Will Fully Autonomous Tractors Make Deere The Tesla Of Farming?

 | Oct 03, 2022 01:50AM ET

  • Deere is shaping the future of farming
  • Beneficiary of the agriculture boom bolstered by the war in Ukraine
  • It’s autonomous tractors are a gamechanger
  • Global agricultural equipment maker Deere (NYSE:DE) stock is weathering the bear market sell-off relatively well with shares down only (-4.7%) on the year compared to (-25%) for the S&P 500 index. While Deere also makes heavy machinery like Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Terex (NYSE:TEX) for construction, its machines are mostly geared towards farming. Just like its peers, the supply chain constraints, inflationary pressures, and strong US dollar impacts are being felt by Deere also. However, Deer is benefiting from the megatrend of growing populations and the need to feed them and the depletion of arable land. Deere is driving agricultural technology (AgTech) innovations like its fully autonomous tractor and helping it attain the moniker of the “Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) of farming”. Along with AgTech companies like Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM), CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNHI), and AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO), Deere is helping to usher in the farm of the future.

    h2 Driving the Agriculture Boom/h2

    The agriculture market saw a big spike again this year due to rising inflation and the Ukraine war. Ukraine is a top exporter of fertilizers, wheat, barley, corn, sunflower seed and oil. The conflict has already caused negative impacts on Ukraine and Russia’s commodity exports driving global supply shortages. While other countries are expanding their output capacity to fill the gap, the rising input costs may become too prohibitive. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates the global supply gap created by the war could raise international food prices 8% to 22% above elevated baseline levels. Deere expects a heavier back-end loaded year due to the heavy demand and constrained supply.

    h2 Shaping the Future of Farming/h2

    Deere is instrumental in shaping the future of farming. As the world runs out of farmable land, the need for sustainability is driving the demand for precision agriculture. Deere introduced its fully autonomous self-driving tractor at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show. Existing GPS-equipped tractors can add-on the self-driving capability and new tractors can come equipped with them. The Company continues to push the boundaries of technological innovations in farming to bolster output, efficiency, and profitability by weaponizing precision agriculture. For example, the autonomous tractor immediately helps overcome labor shortages and improves efficiency. It’s advanced herbicide sprayers can distinguish between crops and weeds to optimize inputs to generate higher margins. It’s predictive and data analytics software is expected to bring in nearly 10% of total revenues with higher margins than machinery.

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