The advanced guidance and auto-steering provide announced the opening of the HandsFreeFarm.com online store to bring low-cost, simple-to-use precision agriculture solutions direct to all farmers.

Last week in Valley City, N.D., John Deere showcased their largest version of the 1895 No-Till Drill to date with a 60-foot model. Offered in addition to the release of the drill is the RelativeFlow Blockage Monitoring system, designed to monitor each primary tower and secondary hose on the drill for seeding blockages, and alert users of any particular issues from the cab before they occur.

At the John Deere seeding equipment preview event in Valley City, ND, Product Manager Tyler Rumbold breaks down key features of the newly introduced John Deere 76-foot 1870 Air Seeder. Constructed to be 24 feet wider than the previous largest model, the drill includes seed opener modifications to optimize nutrient uptake. The release also includes TruSet compatible technology, which allows for in-cab depth adjustment on seed placement, and RelativeFlow, which alerts users of potential tower blockages in real-time.

Teralytic’s soil sensors monitors soil quality to maximize crop yields and reduce over fertilization.

In this episode of the Precision Farming Dealer podcast, editor Jack Zemlicka had the opportunity to talk with Taylor Bybee, software engineer at Autonomous Solutions Inc. where they discussed the current state of autonomy in ag, how the industry is bridging the perception vs. reality gap and the equipment dealers’ role in introducing and supporting the advanced technology.

AeroVironment discusses 40 year history in drone technology and the benefits of working with AeroVironment as a supplier while displaying their Quantix Hybrid Drone with AV DSS web-based analytics platform.

Starting at $3,900, the web-based solution designed for crop advisors allows for creation and sharing management zones and variable-rate prescriptions to help reduce data entry errors created by repetitive field-by-field procedures.

Robotic harvesting vehicles are being tested in Florida and California to pick strawberries and replace labor-intensive tasks normally performed by dozens of farm workers. Also, robotic machinery is being tested to harvest apples and other crops, and efforts are underway to develop small agriculture field robots.

Rob Zemenchik and Leo Bose discuss the planned progression of Case IH's autonomous vehicle program, including field testing in 2018 on a large scale vegetable producer's operation in California.