The Future of Farming: John Deere’s Autonomous Tillage Solution

Michael Porter: Yes, absolutely. I'm happy to be on. Michael Porter, I'm the go-to-market manager for large tractors and tillage for John Deere. I've been with John Deere just a little bit over 10 years in a variety of different roles. I've been happy to be in this role for the last year or so. 

Tony: Awesome. Again, welcome back to the show. You and I got to chat a little bit at the 2024 Commodity Classic, talking about those new 9RX high horsepower beasts that are out there in the wild now. Autonomous tillage. How do we need to go about thinking about this type of a solution? What is this going to do and how is it going to help the farmers out there that are interested in this type of a solution? 

Michael: It's a tractor that's actually going to go run in a field without an operator in it. It's going to do your tillage work for you, whether it be in the spring or in the fall. As for the next part of that, which is what does it mean for customers and why is it important and what's it going to help them with, it's right now there's a lot of things going on, especially in the spring and the fall, super busy times of the year. I don't think you're going to find a farmer out there that says, "I need probably more help in some of those time periods." 

What this allows them to do is really to go take a tractor, really a normal tractor with our autonomous perception system on it, take it to a field, start it, and then go do something else, most likely something maybe more valuable with their time or maybe more productive with their time than sitting in a tractor going back and forth in a field doing tillage. Whether that be planting, getting the seed in the ground before the rain, or maybe it's getting all the stocks ripped before the ground freezes in the fall while they go run the combine or whole grain. It's really just trying to get more done in the same amount of time with really the same inputs they've always had. 

Tony: You talk about all the different ways, whether it be the planting windows or reallocating labor where you can go and do something different. The question I always get from people when we start to talk autonomy, who is this solution for? Is it for just the big guys that have five tillage tools out there running? Is this for a mom and pop operation, like you're saying, being able to focus on planting while the autonomous tillage solution is out there in the field digging? From John Deere, where do we see this solution landing? 

Michael: I think the answer to that question is yes. It's anyone who needs to get more done in the same amount of time. Whether that's because they're trying to grow their operation, maybe it is a mom and pop and they don't have extra hands, it's just them. Maybe it's a father and son or a mother and a daughter, whoever it is, and they just don't have the ability to get more labor, but they're trying to get things done. Obviously, that's going to be a great opportunity for them to get what they need to get done in a timely fashion. 

Then to your point, maybe on the bigger operators, it is that they have so much going on and they are spread so thin, it's a force multiplier and they take the help that they do have. Instead of that guy running one machine, he's now able to go manage two or three machines. We've seen in our early testing and out with customers that we've got all kinds of customers and really it's anyone who needs that efficiency bump without adding headcount. 

Tony: How do we do this? Are we sitting behind a computer, or what is needed from the controller standpoint to operate this autonomous tillage tool? 

Michael: Besides the hardware side, which we can get into, but controlling the machine is all done from operation center mobile. Really your cell phone or your iPad. What that means is they don't have to be tied to a desk somewhere. It's designed, the system is designed around being able to be utilized wherever you are. 

Really to turn the machine or to control the machine, the first thing they have to do is they have to take it to the field. That's one thing to maybe call out is this thing isn't driving itself down the road. The farmer, the customer is going to continue to move this machine field to field. Then once they get to that field, hopefully, a lot of the setup's been done ahead of time with things like a work planner and set of files and things like that. All they really have to do once they get to that field is pull into the field and then basically swipe from their phone. 

By swiping from their phone, they're going to activate the machine and it's going to take over from there. It's going to do its safety checks. It's going to look at the work plan that's been designed using autopath and using systems on the machine like auto track turn automation and all these other stuff that maybe customers are familiar with from our G5 advanced or our Gen 4 automation bundles. It's going to pull all those things together to go and actually operate without you. 

Once you start the machine from your phone, having to be in the field to start it to make sure that everything's ready to go, they're able to then go about their day and go and go look at other tasks. Again, maybe it is going and planting and running it remote and watching it and running it remotely from their phone, or maybe it's hauling grain. I will say, one of the things they do have to still think about is the logistical side of it. Another way to look at is instead of one person going and doing something else, maybe that one person is now managing two or three of these machines. A force multiplier to get more tillage done with the same person. 

Tony: Yes, those are all very good points. I think one of the key factors there, you talk about being able to control it from operation center mobile. Whether that be your cell phone or an iPad, not being tied to a desk, I think, is a huge piece because I would imagine a lot of people are assuming that, yes, it's somebody sitting behind a computer watching cameras or whatever it may be. The reality of it is you control it right from your mobile device. 

The next thing you talked about is being prepared, which brings me into my next question, Michael. You talked about the setup in the operation center and some of those aspects of it. What can a customer do today to best prepare themselves if they are interested in an autonomous solution in the near future here? 

