During his recent visit to Australia, global John Deere senior leader Aaron Wetzel met with growers and said local farmers were trailblazing the use of innovation in their operations.
“Australian farmers are managing increasingly tight planting windows, operations that are a larger size and scale, and a growing labour shortage,” he said.
“What stood out to me is how proactively they’re turning to technology to meet those challenges head-on.
“Without the government subsidies seen in other markets, Australian growers must be exceptionally efficient with their inputs and capital investments.
“They’re not just open to technology, they’re demanding it.”
A 37-year veteran of John Deere based in Illinois, Aaron has lived and worked in the United States, Europe and Brazil.
“I’ve spent time with customers all over the world and, while the core issues are often similar it is what I call the ‘last mile’ that is always local,” he said.
“That’s where we need to be truly in tune with our customers.”
John Deere has launched fully autonomous solutions on 8R and 9R tractor platforms in the US, and Aaron said he expected this tech to follow in Australia in the future.
“These systems are aimed squarely at helping farmers address labour shortages while increasing machine utilisation and overall efficiency,” he said.
“Having qualified people to do the work required is a challenge for many of our customers and they are actively looking for solutions to be able to address this.
“Australia is a key growth market for John Deere. The innovation mindset here is unmatched, and we’re committed to supporting that with the very best equipment, precision technology, and on-the-ground dealer support.
“We see tremendous opportunity to help growers here reach new levels of productivity.”
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