgrades and talks about why it’s important for farmers to stay on top of their technology.
“You have to do everything you can to try to maintain a profit on the farm,” says Wright. “It’s critical for growers to adopt new technology and that’s our goal with John Deere precision upgrades — to offer some of that new technology for growers on their current equipment, where they can get the latest cutting edge technology on their farm.”
On Wright’s list are upgrades for MaxEmerge planting technology, which first debuted on John Deere planters in 2013. One upgrade comes in the form of the MaxEmerge 5e, a traditional seed meter with a seed tube, that brings electric drive for more precision while also enables features like individual row section control and curve compensation that can help growers more effectively apply variable rate seeding, says Wright. (Story continues after the video.)
When it comes to sprayer technology, Wright says upgrades are now available to allow growers to add Deere’s ExactApply nozzle control system if their existing sprayer was not ordered with that technology.
There’s also news for growers who want to add Deere’s See & Spray technology to their existing sprayer. The new See & Spray Premium upgrade for the technology, which uses camera technology to identify weeds and target herbicide application, can be put on John Deere machines with a 120-foot boom that are 2018 or newer.
Wright also discusses harvest and combine technology to help growers reduce grain loss and deliver more yield. This includes bringing features available on X9 combines to the S700 series combines.
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