Farm tractors keep evolving; Popular Science story uses example of Deere, which started with a broken saw blade

Deere & Co. photo via Popular Science

What's better than knowing rich, famous people? Having friends with tractors! At least that's what the Rodney Adkins' song says, and anyone with a modern tractor owns an extraordinary piece of equipment. "Buzzwords like autonomy, artificial intelligence, electrification, and carbon fiber are common in the automotive industry," reports Kristin Shaw of Popular Science magazine. "What might surprise you is just how much 180-year-old agriculture equipment giant John Deere uses these same technologies. The difference is that they're using them on 15-ton farm vehicles."

John Deere, founder Deere & Co., started as a blacksmith in rural Illinois. "He heard complaints from farmer clients about the commonly used cast-iron plows of the day. Sticky soil clung to the iron plows, resulting in a substantial loss in efficiency every time a farmer had to stop and scrape the equipment clean, which could be every few feet," Shaw explains. "Deere was inspired . . . grabbed a broken saw blade to create the first commercially successful, 'self-scouring' steel plow in 1837. . . . The shiny, polished surface of the steel worked beautifully to cut through the dirt much more quickly, with fewer interruptions, and Deere pivoted to a new business."

The internal combustion engine led to tractors, and information technology has changed them. "A couple of years ago, John Deere's chief technology officer Jahmy Hindman told The Verge that the company now employs more software engineers than mechanical engineers." Hindman told Shaw: "Modern farms are very different from the farms of 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and 30 years ago. There are farms that are readily adopting technology that makes agriculture more efficient, more sustainable, and more profitable for growers. And they're using high-end technology: computer vision, machine learning, [satellite] guidance, automation, and autonomy."

Farmers have long gathered data to help them plan for success. From almanacs and journals passed through generations to digital intellectual property, "John Deere, along with competitors like Caterpillar and Mahindra, are in the business of helping farms collect and analyze data with software tied to its farm equipment," Shaw reports. "With the uptake of technology, farming communities in the U.S. are finding ways to make their products more efficient. John Deere has promised to deliver 20 or more electric and hybrid-electric construction equipment models by 2026."

The company that started with a broken saw blade is "pursuing all-electric equipment and has set ambitious emissions reduction targets," Shaw adds. "Yet, John Deere is not bullishly pushing into EV and autonomous territory. It still offers lower-tech options for farmers who aren't ready to go down that path. . . . Farm equipment can last for many years, and tossing new technology into an uninterested or unwilling operation is not the best route to adoption." Hindman told Shaw. "If it doesn't deliver value to the farm, it's not really useful to the farmer."