The future of farming is arriving, and it’s driving itself. A recent report in Investors.com details John Deere’s latest leap forward: the unveiling of new, fully autonomous tractors. As labor shortages and the need for increased efficiency become more pressing, Deere’s innovation signals a significant shift towards automated farming.
By Patrick Seitz, Investors Business Daily
LAS VEGAS — Heavy-equipment manufacturer Deere (DE) on Monday unveiled a lineup of autonomous tractors that it says will ease the labor shortages experienced by its customers in agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. Deere stock has formed a base.
At the CES 2025 technology trade show, Deere unveiled robotic tractors for four market segments.
The autonomous machines include an articulated dump truck for quarry operations, a farming tractor for soil tilling, a diesel orchard tractor for spraying trees, and a battery-electric mower for commercial landscaping.
CES 2025 officially opens Tuesday, but major exhibitors held preview events on Monday.
Jahmy Hindman, Deere senior vice president and chief technology officer, said the company’s new autonomous tractors will help alleviate the “persistent challenge” of labor shortages faced by farmers, contractors and companies.
“We are creating real solutions for our customers’ real needs,” he said on a media webcast ahead of the show.
He said the average farmer is over the age of 58 and puts in 12 to 18 hours of work a day to grow our food. Autonomous machines can do some of the monotonous work of soil prep and spraying for pests and disease.
Plus, farmers face recurring shortages of seasonal workers as well.
Labor shortages also are a persistent problem for contractors and landscape firms, he said.
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In addition to adding autonomy to new farming and construction equipment, Deere will be offering kits to retrofit existing tractors in use, Hindman said. The autonomy kit includes advanced computer vision, AI, sensors and cameras to help the machines navigate their environments. The system uses an Nvidia (NVDA) Jetson processor module.
Deere introduced its first autonomous machine, a field tractor, at CES 2022.
“The pace of our autonomy solutions is accelerating,” Hindman said.
The new tractors will be in limited production at first with units available in the fall.
Other heavy-equipment builders touting autonomous machines at CES 2025 include Caterpillar (CAT) and Oshkosh (OSK).
Deere stock has formed a flat base with a buy point of 469.39, according to IBD MarketSurge charts. However, as of Friday’s close, it was trading near the bottom of the base and below its 50-day moving average line.
Learn more at www.investors.com/news/technology/deere-stock-equipment-maker-unveils-new-autonomous-tractors.
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