Precision Pays

During the 2012 Commodity Classic, John Deere unveiled its final stage Tier 4 solution, the John Deere Integrated Emissions Control System. The company held a press conference to make the announcement. You can listen to or download the audio from that press conference below. To give us an overview of the final solution we heard from Geoff Stigler, Manager, Worldwide Marketing. Geoff runs through the steps leading up to this final one. The image below is the John Deere PowerTech™ PSS 9.0L Final Tier 4/Stage IV engine (engine w/after treatment).

Final Tier 4/Stage IV regulations for off-highway diesel engines begin as early as 2013 for engines 55 kW (74 hp) and below. Regulatory dates for engines 56 kW (75 hp) and above will be implemented in stages starting in 2014 and 2015, and require particulate matter (PM) levels established by Interim Tier 4/Stage III B regulations to be maintained while requiring an additional 80 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) from previous regulations.

For more information on John Deere’s Final Tier 4/Stage IV engine technology, check our web site at www.JohnDeere.com/tier4.

Listen to or download the press conference here: John Deere Tier 4 Press Conference

You can find photos from this year’s Commodity Classic here: 2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

John Deere talked up its latest application for cotton growers during this year’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences. Harvest Identification Cotton will continue to automate the production of a cotton module. This is tied into the 7760 cotton picker. The application will use the RFID tags that are embedded into the module wrap. These will be captured by an RFID reader on the cotton picker and then that information will be complied along with data from the John Deere Starfire receiver. That will generate a file that can be sent to the ginner and grower. Janae says it will be available soon.

Listen in to my interview with Janae here: Interview with Janae Althouse

2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

Over the past year, the National Corn Growers Association has monitored issues surrounding the wireless broadband company LightSquared. While the Federal Communications Commission considers approval of LightSquared’s proposed terrestrial based broadband network, NCGA remains concerned about the effects it would have on precision farming. GPS technology has become an important tool for farmers as they improve their efficiency in seed, fertilizer and fuel usage.

“Strong and speedy Internet access is important to our growers, so NCGA supports the expansion of broadband in rural America,” said Ethan Mathews, manager of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs for NCGA said. “However it must not come at the expense of high-precision GPS.”

Although LightSquared states that solutions to the interference problem have been developed by several independent companies, the company has yet to provide access to either the test results or the devices. Further, the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration are continuing their evaluation of theGPS interference issue. NCGA will look to the FCC and NTIA to ensure the issue has been resolved without loss to accuracy and performance.

In addition, NCGA will continue to work closely with John Deere, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the American Soybean Association to ensure the GPS technology remains available to our farmers.

John Deere has become the first U.S. company in seven years to win the Swedish International Steel Prize.

Instituted in 1999 by steel supplier SSAB Americas’ parent company in Sweden, the award is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize” of the steel industry. The award includes a statuette and a cash prize of $15,000 for the winner. John Deere’s Design Engineer Kent Brown and Senior Engineer Corwin Puryk (pictured) accepted the award on behalf of the company at the Swedish Steel Prize 2011 award ceremony on November 17.

“We’re extremely pleased to be the winners of Swedish Steel Prize 2011. John Deere will donate the prize money to FIRST, an organization aimed at encouraging an interest in innovation and technology among children and young people. FIRST programs show innovators of the future how creativity combined with science and technology can resolve real engineering problems,” said Puryk.

Brown added, “Innovation is one of John Deere’s four core values and we wish to inspire and help the next generation of innovators to grow. One day, perhaps some youngster who attended a FIRST program will contribute to a company winning the Swedish Steel Prize.”

Deere was chosen for the award specifically for the new S-series combines, which allow for greater harvesting efficiency while meeting stringent engine emission requirements. The company’s goal for these harvesting applications was to find a material that would reduce mass and retain strength. The weight of targeted steel parts in the S-series was reduced by 50 percent and the new design has helped to reduce the amount of welding by almost 70 percent.

