Deere Announces New Iron, Technology

HOUSTON (DTN) -- John Deere is announcing Wednesday at the 2024 Commodity Classic new and technologically powerful equipment lines -- model year 2025 S7 Series combines, new high-horsepower 9RX tractors and C-Series air carts.

Deere, with Hagie Manufacturing, are also introducing an STS16 sprayer with Deere's single-tank, See & Spray Premium solution. It is the first time See & Spray technology will be available on equipment other than John Deere spraying systems, the Hagie model with its distinctive front-mounted booms.

The tractor and combine series offer bigger engines and greater work capabilities. Both Deere combine and tractor are "autonomy ready"; that is, the machines are platforms with the wiring and connectors required for future automations and eventually, full-season autonomy.

"We've talked about this totally autonomous system in corn and soy (by 2030). (Automated features) building on one another," Deere Chief Technology Officer Jahmy Hindman told DTN/Progressive Farmer earlier this year. "You can't do an autonomous combine, for example, without being able to automatically set the combine in the appropriate way for the field conditions."

For crop year 2025, Deere's combine automation packages will remove some operator burden by automatically adjusting to optimize the flow of the crop through the combine. Integral to this are the two stereo cameras mounted to the top of the cab. The cameras give the combine and its operator the ability to judge crop mass and height before it is taken up by the head or draper -- in real time and on the go.

"We are using live camera feeds to understand what the biomass is in front of the header to help fine-tune adjustments as you are going through the field -- ground speed, rotor speed, fan speed," Hindman said. "(The) model year '25 release for combine automation is a steppingstone to get to combine autonomy."

The same is true with the planter, Hindman said.

"You're seeing that with the planter, with ExactShot (starter application) and FurrowVison (seed trench analysis); those are technologies that help a grower today automate the planting function," Hindman said. "Eventually, when that (autonomous 8R) tractor is not pulling a tillage tool but pulling a planter, the grower is going to want to validate (residue and planting depth). FurrowVision is another steppingstone in finally being able to remove the farmer from the tractor during planting if they so choose."

Here are specs for Deere's new S7 combine series, 9RX high-horsepower tractor, C-series air cart and the Hagie front-mount sprayer with See & Spray Premium.

S7 COMBINE

-- Models: S7 660, S7 700, S7 800, S7 900

-- S7 600 (333 horsepower, 250 gallons fuel, 300-bushel grain tank, 3.6 bushel/second peak unloading rate) and S7 700 (402 hp, 250 gal., 300 bu., 4.2 bu./sec) mount Deere PowerTech 9.0L engine with in-line after treatment.

-- S7 800 (473 hp, 330 gal., 400-bu. grain tank, 4.2 bu./sec peak unloading rate) and S7 900 (543 hp, 330 gal., 400 bu., 4.2 bu./sec) mount John Deere PowerTech 13.6-liter engine with in-line after treatment.

-- New electronic architecture. Predictive Ground Speed Automation and Harvest Settings Automation. Deere says up to 20% productivity gain.

-- Predictive Ground Speed Automation. Stereo cameras analyze crop mass 30 feet in front of the cutter bar for density and height. Camera analysis allows the combine to make harvesting decisions (speed, for example) before the machine hits the crop. Decision-making opportunities for having cameras on the front of the machine seem endless.

-- Harvest Settings Automation. Harvest Settings Automation adjusts key settings within the combine based on three harvesting outcomes set by the operator for grain loss, foreign material and broken grain. Harvest Settings Automation then adjusts concave clearance, rotor speed, fan speed, sieve clearance and chaffer clearance. Within Harvest Automation, the operator also can input desired ground speed and engine power target.

-- New X9 series cab, improved loss sensing, residue upgrades, cross auger shutoffs, aimable spout, new residue package.

-- G5 Plus universal display, Integrated Starfire 7500 receiver, and JDLink modem.

9RXS TRACTORS

-- Ground-up redesign; architecture ready for autonomous operations (harnesses, controllers; no stereo cameras, yet)

-- Three new models: 9RX 710, 9RX 770, 9RX 830 (previously largest 9RX was 9RX 640)

-- 9 RX 710 (JD 18L; 710 hp; e21 21-speed power shift; triple hydraulic pump, 168 gal./min)

-- 9 RX 770 (JD 18L; 770 hp; e21 21-speed power shift; triple hydraulic pump, 168 gal./min)

-- 9 RX 830 (JD 18L; 830 hp; e21 21-speed power shift, triple hydraulic pump, 168 gal./min)

-- Final Tier 4, Stage V compliant; exhaust gas recirculation; no DEF used.

-- Larger front and rear tracks, three idler wheels (instead of two) to support the overall weight of the machine.

-- 770 and 830 can be ballasted up to 84,000 lbs. 710 up to 76,000 lbs.

-- Suitcase weights have been replaced with forklift weights.

-- Optional triple-stack hydraulic system with up to 168 gallons per minute of hydraulic flow to the implements. A separate system pumps hydraulic fluid to machine function, such as steering and braking.

-- 515-gallon fuel tank with optional Quick Fill system. Introduced first on X9 Series combines, Quick Fill fills the fuel tank in just under four minutes. The fuel tank has been moved down and underneath the cab from the rear fender area, which improves visibility to the rear.

-- CommandView 4 Plus cab with 20% more right-side visibility, 15% more floor space; 3 degrees of freedom (cab movement, front to back, side to side, up and down)

-- G5 Plus universal display, Integrated Starfire 7500 receiver, and JDLink modem.

HAGIE STS SPRAYERS

-- Hagie STS16 (only) with John Deere's single tank, See & Spray Premium solution (green on brown, green on green, corn, soybeans, cotton solutions). 36 cameras across 120-foot boom, six processing units. Factory installed.

-- Front-mounted boom; high clearance up to 72 inches; John Deere PowerTech 9L engine (400 hp).

-- All the embedded technology of a John Deere machine. G5 Plus display, Integrated Starfire 7500 receiver, and JDLink modem.

-- Deere's BoomTrac Pro2 optional.

C SERIES AIR CART

-- Models: C350L, C350T, C400L, C400T, C500L, C500T, C550L, C550T, C650L, C650T, C850T.

-- Cart Capacity (bushels): 350-850 bushels; number of tanks: two-four.

-- Liquid-capable middle tank: C550L to 650T.

-- AccuRate Stainless Steel Electric Meters. Higher resolution prescription, curve compensation, SectionCommand(TM) Pro, corrosion resistant, low maintenance costs. System from poly tank and below is stainless steel, a composite or corrosion-resistant hardware.

-- EZCal. Industry-exclusive calibration system. 45% faster calibration than leading competitors, according to Deere. Built in tank scale. Seamlessly sends MDV (meter displacement value) to the cab. The EZCal system is a push-button calibrations system that is up to 75% faster than the current manual bag calibration system. Samples are gathered during tendering, dumped it into the EZCal system, set the tank to calibrate in the G5e cart side display and hit the calibrate button. EZCal weighs the product and sends that MDV to the cab.

-- ActiveCal. Maintain precise calibration during field operations. Improves confidence in seeding rates; calculates "acres until empty" for efficient logistics. Calibration can be done throughout the day from the comfort of the cab so that as conditions change, so will the MDV, and operators don't have worry about over- or under-metering.

-- Tank scales. Tank scales give the operator the ability to run ActiveCal. They also are viewable from the cart side display, so operators can fill only to the amount the job requires to be completed.

-- Blower automation. Similar to vacuum automation on planters. Allows operator to set blower speed from the cab. Blower speed is maintained and adjusted as the conditions change throughout the day.

Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com

Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DMillerPF

(c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.