John Deere is testing a new artificial intelligence assistant that allows farmers to ask questions about data collected through the company’s Operations Centre platform.
The tool, called “JD,” is currently available through a limited early-access program for U.S. farmers. Deere intends to make it available globally, but hasn’t provided a timeline for a Canadian or U.S. rollout.
WHY IT MATTERS
Deere’s assistant could make existing field and machine records easier to use, although no date has been set for Canadian availability.
Deere unveiled the assistant at an ag tech event at Iowa State University.
Jackson Baca, group product marketing manager with John Deere, said the goal is to make it easier for farmers to work through the large amount of data stored in the platform.
Operations Centre stores field and machine data generated during tillage, seeding, spraying and harvest. Farmers can use those records to compare varieties, seeding rates, prescriptions, yields and machine performance.
Currently, doing so requires farmers to locate the relevant information, generate reports and conduct their own comparisons.
The assistant provides a conversational route into that information. Farmers can ask questions in plain language and receive answers drawn from their Operations Centre records.
A farmer harvesting a high-yielding field, for example, could ask what was done differently there.
The assistant could retrieve information about varieties, planting rates and previous field operations, for a farmer to continue asking more detailed questions.
Baca said one farmer involved in Deere’s initial testing noticed low weed pressure in a rice field and asked the assistant for the field’s previous five years of crop rotations, then used the assistant to explore what else might have contributed.
“JD spit out several different reasons for the lower weed pressure,” said Baca.
“When you get back to your desk, you can open up those previous chat histories and keep going.”
Data limits and rollout plans
The assistant can analyze information from non-Deere equipment if it has been integrated into Operations Centre.
If a farmer asks which variety performed best but hasn’t entered the variety names, for example, Baca said the assistant will identify the missing information and explain why it can’t answer the question.
When the product is officially launched, JD will be included with Operations Centre rather than offered as a paid add-on. Operations Centre accounts are currently free.
Deere plans to expand the assistant’s capabilities over time. Future versions could create work plans and send them to equipment, while integration with Deere’s G5 in-cab displays is also planned.
At launch, it is expected to be available through Operations Center Web, Operations Centre Mobile and Equipment Mobile.