On Thursday John Deere finished and revealed the sculpture for Project “Can Do” – which is being considered now for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.

This farm scene with an S-Series combine harvesting a field of corn required approximately 323,000 cans of food to complete. The finalized sculpture is now on display at the John Deere Pavilion. When it is taken down, all those cans will be donated to charity.

Katie Dierker, Division Marketing Manager for the S-Series combines, says the right model S-Series combine can harvest enough wheat in a day to make 1 million loaves of bread, or it can go through the equivalent of 30 football fields of corn in an hour or 350 acres per day.

Learn more about the project in an interview with Katie here: Interview with Katie Dierker

Here’s a cool time lapse video of the sculpture being built.

John Deere is trying to build a combine out of cans.

We’re talking about 300,000 cans of food here to replicate a full-sized S-Series combine in a field. It would be a world record. Kind of like what America’s farmers do every year – set new records in feeding the world.

The John Deere Project ”CAN DO” combine sculpture and food donation program are designed to raise awareness of the essential role farmers and ranchers play in producing safe, healthy and abundant food for a growing world population, while supplying much needed food supplies to a local food bank during the holiday season. The more than 300,000 cans of food needed to complete the sculpture are donated by John Deere with delivery from Hy-Vee Food Stores. When completed, the sculpture will be 60 feet wide, 80 feet long and 16 feet tall and will weigh nearly 170 tons. The sculpture depicts John Deere’s new S-690 Combine, which is the world’s most powerful combine that can harvest more than 350 acres of grain a day.

Project “CAN DO” also gives consumers a chance to be a part of building the can sculpture by ‘virtually’ creating cans of food, explains Richard Williamson, art director for John Deere Ag and Turf. “Anyone interested in participating can go to the John Deere Facebook page www.facebook.com/johndeere to submit their name and a photograph, which will be wrapped around their virtual personalized food can as part of a virtual sculpture.”

Helping to design the combine sculpture is a team from the Chicago office of architectural firm, RTKL. John Deere employees and retirees will also volunteer to assist with the overall project. The combine can sculpture will be on display at the John Deere Pavilion in downtown Moline, Ill., from mid-November to mid-December. All the canned food will be donated to the River Bend Foodbank when the sculpture is dismantled.

Find out more from John Deere.

Learn how this project came to be in this video:

John Deere officially opened a sparkling new LEED-certified sales and marketing center in Olathe, Kansas on September 30 with the help of employees, government officials, and other special guests.

“This 126,000 square foot facility has been laid out to enhance the work environment for employees and has the most up-to-date technology so we can communicate and train work groups around the world,” said John Lagemann, Vice President, John Deere Ag & Turf Division.

Dave Everitt, president of the Ag & Turf Division, thanked John Deere employees and dealers for the record breaking performance of the company in the third quarter of this year. “All of our efforts are aimed at rapidly moving in a new global arena to help our customers feed and fuel the world,” he said. “We are investing nearly $3 million a day to get that job done.”

Attending the grand opening ceremony to help John Deere celebrate this additional investment in the Kansas economy were U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Governor Sam Brownback and freshman Congressman Kevin Yoder (R-KS).

Listen to comments from the opening ceremony here: Opening of new John Deere Olathe Facility

Check out all the photos from the ceremony here – John Deere Olathe Opening Photo Album

One of the highlights of the ceremony was the unveiling of the new building’s crowning centerpiece that stands at the main entrance – one of the original John Deere deer statues that were first made some time around the early 1900s. Regional controller Mike Snyder explained that an unknown number of the statues were commissioned by the son of John Deere in 1893 to be made by the W.H. Mullins Company of Salem, Ohio. “The statue is made out of hand stamped copper sheets, riveted and welded together and mounted on a steel frame,” he said, noting that Charles Deere saw the statue at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and liked it so much he decided he wanted enough of them to be placed at every John Deere branch office and factory in the country. “Over the years, the importance faded and some were lost but recently company CEO Hans Becherer began a program to find and restore as many of them as possible.” The statue at the Olathe office is one of only 14 the company currently has.

