Farmers got their first look at new John Deere predictive ground speed automation harvesting technology this fall and they like what they’ve seen, reports Bergen Nelson, Deere’s go-to-market manager for harvesting equipment.
Earlier this year, the company rolled out both predictive ground speed automation and harvest settings automation on its model year 2025 S7 combines. The technology will also be available on X9 combines. Several of the S7 machines were in field this fall in Western Canada and the U.S. to provide training opportunities for customers and to demonstrate the automation capabilities.
In this report from the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, Nelson notes that predictive ground speed automation uses cameras and satellite imagery to optimize combine speed and enhance productivity.
“Cameras on the front of the combine look out 28 feet in front of the machine. And we’re also pulling in satellite imagery through Operations Center, and using that data,” says Nelson. “It allows us to optimize the machine and speed it up and slow it down automatically, which allows us to run the machine at full capacity all day long. That’s contributing to up to a 20 per cent increase in productivity for our customers across acres they harvest in the season.”
Nelson and RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney also discuss the capabilities of the harvest setting automation system, which automatically changes the combine settings for the operator. “Labour challenges are a big factor for some of our customers, and this technology does allow them to put a less skilled operator in the cab,” says Nelson.
Harvest setting automation uses loss sensors and other inputs from the combine to manage loss, but the operator has the ability to set their preferences for different areas, including broken grain and foreign material.
“If they want to make sure that they’re capturing all the grain and they really want to focus on grain loss, the machine is going to make changes to do that,” says Nelson. “It’s changing your rotor speed, concave clearance and your sieve and chaffer and fan speed all automatically as soon as you start harvesting.”
Nelson also notes that initial settings for the combine are based on geolocation. “If a producer is running in Western Canada, or Southern Illinois, we can tailor the starting settings to give them the best possible outcome, and then they can fine tune it from there.” Listen to the report below.
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