John Deere & Company has partnered with SpaceX to bring cutting-edge satellite communications (SATCOM) to farmers using the Starlink network. This collaboration will enable farmers to overcome rural connectivity challenges and fully utilize precision agriculture technologies for increased productivity and sustainability.
John Deere-SpaceX Partnership
On January 16, 2024, John Deere announced a strategic partnership with SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, to provide cutting-edge satellite communications (SATCOM) service to farmers.
Utilizing the industry-leading Starlink network, this solution will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies. Starlink is a constellation of thousands of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that provide high-speed, low-latency, and affordable internet access to anywhere on the planet.
“The value of connectivity to farmers is broader than any single task or action. Connectivity unlocks vast opportunities that were previously limited or unavailable,” said Aaron Wetzel, Vice President of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems at John Deere. “For example, throughout the year, farmers must complete tasks within extremely short windows of time. This requires executing incredibly precise production steps while coordinating between machines and managing machine performance. Each of these areas are enhanced through connectivity, making the entire operation more efficient, effective, and profitable.”
By connecting machines through ruggedized terminals, the SATCOM solution will facilitate autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, and more, optimizing farming operations. However, the initiative, set for a limited release in the United States and Brazil in the second half of 2024.
“John Deere has led the agriculture equipment industry for more than two decades with satellite-based precision guidance technology,” said Jahmy Hindman, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at John Deere. “Now, we are bringing satellite communications service to the farm at scale so farmers with cellular coverage challenges can maximize the value of connectivity to their operations. The SATCOM solution unlocks the John Deere tech stack so every farmer can fully utilize their current precision agriculture technology in addition to the new innovative solutions they will deploy in the future. We initiated this process with a fierce focus on delivering value to our customers, and this partnership ensures we have a solution that meets their needs today and in the future.”
Why There Was A Need Of This Partnership?
In the middle of America, where there are huge fields as far as you can see, there’s a big problem for farmers: not having good internet. Technology has made farming better with things like precision farming, but many people who live outside of cities don’t have good internet.
A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2022 showed that almost 30% of people in rural areas don’t have access to good internet. This makes it hard for them to connect online and makes it tough to use new farming technology that needs fast internet to work properly.
The digital gap between urban and rural areas has big effects. A report from the USDA shows that because rural places don’t have good internet access, the economy loses about $680 million every year. This means rural communities miss out on chances to do well and keep up in today’s digital world.
To see how big the gap is, just look at the numbers: Almost all city folks (98%) can get broadband internet, but only 70% of rural people can. This big difference makes existing gaps even worse. It makes it hard for rural farmers to use all the benefits of precision agriculture to make more crops, help the environment, and earn more money.
This is were the need for this partnership arises from the fact that many farmers in the United States and Brazil, two of the largest agricultural markets in the world, do not have access to reliable cellular or broadband internet service.
Therefore, having good internet can help farmers grow more crops and use less water and fertilizer. Precision agriculture can increase crop yields by 10-25%, save 20% of water, and use fertilizer better, up to 30%.
With precision agriculture, farmers can check how healthy their soil and crops are, put the right amount of stuff like water and fertilizer, and let machines do some work. It also helps them make smarter choices. A report from Grand View Research says that by 2025, the precision agriculture market could be worth about $26.68 billion, and it’s growing about 13.1% every year.
How It Will Improve Precision Farming?
Precision farming means using technology to make farming better and help the environment. It’s about gathering and looking at information from different places like satellites, sensors, drones, and machines to watch over and take care of crops, soil, water, and tools.
Here are some of the key advantages how this partnership aims to leverage SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access to farmers in remote areas, enabling them to use John Deere’s software and services for precision farming.
1. Real-time data collection and analysis: Farmers can now use Starlink’s fast internet to quickly gather and check data from their fields and machines. They don’t need to wait for slow cellular or Wi-Fi connections anymore.
This helps them keep a close eye on things like how wet the soil is, how well the crops are growing, and how their machines are doing. They can also save all this information on John Deere’s online tool, Operations Center, to study it later and share it with their helpers and friends.
In the meantime, with the high-speed connectivity, farmers will also be able to get greater benefits from the collaboration between GeoPard and John Deere. This will enable them to gain Real-time insights into their fields, such as real-time calculations of Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE) and the ability to generate profitability maps immediately after harvesting.
2. Autonomous tractors and equipment: John Deere’s machines are equipped with advanced sensors, cameras, GPS, and artificial intelligence (AI) that enable them to perform tasks like seeding, harvesting, and spraying with less human input.
With Starlink’s internet connection, these machines can communicate with each other and with the Operations Center more reliably and securely. This can improve coordination, safety, and quality of work.
3. Remote diagnostics and repair: Starlink’s internet can help farmers find and solve problems with their machines faster. This means less time when machines aren’t working and less money spent on fixing them.
John Deere’s Remote Display Access (RDA) lets farmers see their machine’s screen from far away and fix problems. John Deere’s Service ADVISOR Remote lets dealers check the machine’s codes and software from far away and fix it without coming to the farm.
4. Improved farm management: Farmers can use Starlink’s internet and John Deere’s software to help them use resources better and decide things based on facts. They can use tools like Field Analyzer to compare different situations and see what might happen with the weather, soil, crops, costs, and prices.
They can use tools like Field Connect to manage watering by checking how wet the soil is. They can also use tools like JDLink Connect to see where machines are, how much fuel they use, when they’re not being used, and if anything needs attention.
Moreover, the integration of GeoPard into the John Deere Operation Center has enabled real-time detection of sugar beet and weeds in the field with Hamm Lipstadt. With enhanced connectivity, the process of capturing photos, sending them to GeoPard, and detecting weeds and sugar beet in real-time will be quick. This improvement will allow farmers to promptly take action to mitigate yield loss and enhance crop management practices.
5. Increased productivity and profitability: Research shows that precision farming can make farms earn 5-10% more money. When farmers use Starlink’s internet and John Deere’s software and help, they can make their crops better and get more of them. It also helps to spend less money on things like seeds and fertilizer, work more efficiently, and sell to more places.
6. Greater sustainability: With precision farming, farmers will be able to decrease their impact on the environment. By utilizing Starlink’s internet connection and John Deere’s software and services, they will reduce water usage by up to 25%, optimize fertilizer application by up to 40%, and lower emissions by up to 15% from fewer passes over the fields.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the partnership between John Deere and SpaceX is set to revolutionize farming practices. By leveraging SpaceX’s Starlink network, farmers in rural areas will gain access to high-speed internet, overcoming connectivity challenges. This advancement will enable them to harness the power of precision agriculture technologies, leading to increased productivity and sustainability. This partnership marks a significant step forward in bridging the digital divide in agriculture and unlocking the full potential of precision farming for farmers around the world.
Precision Farming
