How John Deere’s S7 combines are paving the way for fully autonomous farming

The S7’s advancements in automation and integration are designed to be a foundation for future autonomous technologies, making the transition to full autonomy smoother for farmers. – Photos: John Deere

John Deere aims to establish a fully autonomous system for corn and soybean production by 2030. Future Farming asked Bergen Nelson, John Deere go-to-market manager for harvest equipment, how the new S7 Combine Harvesters support this vision of autonomy. “With our integrated technology today, we continue to automate job functions in our equipment”, Nelson explains. “And our autonomous technology builds off our current automation technology. The automation on the new S7 is doing just that.”

John Deere has set a goal to achieve a fully autonomous corn and soybean production system by 2030. How does the new S7 Series contribute to this vision of autonomy?

“John Deere continues to build upon the precision ag foundation in our product lines with increased automation and autonomy features being released to help farmers be more productive, profitable and sustainable. Our system is built off our fully integrated solution with our John Deere G5 display, integrated StarFire receiver, JDLink modem and John Deere Operations Center.”

“With our integrated technology today, we continue to automate job functions in our equipment and our autonomous technology builds off our current automation technology. The automation on the new S7 is doing just that. We are automating job functions such as ground speed and harvest settings.”

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Bergen Nelson is John Deere go-to-market manager for harvest equipment.

I understand that the most advanced guidance and automation technologies are bundled into the G5 Advanced Package. Could you elaborate on what this package offers and how it benefits farmers using the S7 on the farm? Do you consider this package to be a step towards full autonomy?

“The G5 Advanced Package is the foundation for autonomy, bringing a new level of machine automation and precision to the field. The G5 Advanced Package for combines includes:

AutoTrac Turn Automation automatically steers the combine during the headland turn towards the next guidance line pass.

AutoPath automatically creates guidance lines throughout the entire field with full header width passes. This technology eliminates any need for counting crop rows to locate guess rows, and easily allows an operator to open a new field with confidence without fearing that final row of shame.

Machine Sync automatically connects the grain cart tractor to the combine while unloading on-the-go, allowing the combine operator to control the speed and positioning of the tractor and therefore the grain cart travelling alongside.

In-Field Data Sharing displays working totals and current location of machines across the fleet. For harvest, by knowing combine locations within the field along with their corresponding grain tank fill levels, grain cart operators can prioritize unloading decisions thereby improving overall operational logistics and productivity.”

“AutoTrac Implement Guidance is also a part of the G5 Advanced license, however, is not relevant in a harvest operation.”

“Our autonomous solutions build off automation and the G5 Advanced package provides easy adoption of future autonomous technologies.”

Key points

Autonomous Farming Goal: John Deere aims to establish a fully autonomous corn and soybean production system by 2030. The new S7 Series combines are a significant step towards this goal. The S7’s advancements in automation and integration are designed to be a foundation for future autonomous technologies, making the transition to full autonomy smoother for farmers.
G5 Advanced Package: The G5 Advanced Package is crucial for autonomy, offering features like AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoPath, Machine Sync, and In-Field Data Sharing, enhancing machine precision and operational efficiency.
Predictive Ground Speed Automation: This optional feature adjusts the combine’s ground speed based on real-time crop measurements and pre-harvest satellite data, improving productivity and reducing grain loss.
Harvest Settings Automation: This feature automates the adjustment of harvest settings, adapting to varying crop conditions to minimize grain loss and optimize performance.
ActiveYield System: This system automates grain calibration as the tank fills, ensuring accurate yield data and reducing manual calibration time, leading to improved field uptime and data accuracy.
Combine Advisor Package: It automates adjustments to five key combine settings (threshing clearance, rotor speed, fan speed, sieve clearance, chaffer clearance), optimizing performance based on crop type and field conditions.
Terrain Settings Automation: Adjusts cleaning fan speed and chaffer and sieve openings based on fore-aft pitch, improving performance and reducing operator stress in hilly areas.

The optional Ultimate Technology Package includes Predictive Ground Speed Automation. How does this feature enhance efficiency for farmers during harvest?

“With Predictive Ground Speed Automation, the technology controls the combine’s ground speed based on crop height and biomass measurements taken pre-harvest from satellite scans and from on-the-go measurements made by cab-mounted cameras.”

“The S7 combine uses two forward, cab-mounted stereo cameras that constantly measures crop height and volume – while pre-harvest satellite field images generate a predictive field map. The combine takes this data and automatically adjusts ground speed BEFORE entering changing crop areas. With this technology, the operator can feel confident to maintain peak feed rates all day long, even in inconsistent crop conditions. That helps increase combine productivity while minimizing grain loss.”

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Predictive Ground Speed Automation controls the combine’s ground speed based on crop height and biomass measurements taken pre-harvest from satellite scans and from on-the-go measurements made by cab-mounted cameras.

Harvest Settings Automation, available in the Premium and Ultimate Technology Packages, simplifies setting specific outcomes and reduces the need for constant monitoring. Why is this feature important for farmers?

“During harvest, crop conditions can vary throughout the day and often change over the course of the entire harvest season depending on crop type, variety, terrain, humidity, temperature, weather events, and various other factors. Having the combine properly optimized will ensure that all captured grains are being properly threshed, resulting in minimized grain loss and cleaner samples which customers seek and their buyers monetize based on quality.”

The ActiveYield system automates grain calibration as the tank fills, replacing manual calibrations. Could you provide more details on how this technology works, and how it benefits growers?

“As grain is harvested and enters the grain tank, three sensors within the tank collectively measure the grain as it piles over the cross auger covers and compares it to the value of the mass flow collection. If all conditions are acceptable (header and separator on, grain is flowing, and machine level is within 4 degrees) load collection occurs from 2,000 through 6,600 lb.”

“Benefits of this system are: Simplified yield calibrations for improved uptime in the field, simplified data collection for use during and after harvest, and zero time spend calibrating for accuracy.”

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The G5 Advanced Package is the foundation for autonomy, bringing a new level of machine automation and precision to the field, according to John Deere.

The Combine Advisor package allows for automatic adjustments to changing conditions and helps minimize losses. How does this feature work?

“Harvest Settings Automation advances from the past Combine Advisor solution with automatically making adjustments during harvest of five internal combine settings (threshing clearance, rotor speed, fan speed, sieve clearance, and chaffer clearance). With this automation, automatic combine setting adjustments can occur precisely at the right place and time.”

“Harvest Settings Automation helps operators get into the field faster by automatically setting concave clearance, fan speed, rotor speed, sieve clearance and chaffer clearance, all based on the combine model, crop type and geolocation.”

“After the operator selects limits for grain loss, foreign material and broken grain, the system automatically adjusts the five initial settings to stay within the selected limits. Using your G5Plus Display, simply set acceptable limits for grain loss, foreign material, and broken grain. Once set, the combine automatically adjusts itself to deliver the performance you want.“

“No more manually adjusting rotor speed, fan speed, and concave, chaffer, and sieve clearances. The combine does it for you according to outcomes you’ve already prescribed. That gets you into crops faster and reduces the things you constantly have to monitor. When set limits are exceeded, your display shows you where the setting adjustment is being made and why.”

Are there any additional automated features in the new S7 Series that you would like to highlight?

“The John Deere Premium and Ultimate Technology package includes terrain settings automation. Terrain settings automation provides stable cleaning shoe performance in varying terrain by automatically adjusting cleaning fan speed, and chaffer and sieve openings based on combine fore/aft pitch. This helps reduce losses and increases machine performance in hilly terrain when driving up and downhill, maintaining combine performance and reducing operator stress.”