The Ag Journal | 7 Jan

Author

Sam Turner
January 07, 2025

Welcome to 2025!

IN THIS EMAIL:

It’s long been speculated at how the big guys will approach the market of autonomous tractors. There have been many ground up redesigns of the tractor into farm bots like Swarm Farm and GUSS, but John Deere has made one of the most pragmatic steps to getting the technology into the hands of growers now.

Released at CES in Las Vegas, John Deere have developed what they are calling an “Autonomy Kit” that fits their newer, high horsepower machines. This kit allows these traditional tractors to perform tillage autonomously. The kit will be offered as a factory fitted option on future models and allows growers greater flexibility over how they use their machines.

The 16-camera array add-on, which only enables tillage autonomy for now, will be available this year with a full release in 2026. A separate kit is installed on 2017-and-newer tillage implements.

This retro fit approach is the thin edge of the wedge for the big green giant and will allow the firm to integrate autonomous operations into existing farming operations and equipment without the need for a completely new platform.

From here, Deere will be introducing new capabilities into the system and begin to incorporate higher automation levels.

If adopted by growers, this move will set John Deere up to continue to hold a significant lead in the AgTech market for tractors and implements.

2024 marked a significant milestone for Australian beef exports, hitting an all time high of 1.43 million tones, up 24% from 2023, smashing the previous records of 1.22 and 1.23m tones in 2015-2016.

Driving the record numbers was a surge in exports in December, traditionally a quiet month for exports. Some of the unusual late surge in trade was due to shipments being made in advance of Safeguard Tariff adjustments due to take place from 1 January in South Korea and China where market protection tariffs leapt due to unusually large shipments earlier in the year.

With the US cattle herd at some of it’s lowest numbers in recent history and predicted to decline further and Australian herds rebuilt after destocking in 2019, 2025 is shaping up to be a good year for Australian cattle growers.

Increasing international demand and reduced American supply, prices have some significant market support.

Hornwort is a small unassuming plant with the potential to drastically increase the efficiency of our crop plants.

Hornwort has the unique ability to concentrate CO2 around the rubisco enzyme, increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis.

By increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis, the hornwort plant is better able to grow and compete in it’s environment.

By incorporating this biochemical pathway into our crop plants, there is the potential to drastically increase the yield and efficiency of our crops, helping to improve crop production.

That’s a wrap,

-ST