Michael: I think that's a great question. I think the more that they can do today, the easier that transition gets when they do adopt or have one of these machines on their farm. I said the first thing that's nothing new, but it continues to be one of the things that you're going to hear from your preachers around boundaries. The system utilizes boundaries. I'd say as we move into autonomy, we're upping the ante a little bit where we need what we're calling autonomy boundaries. 

All that really means is your boundary has been mapped with a super high level of accuracy. Think SF-RTK if you're utilizing our StarFire 7000 and StarFire 7500 and you have that activation or RTK network, our radio RTK signal, it has to be mapped with one of those two with one of the latest updates from our displays, our G4 or G5 display. 

What that allows us to do is make sure that we know down to the sub inch level exactly where the boundary is, because that's really the containment zone, right? That machine's going to stay and it's not going to go outside of that boundary at any point. The first thing they can do is make sure they have autonomy-capable boundaries. 

The nice thing is when we're mapping those boundaries today, right there in the display, it's going to alert them if the boundary is of high enough quality to be an autonomy boundary. Really, it's saying, do you have the best level of signal you can? Is that signal strength good enough that our confidence level is high in that boundary? 

Number one is mapping those boundaries and mapping the field using those SF-RTK or radio RTK signals. Obviously, the outside of that field, but then also inside the field, waterways, telephone poles, tile inlets, whatever those are, mapping around those. That way, the machine has a really, really good picture or a good map of what that field looks like so that the machine can run optimally once it gets there. 

First, I would say is boundaries. The next step is understanding how the machine operates, how the base path planning works for the machine. It's nothing new for these machines. The autonomous solution is really replacing the eyes of an operator. The path planning is all done from stuff that we've been using, things like autopath for boundaries and auto track turn automation and true sets. Those are all the things that are actually operating the machine going through the field. 

For our customer today, one of the best things they can do to understand how this machine is going to operate is to get used to things like ATTA and autopath and true set, because those are all the enabling hardware that the autonomous solution uses. Again, the autonomous solution, when we put that on a machine, it's not changing how it maps the field or how it drives. It's just utilizing autopath with turn automation with true set to the extreme. 

Getting comfortable that maybe that machine is going to turn slightly different than I would, that's because that's how ATTA is programmed. Getting comfortable with how ATTA works, auto track turn automation, and then understanding how it's going to split up that field or divide that field is really all autopath from boundaries. Getting used to those things on their farm is going to make the transition to autonomy even easier. 

Tony: Yes. All those components, all the hardware, the enabling hardware, that's going to bring you to complete automation. I think it often gets overlooked that we can go from 0 to 60 or couch to 5K. One of the best things to do is, like you said, getting those boundaries, getting those autonomous-capable boundaries or autonomy-capable boundaries in your operation center, using those enabling hardwares today in order to best prepare yourself for that autonomous solution down the road. 

Now, the next thing that I think is very unique about this entire solution from when John Deere first talked about offering this into the market is this is not that science fictional cabless machine robot out there. This is using components or machines, tractors and tillage tools that are available in the market, possibly on your farm already today. There's a unique component to this, Michael, of utilizing autonomy or turning that autonomy off. How does that look if a customer adopts this? How can they utilize this machine in both settings? 

Michael: This is a normal machine. By normal, it doesn't even have to be a model year '24 or '25. We're able to take this technology back to older machines, back to 2020 and a half, 8Rs and model year '22 and newer 9Rs. We're taking tractors that have existed, we're adding these components to it. What they've been using those tractors for, they can continue to use. They're not paying for autonomy when they're operating it. 

What this really means is they don't have to use autonomy when they don't need to. If it's not a busy part of the year, and they have available labor to go run and do tillage, that's great. Where it really comes into effect is when they decide they need to use autonomy or want to use autonomy. It's then just turning that on in the machine and walking away. It gives them a lot of flexibility. 

We say you only pay for what you use. If you're running this tractor yourself or manually, you're not paying the acreage fees that come with autonomy. Then when you do decide that you need to use it, you need to go do something else. It's a really, really quick transition of just turning it on in the display, swiping from your phone, and letting that machine take over right from where you left off. It makes for a really seamless transition and allows a ton of flexibility for those customers to only use it when they really need to or want to and not feel like they have to use it all the time. 

Tony: There is a use-based license fee or a per acre license fee tied to it. If it's the end of harvest, you're done with everything else, and you just want to go sit in that tillage tool and go back and forth, you can turn the autonomy off and you're not paying for any additional features. You could use it either way. You brought up some really good points about just the use case of it. 

Now, we also talked about the 8Rs or 9Rs that are sitting on our farms today, compatibility. What kind of tractors are we using? What kind of tillage tools are we using? What does this kit look like? All of the nitty-gritty about the hardware of this autonomous tillage solution. 

