Feed and labor are the two biggest budget items for dairies. With the costs of both climbing, could autonomy be a possible solution for the labor shortage on dairy farms today? John Deere is banking on it, with a goal of offering a fully autonomous equipment fleet in just seven years.
According to Stan Moore with Michigan State University Dairy Extension, labor costs eat up nearly 14% of a dairy’s total expenses, with year-over-year labor expenses trending higher.
As the policy battle over labor issues continues, it seems the answer to solving dairy farmers’ labor woes may need to take root in other places. And less manpower needed to run equipment may be one of those solutions.
In an exclusive interview with Farm Journal during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Deere & Co.’s Chief Technology Officer (CT) Jahmy Hindman says Deere has already made a down payment on autonomy for the future with its autonomous tillage solution.
“It’s the most practical from a technology perspective place for us to start, but eventually that’s going to become an autonomous planting opportunity, it’s going to become an autonomous grain cart opportunity. When we get tractor jobs finished, we’ll look at sprayers and at combines,” says Hindman.
Sights Set on 2030
As autonomy accelerates, Deere has a clear goal: to offer a fully autonomous equipment fleet in just seven years.
“Our goal is by 2030, in certain production systems, to be able to offer farmers a fully autonomous production system -- from spring tillage and planting all the way through harvest.”
Deere’s 2030 goal is clear, but Hindman understands not every farmer will want to go all-in on autonomy. That’s why he’s adamant farmers will have a choice of options, even in 2030 and beyond.
“There’s a reason there’s a cab still on the tractor,” says Hindman. “There are a lot of growers that maybe don’t want the autonomy solution or don’t see value in it for themselves at this point in time, but they still want to be able to operate the machine. There are a lot of jobs that are done on the farm that we won’t make autonomous.”
(Maybe) you still want to move snow in the wintertime in your driveway where you’re going to do that from the cab of the tractor, right? And as a person that spent a lot of time in a tractor seat, there’s just an emotional attachment and satisfaction that you get from seeing the work done yourself. And so, there’s a reason that a cab is still on the tractor. I think that’s an important part of it.”
Whether it’s autonomous or machine learning, the ag tech space within the equipment industry is gaining traction. So, why is ag tech growing so rapidly? Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Senior VP Curt Blades says one reason is the sheer amount of quality data available today.
“The data is what’s allowing good robotics to make more sense. It’s allowing for better management decisions. It’s allowing for better prescriptions,” he says. “You have to have the data in place to be able to take advantage of some of the technology that was unveiled, either in practice or in concept at CES.”
Are Electric Tractors the Next Wave of the Future?
Another popular theme during CES was electrification. During the 2022 CES, Doosan Bobcat unveiled an all-electric compact track loader, which was also on display this year. This year, Deere introduced its first all-electric excavator.
Even with electric equipment making waves in the construction space, Hindman says the results of electrification in farm equipment is mixed. Hindman says in lower horsepower equipment, Deere’s findings show electrification could be a solution for 100 horsepower and under equipment. But for higher horsepower levels, he says the science shows electrification doesn’t work.
“I talked about the 8R tractors [in the CES keynote},” Hindman says. “When I ran the numbers on it, if you power that with a lithium-ion battery today, it’s twice the volume, twice the weight, twice the mass, and four times the cost. That just doesn’t pencil.”
Fueled By Renewable Diesel
Instead, Hindman says Deere has found renewable fuels and renewable diesel is a better fit for higher horsepower application when you get into the carbon offset discussion.
“Things like renewable diesel, from soybean oil or canola oil, or ethanol as an alternative in a compression ignition engine, would be a more interesting solution at the higher power levels,” says Hindman.
He says the largest limitation for using more renewable diesel products today is availability.
