Farming, Meet Elon Musk

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

Elon Musk enters the world of farming. John Deere announced it entered into an agreement with SpaceX to provide cutting-edge satellite communications service to farmers. Utilizing the Starlink network will allow farmers facing rural connectivity issues to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies. The partnership will enable John Deere customers to be more productive, profitable, and sustainable in their operations as they continue to provide food, fuel, and fiber to their communities and a growing global population.

“The value of connectivity to farmers is broader than any single task or action,” says Aaron Wetzel, vice president of production and precision ag systems at John Deere. “Connectivity unlocks vast opportunities that were previously limited or unavailable.”

The new solution will connect both new and existing machines through satellite internet service and satellite terminals. This will fully enable technologies such as autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, enhanced self-repair solutions, and machine-to-machine communication to help farmers work more efficiently.