Michael: Yes, let's start with maybe what machines are we looking at and which ones we can use today and in the near future. If we look at the 8R and the 8RX, so the four-track and the wheeled machines are compatible today. We're still working on the two-track, the 8RTs and the 9RTs that are out there. If we start with the 8R and the 8RX, it's anything 2020 and a half and newer. When we made the transition to the newer cabs, so 2020 and a half and newer 8Rs are compatible. Then 2022 and newer 9R and 9RX. 

Now, when we look at that, there's different options on those machines as we've gone through those years. One of the things we started doing, starting in model year '24, is we started with what we call autonomy prep. Most of our machines in the US in 2024 got an autonomy prep package on them. If they did, that means it has most of the hardware already installed on the machine that it needs. That includes the display, the receivers, and implement Ethernet, things like that. 

Then when we moved into 2025, we have what we call autonomy ready, which means that machine is ready to go. All it needs is the camera system installed. If we dive into those a little bit deeper, and let's just talk about the overall components that are needed to be added to these tractors that these tractors have to have. 

Some of the first things are, it needs to have a Gen 5 or a G5 Plus display with the G5 Advanced package on there. It also needs a StarFire 7500 receiver. It needs our implement Ethernet kit to communicate between that implement and the machine. It needs active alarm for safety. Then it needs a safety, or what we call a redundant braking valve to make sure that, no matter what, this machine can stop in an emergency. 

The nice thing is, for customers out there going, "Well, I don't know what I have or what I need," the good news is we've got them all kitted up based on what model and what machine you have to make it really easy. If you know the serial number of your machine, your dealer will be able to tell you, "You're going to need this kit that has everything you need included." Which, if your machine needs an upgrade to the display, needs to go from a Gen 4 to a G5 Plus, and you need to install that receiver, all of that's included in the kit for your model, your machine, which makes it really, really easy. That's all through our precision upgrades group, or our precision upgrade kits, more commonly called. 

The tillage side really just needs two set actives, a lighting kit to really light up so the machine can always see what's going on around it, and some harnessing for those lights, as well as harnessing to add a StarFire receiver to that tillage tool. We have an implement mast and the harnessing to install a receiver, so that way, the tractor always knows where that machine is. 

Again, the nice thing is for those customers who may be sitting out there going, "How do I piece all this together?" Same concept, we have kits for every model year of the tillage tools that we have out there. What specific tillage tools we're going to be able to be used with? Today, we have the spring time frame, we have our VT tools, our 2660 VTs, as well as our 2230 floating hitch field cultivators. That's the first spring units. In the fall, obviously, we can use the VT tool in some areas, some areas that may not be as big of a tool. We also have the ability to use our 2430 chisel plow. Where we sit today, those are really the three tools that we have out there available, but we're always adding compatibility. 

I think here, when we look at commodity classic of 2025, in the last couple of months, we'll have introduced a ton of new autonomy ready tillage tools from the factory, which I think really gives a clear indication that all of these are-- they're all coming very quickly. Really, in the next couple of months, and as we look at fall, we'll also have the ability to use our high speed disc. Autonomous-ready tractors makes it really easy to adopt. Autonomy-ready tillage tools also makes it really easy where it already has all that hardware installed. Even if it doesn't, we can add it to your machine really easy. 

Tony: Yes, John Deere has done a great job for not only the customers, but also the dealers and putting together these kits, whether it be you're buying a tractor that is autonomy-ready, you're buying the tillage tool that's autonomy-ready, or like you said, we're taking those older machines, not only the 2024/2025 machines, but the older machines as well, and being able to implement those kits onto those tools or tractors to get your autonomous tillage solution. 

If you're a customer out there, you're curious, you're interested, those are some things you can look at if you're looking, maybe the used market, looking for model year '24 or '25 tractors that have some of those autonomous capabilities, or tillage tools, or just making sure you're getting to that level of compatibility to be able to implement the autonomous tillage solution in the future. A lot of great ways to go about that. Michael, if anybody wants to learn more about the autonomous tillage solution and what John Deere has to offer, where can they go, who can they talk to learn about these great things? 

Michael: Yes, first thing I'd say is talk to your local dealer, talk to the dealer that you work with from Deere, as we're always working with them to make sure they have the latest and greatest information, whether that be you guys here at RDO or if maybe they're listening somewhere else in the world. 

The other place would be Deere.com. We do have some specific pages devoted to the autonomous tillage solution, going through what it takes, what it does, and how it works, as well as maybe what you may need from a compatibility kit to add to your machine today. Always best place to start is with your local John Deere dealer. 

Tony: Awesome. I just want to thank you once again, Michael, for taking the time out of your day to talk to us here on the Agriculture Technology Podcast. It is always a pleasure having you on the show and listening to the solutions and equipment and components that you guys and John Deere have to offer. 

Michael: I appreciate you guys letting me come on and discuss, I'm excited to see where this autonomous tillage goes. 

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