New automated insights for grain growers and cotton producers

John Deere has recently partnered with Australian precision agriculture company PCT, and a new agreement between the two companies will help to improve in-field data analysis for grain, corn, soybean and cotton farmers in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

The agreement gives John Deere customers access to PCT Agcloud advanced analysis tools, Protein Pro and Linked Cotton, through their local John Deere dealer. This formalises and expands the relationship which John Deere has shared with PCT Agcloud locally for several years.

According to John Deere Australia and New Zealand Production Systems Manager Ben Kelly, the partnership will automate the delivery of key insights to grain and cotton producers that can be acted upon quickly – to generate real outcomes in the field.

Prescription maps for nitrogen

Mr Kelly emphasises that the partnership works well because John Deere has developed accurate and reliable sensors on its equipment to collect data, and PCT Agcloud offers precise and advanced analysis tools.

For farmers who have purchased a HarvestLab 3000 Protein Sensor, PCT Agcloud’s Protein Pro uses protein and yield data to create a nitrogen removal map in Operations Center. Growers and agronomists can then create prescription maps for nitrogen or other nutrients as well as manage protein and yield to match soil capability in future seasons.

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Protein data

Mr Kelly says protein data offers farmers a significant opportunity to maximise profitability and minimise environmental impacts. “Nitrogen costs have increased markedly for farmers over the past few years. It is also one of the highest contributors to on-farm emissions. So, this partnership will help them optimise nitrogen to maximise crop potential and profits, while also being more sustainable with their nitrogen use.”

The new agreement also unlocks Linked Cotton for growers, which combines cotton bale quality attributes from the gin-with-cotton-module and yield information, to provide cotton quality maps in Operations Center, that can be used to help growers understand what is impacting cotton quality.

“In the past, one of the biggest challenges was simply collecting data, but we’ve seen, when we automate the data collection process, more farmers look at this information”, Mr Kelly explains. “Analysis of data has also proven a pain point in the past, and the automation of that process will dramatically reduce the time and effort required to create insights that can be acted on. We are, therefore, expecting rapid uptake of both Protein Pro and Linked Cotton by our customers.”

Advanced analytics

PCT Agcloud General Manager, Andrew Smart, says his company has been continuously developing advanced analytics and solutions for Australian John Deere dealers and early adopter farmers for more than 10 years, with a focus on making the technology easier to use. He says the partnership with John Deere will make these solutions more widely accessible to all growers, via Operations Center.

“We see automated insights as an important part of day-to-day decision making, and our job is to develop localised data sets and insights for each customer to create their ‘special sauce’”, Mr Smart points out.

Farmers will remain in full control of their data. “Our philosophy has always been that the customer remains in full control of their data and information”, Mr Kelly says. “We also understand that in modern farming operations farmers often need to share data with other business partners and trusted advisors, and so have offered the ability for this information to be shared.”