John Deere's AI Has No Wi-Fi. That's the Point

American farms are running short on workers. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls the shortage of a skilled and reliable workforce the single greatest threat to agriculture. "There simply isn't enough available and skilled labor to do that work in a timely and efficient manner,” said John Deere chief technology officer Jahmy Hindman At CES 2025.

Late last month, the company announced enhancements to its model year 2026 combines. The updates extend Predictive Ground Speed Automation, first introduced on model year 2025 machines, to recognize terrain changes and detect weed patches, adjusting the combine's speed before crop enters the combine.

Bergen Nelson, Deere's go-to-market manager for harvesting equipment, kept the focus on the operator. "These updates are designed to help farmers during harvest, from beginning to end," Nelson said, citing the value to farmers working in "often-tight harvest windows."

The Feb release is one piece of a larger push. Over the past year, Deere has built AI processing directly into its hardware across multiple product lines, a choice that shapes what the systems can do and where they can work.