How can we keep up with the technological advancements growers face in the field?  In this Precision Pays Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology we sit down with Katie Dierker, Division Marketing Manager with John Deere and find out what John Deere is doing to meet the increased demands of growers in the field.

This summer, John Deere had its biggest John Deere New Product Launch in its history.  One of their goals is to keep growers on the go in the field.  Dierker says they focused a lot on the front in of the combine.

You can subscribe to the Precision Pays Podcast here.

Here is an edited video of Max Armstrong presenting the new John Deere products at the 2011 Farm Progress Show. John Deere experts explain some of the features on the new S-Series combines and R-Series tractors.

2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Dealers and the media got to see the most significant product launch in the 174 year history of the company last week – the farming public got to see it for the first time Tuesday at the opening of the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL.

Max Armstrong, Farm Progress Director of Broadcasting, emceed the event at the John Deere exhibit, which drew a huge crowd eager to find out what was hiding under the black tarps. First to be unveiled was the new S-Series combines, which we previewed on AgWired last week.

The S-Series includes five models: S550, S660, S670, S680 – and the one that was unveiled, the S690, which is an all-new Class 9 machine.

Next to come out for the fans was a sample of the new R-Series tractors, the 9560RT. The 9R/9RT Series is a complete lineup of 4WD and Tracked tractors designed to increase more productivity, power and efficiency. An overview of all the R-Series tractors can be found on AgWired.

John Deere also showcased Machine Sync and the newer, faster Gators. We have lots of photos in the John Deere FPS photo album and we will be bringing you video and audio interviews about the new products in the days to come, so stay tuned!

John Deere Farm Progress Show Unveiling Photos

John Deere unveiled a product that you couldn’t see on the show floor at this week’s product launch in Indianapolis, IN. It’s called Machine Sync. This new technology provides “timely, critical information on equipment location, operational status and automates equipment during harvest.”

“Having real-time data is critical for equipment operators during harvest,” says Holli Brokaw, AMS product manager for John Deere. “Our new Machine Sync and Machine Communication Radio provide the accurate, in-field information producers need to maximize efficiencies during the hectic harvest season.”

The radio, which is easy to set up and use, teams up with the Machine Sync activation and GreenStar™ 3 2630 Display and StarFire Receiver to create the in-field network to share logistics information.
Machine Sync is a John Deere exclusive system that takes harvest automation to the next level and the first application that uses the Machine Communication Radio hardware.

At this media day preview we got a field demonstration of how Machine Sync work from John Deere’s Bob Dyer. This was a simulated corn harvest demonstration where the combine and tractor/grain cart were “in sync.” I asked Bob to describe how the system works and you can also see the demonstration in the video.

You can listen to my interview with Bob here: Interview with Bob Dyer

2011 John Deere Product Launch Photo Album

I’ve been attending the 2011 John Deere product launch in Indianapolis, IN. It’s a big show with a lot of big equipment. John Deere will be one of our sponsors of coverage at next week’s Farm Progress Show where the new tractors and combines will be on display.

I spoke with Barry Nelson, John Deere Manager, Media Relations, to get an overview of all the products being launched. He says it is the largest product launch in the company’s history. John Deere will be 175 years old next year! Get a “picture” of the whole lineup in our interview.

You can listen to my interview with Barry here: Interview with Barry Nelson

2011 John Deere Product Launch Photo Album

The Coalition to Save Our GPS is growing as new evidence mounts that a proposed communications network would interfere with GPS systems.

A report was released last week by a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) technical working group on the potential for interference to GPS from the proposal by Virginia-based company LightSquared to set up 40,000 wireless broad-band stations across the nation on a frequency that is right next to the one used by GPS.

