A John Deere X9 combine during harvest. Photo: John Deere via PR Newswire

John Deere’s work with SpaceX to equip thousands of agricultural machines with Starlink connectivity lays the groundwork for the future of autonomous farming, John Deere leaders said recently at SATELLITE and in conversation with Via Satellite. 

John Deere announced its selection of Starlink in January after a long RFP process that launched in 2022. Deere will sell an aftermarket kit solution through its dealer network that includes a ruggedized Starlink terminal and a cellular modem to connect agricultural machines to the John Deere Operations Center, the company’s farm management system. The solution is set for limited release later this year, and for larger adoption in the November/December time frame. 

Connectivity is a key part of how agriculture will increase productivity to feed the growing global population, Deere execs say. 

Enabling Autonomous Connectivity

“Feeding the world is dependent upon advanced connectivity solutions.” John Deere’s Global Combine Business Manager Ryan Krogh said in a bold message for the satellite industry during his keynote at SATELLITE 2024 on March 20. 

Krogh laid out the challenge that led to the Starlink deal. As the global population is expected to grow to almost 10 billion people by 2050, Deere expects the growth will increase the demand on the food supply chain by nearly 50%. The company is looking to advanced technologies to meet this challenge — technologies that require advanced connectivity to function, Krogh said.  

John Deere started equipping large ag equipment with cellular modems in 2011, connecting farmers to the John Deere Operations Center for remote management, planning, diagnostics, and more. But connectivity is lacking in the U.S. Deere estimates that about 25% of rural land in the U.S. does not have connectivity. This is even more pronounced in Brazil, where 75% of rural lands lack connectivity. 

The Starlink solution, which will equip the machines with always-on high-speed connectivity, enables both current and future use cases, Krogh said. 

“The high speed, low latency [connectivity] unlocks opportunities to develop solutions that truly rely on always-on connectivity,” he said. “That always-on connectivity will unlock new, revolutionary technology, automation, and autonomy for John Deere.”

Krogh gave the example of a new Deere technology, Predictive Ground Speed Automation, on the X9 Combine. It is enabled by three satellite-based technologies — GNSS, imagery, and connectivity. Satellite GNSS navigates the combine through a field with accuracy within half of an inch. Meanwhile, onboard software uses a biomass of crop density built on satellite imagery. While the combine is moving through a field, onboard cameras classify the crop as it comes into the machine. Deere has a program that fuses real-time imagery with the existing satellite imagery to predict and maintain the optimal speed of the combine. 

This solution has only been available in areas with terrestrial networks over fields, Krogh noted, and Deere will be able to sell it on a wider basis with Starlink. He cited that it can enable a 20% productivity increase, and even help with workforce challenges, with the technology doing the work of an expert combine operator. 

This advanced connectivity is needed to reach John Deere’s stated goal of a fully autonomous farming system by 2030. 

Today, John Deere has roughly 600,000 machines connected and it is working to connect 1.5 million machines, Krogh said. Many of those will be equipped with high-speed satellite connectivity. 

He said the future of agriculture is intertwined with satellite capabilities. “Satellite will help us bring automation and autonomy to our customers. It will help make [farmers] more productive, more profitable, and more sustainable,” Krogh said. “High-speed satellite connectivity is what will help us feed, fuel, and clothe the growing population.” 

Inside the Starlink Solution

The Starlink solution will be sold and installed by John Deere dealers as an aftermarket kit. Deere worked with SpaceX to engineer a layer of ruggedization for the Starlink terminal to withstand agricultural environments, Michael Kool, John Deere senior product manager of Connectivity, said in a recent conversation with Via Satellite. The kit also includes a bracket to mount the terminal and help it withstand shock. 

Deere is still working through the specifics of pricing, Kool said. It will be a one-time purchase for the hardware, and customers will pay Deere a yearly subscription license for the connectivity service. Deere will pay Starlink for the services provided, similar to how the company’s deals for telematics gateways work today. 

“We’re taking out the middleman. The business model that we are going to heavily involves the dealer, because the dealer is already a really good point of contact for customers when they have issues. We’re not changing that model,” Kool said.

Deere’s customers were immediately interested once the company announced the solution; some of them are already Starlink customers for their home broadband. 

Kool did not share the price of the terminal, but mentioned the value for the scale of Deere’s operation. For reference, the consumer Starlink terminal currently retails for $599, with additional cost for different mounts. 

“With Deere’s scale, we are able to lock in better pricing from a terminal perspective than you can necessarily get with this similar type of terminal,” he said. 

Kool mentioned there will be measures to ensure the Starlink service is tied to the machine and not used as a home broadband service. 

He said Deere is focused on getting the rollout right, but looking forward the company is considering expanding the solution out to more geographies — potentially to Canada and Australia, which face similar connectivity challenges. 

Further Opportunities for Satellite

The RFP process was a “very competitive” downselect involving a few different suppliers in negotiations, Kool said.  

“We are very cognizant of maintaining that partnership … for future potential partnerships with other companies that were part of the RFP process,” Kool said. “A huge thank you to all those companies that were involved. Ultimately, we’re moving forward with SpaceX.” 

One of the deciding factors was the low latency associated with service from Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), and the size and buildout of the Starlink network. Deere also wanted to make sure there is room to grow in terms of capacity usage to support increasing autonomous operations as the company works toward that 2030 goal. 

While Deere has long worked with satellite in GNSS and precision agriculture, Kool said this advanced connectivity could lead to further improvements in precision agriculture technologies that are part of Deere’s roadmap. 

“There are sensors, compute, all of these things on board. Maybe in the future you can pull some of that data collection into the cloud and better leverage these systems across an entire fleet,” Kool said. “We have headroom today and a lot of headroom in the future to capitalize on what this looks like for future growth and the expansion of precision agriculture across the globe.”

Kool sees more opportunity for the satellite industry to work with John Deere, and cited increased interest from mobile network operators (MNOs) in how they partner with satellite.  

“As we talk about our existing cellular connectivity plus satellite, I think there’s room for both [satellite and cellular] to play in the same sandbox,” Kool said. “If our customer doesn’t have the infrastructure, we need a solution to connect it. Ultimately, that’s what we are going to do with this product.”