John Deere’s new Precision Essentials program is giving customers more flexibility around their precision agriculture technology purchases
John Deere has introduced its Precision Essentials program, meaning customers now have the option to either buy all their precision agriculture (PA) technology upfront – the traditional product offering – or only those elements that they need most by selecting from four hardware and software bundles.
Royce Bell, Deere’s Australia and New Zealand marketing manager for production and precision ag, says Precision Essentials is driven by several of the manufacturer’s commitments.
These are to making technology more affordable by lowering upfront costs, more accessible by ensuring customers can select only the tech they need and by making it available to all brands of machinery, and more adaptable by allowing farmers to scale up or down as their operation demands.
“Precision Essentials really changes the way farmers think about the feasibility of implementing PA technologies and how often they can upgrade to better systems,” Bell says.
“By offering a choice of buying everything upfront as they do now, or alternatively purchasing Precision Essentials, customers can tailor to their own operation at a lower initial cost.
“The new options also provide customers newer to precision ag technology the opportunity to try a technology and then expand as it fits their farm.”
Package deals
There are two Precision Essentials packages to choose from with four licence options:
The first is a choice of two Precision Essentials Hardware Kits comprising of either a G5 or G5 Plus Display, along with StarFire 7500 Receiver and JDLink M or R Modem.
The other is a choice of four renewable software licenses, with no commitment to purchase future licences. These are:
- AutoTrac licence
- Essentials licence for AutoTrac, Section Control and RowSense
- Essentials plus SF-RTK
- Advanced Licence with SF-RTK, AutoTrac Implement Guidance, AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoPath, In-field Data Sharing, Satellite Maps and Machine Sync.
Customers will be able to incorporate all the software updates that come with the G5 family and G5 Advanced package.
They also have the option to upgrade any licence at any point during the year, providing real choice and flexibility to adapt to their everchanging circumstances.
“Every farmer is at a different point on the PA journey, and for Australian agriculture to realise its full potential, it’s important that new pathways are provided for farmers to benefit from new technologies – Precision Essentials does just that,” Bell says.
New and old
The offering is not limited to new machinery buyers.
Through the Precision Essentials program, farmers will also be able to retrofit legacy machines with the most up-to-date technology and to bring them in line with modern requirements.
Farmers with equipment that is not John Deere can even opt into Precision Essentials to introduce industry-leading tech to any machine.
“Our goal is to help farmers, regardless of farm size, crop or livestock operation, incorporate the PA technology that’s right for their farm,” Bell says.
The Precision Essentials program was rolled out for the first time in the United States last year and Bell says it has proven incredibly popular across all types of farming operations and commodity types.
“The popularity stems from farmers who opt for Precision Essentials being rewarded with lower entry costs on their Precision Ag core hardware, which enables them to grow their Precision Ag capabilities in line with their business requirements,” he says.
“It’s very exciting to now be able to bring this innovative approach to farmers across Australia and New Zealand.
“We’ve listened closely to our customers and given a lot of thought as to how we can tackle the challenge of improving uptake of innovation and the reality is that many farmers only use the elements of the technology they most need, or are most comfortable with, or is most affordable.
“By lowering the cost of hardware allowing farmers to choose a package of most benefit to their business, farmers can optimise their investment in PA.
“And the adaptability ensures the initial investment continues to provide value as technology gets better over time, supporting long-term goals such as expanding acreage, enhancing crop diversity or integrating advanced systems.”
Renewable licences
Precision Essentials marks a significant change in the John Deere business by now incorporating low entry level hardware cost coupled with renewable, scalable software licences.
“In the worst cases, some farmers avoid PA technologies altogether because they find it either too daunting or too expensive, or both,” Bell says.
“By shifting to offer one tech bundle with one low upfront cost, and by selecting what software options your need for your farm, is a big step forward for growers.”
Bell says John Deere is providing greater support to assist farmers to increase productivity and efficiencies in taking up PA technologies that create the greatest impact on their farm.
“Precision Essentials is all about supporting farmers at every stage of the technology adoption by providing choices to easily take the next step by embracing the John Deere system designed especially for their needs,” he says.
Farmers will see immediate benefits in the form of financial savings, Bell says, while the increased technology utilisation delivers against John Deere’s goal of its customers being the most sustainable and efficient in the world.