John Deere: Agricultural Automation

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It's an interesting history. You started during the late 1990s Internet bubble, a time filled with excitement about what software and technology could achieve. We might find ourselves in a similar situation now. The open question is, to what extent do you think the new technologies that Deere is integrating will appeal to their customers, both downstream to the farmers and the dealer network? I know you're a few years removed from the company, but you were there for the Blue River acquisition and the integration of these systems. Can you walk me through how the company is approaching AI, machine learning, and autonomous software? Also, how well do you think these innovations resonate with customers?

For a long time, Deere could drive a tractor straight, automatically turn it around at the end of a row, and plot a path. These are nearly all the components needed for an automated tillage solution, which Deere announced at CES in early January. However, they weren't fully integrated yet. Deere is now knitting these automations into true autonomy.

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It's an interesting history. You started during the late 1990s Internet bubble, a time filled with excitement about what software and technology could achieve. We might find ourselves in a similar situation now. The open question is, to what extent do you think the new technologies that Deere is integrating will appeal to their customers, both downstream to the farmers and the dealer network? I know you're a few years removed from the company, but you were there for the Blue River acquisition and the integration of these systems. Can you walk me through how the company is approaching AI, machine learning, and autonomous software? Also, how well do you think these innovations resonate with customers?

Regarding AI, machine learning, and Blue River-type technologies, Deere is commercializing them. Deere has studied millions of photos of weeds versus healthy agricultural products and can distinguish between them. This capability is essential for automatically spraying to kill weeds without harming plants, as seen in See & Spray. Deere is turning the corner by offering truly autonomous solutions and profitably using AI.

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What's your take on this? Am I being overly critical, or are farmers excited about this? Are they skeptical? What's your general view here?

That's a great question, and I think it's the right one to be asking. I'll try to provide some context without belaboring the point. Deere has some really terrific value-added solutions that truly work and offer value. For instance, Deere has published information in the past few months about what it accomplished with See & Spray last year. It covered about a million commercial acres, and See & Spray delivered around $16 per acre of value while charging the farmer approximately $4 per acre to use the solution. These are just round numbers, but that's real value.

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