In a first for Australian farmers, John Deere announced JDLink will be available to customers at no ongoing cost, giving access to digital services that streamline the collection of agronomic and machine data to power-efficient, profitable and environmentally sustainable primary production.
The decision to remove ongoing costs to the secure and continuous data collection technology, which JDLink offers, sets a new precedent in the agriculture industry, as John Deere is the first manufacturer in the Australian farm machinery sector to take this step.
John Deere Australia and New Zealand, Precision Agriculture Manager, Benji Blevin, said ensuring JDLink connectivity was readily and easily available to all farmers was a key milestone for the company in achieving its overarching vision of contributing to a thriving farm sector through precision agriculture innovation and building a robust and accessible digital ecosystem. He said:
“Today’s announcement means JDLink, which facilitates automatic data transfer from a machine to the John Deere Operations Center, will be put into the hands of more customers to give them greater insight into their machinery and their business.”
“Connectivity is foundational to agriculture and farmers understand access to data and information about their equipment, farm and paddocks is crucial to unlocking productivity and efficiency gains.”
“John Deere has always prioritised making the secure collection and transfer of data as cost effective and streamlined as possible, and today, we have elevated this, so all customers have access to the continuous connectivity of their equipment with no ongoing subscription fees.”
Mr Blevin said JDLink connectivity also granted full access to much-valued remote backup support service, John Deere Connected Support. This includes tools such as Remote Display Access which allows a dealer to view the in-cab display and offer advice or resolve problems, which can deliver vast time and cost savings to farm businesses.
JDLink was introduced to the Australian market in 2011 and has since become a cornerstone technology for farm data collection and equipment management.
In the past, John Deere dealers had managed their customers’ connection to the subscription service, however farmers will now have full control to connect individual machines or their entire fleet through John Deere Operations Center. He said:
“When machinery is connected to JDLink it automates the flow of on-farm and machinery data. This means farmers can focus on what is most important, and that’s managing their farm.”
“By automatically transferring machine and in-field data to the Operation Center, farmers can have almost immediate access to the key data they need on their machines and their people in the palm of their hand.”
“At harvest for example, they can see their work totals coming through from the paddock, review the progress being made, and even adjust machine settings in near real-time. So, with this technology, not only are they are ensuring a job is being done, they have ultimate quality control, to ensure the job is being done properly.”
Mr Blevin said he was excited to see more farmers begin or expand their precision agriculture journey through JDLink. He said:
“At the end of the season, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
“Having all machines connected through JDLink allows equipment to capture information at every opportunity, and every piece of data collected can be used for analysis to make sure better decisions are made going forward.”
“Making connectivity accessible, seamless and continuously available, without an ongoing cost, is a great leap forward in ensuring further utilisation of technology, which we know will underpin the future success of Australian farmers.”
Farmers with older machines, which don’t have a 3G or 4G JDLink MTG (modem) needed for JDLink connectivity, can still take advantage of this system upgrade by purchasing and installing a 3G or 4G MTG. Once activated, there is no additional cost or monthly service charges.
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