In a world where farm labor is becoming harder to come across and the population continues to grow, farmers have started looking towards automation to help fill in those gaps.

In the last year, we have seen this shift in focus more and more, especially with John Deere.

Back at CHS 2022, John Deere revealed their fully automated tractor that combines Deere’s 8R tractor, TruSet-enabled chisel plow, GPS guidance system, and new advanced technology.

At CES 2023, John Deere announced its latest futuristic technology to help farmers save money and use less chemicals called the ExactShot.

So, how does ExactShot technology work?

The ExactShot allows farmers to reduce the amount of starter fertilizer that is needed during planting by 60 percent. This new technology uses sensors and robots to place starter fertilizer directly on the seeds as they are being planted.

A release from Deere explains how it works;

ExactShot uses a sensor to register when each individual seed is in the process of going into the soil. As this occurs, a robot will spray only the amount of fertilizer needed, about 0.2 ML, directly onto the seed at the exact moment as it goes into the ground.

Deere is predicting that the ExactShot could save corn producers across the United States  93 million gallons of starter fertilizer a year.

And this isn't the only piece of technology John Deere has been promoting this year that includes sensors to help farmers reduce fertilizer/ chemical use.

John Deere
John Deere
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Back at the Farm Progress Show, I was able to take a look at Deere's See & Spray technology. The strayer can separate weeds and crops by using cameras and processors said Franklin Peitz Sprayer Marketing Manager for John Deere.

“We've got 36 cameras across this 120-foot boom, constantly scanning about 2100 square feet at all times. The cameras are the eyes. We also have processors on the boom and those are the brains. So the cameras are scanning below the processor identifying what's a weed and what's a crop, and then sending a signal to the nozzle only to spray the weeds.

This See & Spray technology can help farmers significantly reduce fertilizer costs by reducing the amount needed in fields.

John Deere's See & Spray Technology

In 2023, farmers will have the opportunity to utilize John Deere's latest See & Spray technology in the field. Lets take a look around the machine.