Deere Links With Musk's SpaceX to Automate Farming

"Deere & Co. said it would tap SpaceX's satellite fleet to propel the tractor maker's digital farming push and help automate planting and harvesting in remote locations.

The world's largest manufacturer of farm machinery signed a deal with SpaceX's Starlink business to connect tractors, seed planters, crop sprayers and other equipment in areas that lack adequate internet service, allowing them to use Deere's digital products.

"This takes us a step closer to ubiquitous connectivity anywhere in the world," said Jahmy Hindman, Deere's chief technology officer. "The biggest opportunity for us is to expose existing technologies to more customers."

Illinois-based Deere has been investing billions of dollars in building out computer-assisted services for farmers, including software that allows herbicide sprayers to distinguish crops from weeds and driverless tractors to plow fields.

The agreement shows the growing influence of Starlink, a division of Elon Musk's SpaceX that uses satellites to provide high-speed internet.

Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX didn't respond to requests for comment. Starlink noted the deal with Deere in a post on X, and said the service is ideal for rural locations.

Deere tested satellites for about eight months before settling on Starlink.

SpaceX's ability to build satellites and launch them with its own rockets makes it easier for Starlink to expand its fleet than some of its competitors, Hindman said.

Deere, which sells around 60% of high-horsepower tractors used in the U.S. and Canada, wants to generate 10% of its annual revenue by the end of the decade from software service fees. The company reported $55.6 billion in equipment sales in its most recent fiscal year.

Deere's digital-farming offerings enable farmers to monitor equipment remotely in their fields, troubleshoot problems without hauling tractors to repair shops and receive real-time data on soil, seeds and planting. Many farmers rely on wireless signals from land-based towers to use these digital services.

But about 30% of the acres farmed in the U.S. lack sufficient Wi-Fi service, according to Deere. Elsewhere in the world, the wireless deficit is even bigger. In Brazil, one of the world's largest producers of soybeans, sugar cane, fruit and other farm commodities, more than 70% of the acres farmed lack adequate connectivity.

Deere said Starlink service will debut in Brazil and unconnected parts of the U.S. later this year, with more countries to follow. The company added that the SpaceX-made antennas, which dealers will install on top of vehicle cabs, will be customized for dusty, rugged conditions.

Farmers' costs for the pizza-box-size antennas and software service haven't been determined yet, Deere said. Farmers that have adequate land-based cellular service gain access to data, monitoring services and software when they buy Deere equipment. The company is working toward charging software fees based on farmers' usage of the programs and updating the software without requiring farmers to buy new equipment." [1]

1. Business News: Deere Links With Musk's SpaceX to Automate Farming. Tita, Bob; Maidenberg, Micah.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 Jan 2024: B.3.