The FCC reports that the working group “identified significant technical issues” related to potential LightSquared interference in the upper portion of the L-Band, next to the band used by GPS. “The tests demonstrated potentially significant interference between LightSquared operations in the upper portion of the band and various GPS receivers,” the agency said in a public notice announcing a 30 day comment period on the issue.

“The report of the working group demonstrates there is no practical solution to mitigate the interference that would result if the proposal is allowed,” said Ken Golden of John Deere. “It is not acceptable to allow a new network to interfere with these vitally important industries and weaken the strong competitive position of the U.S. in the global economy. Research has shown that losing the use of GPS technology could have a negative impact of $14 billion to $30 billion annually for U.S. farmers.”

The coalition just announced an expansion of its membership last week, including new agriculture industry members such as AGCO, Agricultural Retailers Association, National Agricultural Aviation Association, National Cotton Council of America, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, North American Equipment Dealers Association, and USA Rice Federation. The coalition reportedly now represents more than 100,000 companies and millions of individuals, either independently or through trade associations – including public safety, aviation, transportation, construction, technology, recreation, shipping, agriculture and consumer manufacturers.

Information on how to comment on the issue to the FCC can be found here. Comments must be received by July 30, 2011.

John Deere introduced FarmSight during the Commodity Classic earlier this month and we told you about it at the time, but I also had a chance to learn more about it from Audrey Bartlett, product manager for John Deere Ag Management Solutions.

“John Deere FarmSight is really all about having these advanced technology solutions integrated with our platform equipment – tractors, sprayers, combines – and also how the dealer will be a valued and trusted advisor to make your operation more productive and efficient,” Audrey told me. “It’s really a strategy and underneath that strategy we have three main pillars.”

Those pillars are:

Machine Optimization – John Deere FarmSight provides solutions that will get the most out of your machine using precision technology and wireless, mobile data networks for higher levels of productivity and increased uptime.

Logistics Optimization – John Deere FarmSight will better manage logistics and machinery use from remote locations through fleet management solutions and increased machine to machine communication.

Ag Decision Support – John Deere FarmSight provides user-friendly monitors, sensors, and wireless, mobile networks to provide easy access to machinery and agronomic data essential to making proactive management decisions for your operation.

Listen to Audrey explain the FarmSight strategy here: Audrey Bartlett with John Deere

Find out more about John Deere FarmSight by going to www.johndeere.com/farmsight

2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Only eight months until the world’s largest agricultural machinery and equipment exhibition opens its gates in Hanover, Germany with more manufacturers of tractors, agricultural machinery and equipment than ever before.

During the 2011 Commodity Classic, I had a chance to chat with our friends Malene Conlong and Annette Reichhold with DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – German Agricultural Society) who organize the bi-annual Agritechnica. “It is in fact the biggest show,” Malene said. “It’s got 355,000 visitors from all over the world and many of them are from America. In fact, 3-4,000 people come from North America to visit the show and 2,300 exhibitors.”

“It’s not only the largest in the world but it’s the most modern in the world and it’s very well organized,” Annette added, explaining that they have 18 halls under the show roof, structured by topic and interest for farmers who attend.

They also choose a special topic to highlight during each Agritechnica and this year it is “smart farming,” according to Malene. “You guys in America actually started this off with your precision farming and this is something that we’ll be exploring in depth,” she said. “We’ll have interactive displays on things like navigation, GPS, sensor technology and we’ll be focusing specifically on protecting the environment and cost reduction for farmers, how to produce more efficiently.”

Agritechnica has partnered with the AgConnect Expo here in the United States to build up a similar show on this side of the Atlantic on the off years – even though they will technically be held in the same calendar year. Agritechnica 2011 will be held November 15-19.

Listen to or download my interview with Malene and Annette here: 2011 Agritechnica Preview

Thanks to John Deere for sponsorship of our coverage of the 2011 Commodity Classic
2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album