John Deere on Thursday announced a suite of new features for its See & Spray technology -- calling it the model year 2027 introductions See & Spray Gen 2 -- and introduced new autonomous-ready tillage options.

Deere is nearly doubling the crops compatible with See & Spray. Model year 2027 sprayers 408R, 410R, 412R, 612R and 616R will be deployable in the production of wheat, barley and canola -- targeting broadleaves only in those three crops -- and also peanuts and sugar beets. Up to the time of these enhancements, See & Spray applied crop protection products only to corn, soybeans and cotton.

"We've met with customers, and they say, 'Hey, what about this crop? Or what about that crop?'" said Josh Ladd, marketing manager for John Deere's application portfolio. "We are introducing a variety of new crops that will bring value to operations far and wide this year."

Deere is setting aside its Select, Premium and Ultimate designations for See & Spray model year 2027 and forward. Customers will now choose either See & Spray single tank or dual-product configurations, among other features such as ExactApply or Individual Nozzle Control Pro (now available from the factory), or a new lights package for nighttime spraying.

Deere will continue to offer See & Spray Premium (single tank) and Select (fallow) options as precision upgrade kits, applicable back to model year 2018 sprayers.

Model year 2027 See & Spray Gen 2 units feature a variable-rate option (previously only available with See & Spray Select). Within the cab, an operator can set thresholds for biomass detected by the cameras. For example, the operator sets one marker for 40% biomass on the low end and another for 90% biomass on the high end.

"Based on the biomass detected, (See & Spray) will vary the rate of application between those threshold amounts," Ladd said. "In this example, we'll say a label of product is approved for 10 gallons to the acre at a minimum rate and 20 gallons an acre at the maximum rate. (See & Spray) will vary the rate of application to stay within the threshold set by the operator."

And there is some additional flexibility. "The operator could say, 'At 40% or below, I don't want to put any more dollars into that crop. So, at 40% or below, just turn it off," Ladd said. "Or the operator could do the inverse. Farmers could say that at 40% biomass or below, that's where I want you to apply at the maximum rate, because I need to help that crop catch up."

Model year 2027 See & Spray includes full boom lighting as an option. Deere is responding to demand from Australia, where spray applications are done mostly at night due to daytime heat. The lighting packages will be available in the U.S. and Canada, giving producers a new option for spray applications.

Adding the weight of lights to the boom was made possible because Deere has reconfigured the processor hardware at the heart of See & Spray. Where See & Spray hardware has had up to 10 processors mounted to the boom, Deere has reduced that to only three, and those are mounted to the center structure of the boom behind the cab for its model year 2027 sprayers. In place of those processors, Deere added video extenders (VEX) to maintain camera and processor signals across the entirety of the boom. There are five VEX -- two on either end of the boom and one on the center frame.

"We're able to reclaim some of that weight that was previously set aside for (processors), allowing us to add things like a full light option to the boom," Ladd said.

The new processor and VEX configuration do not affect application speed. In fact, the 2027 See & Spray machinery is rated to run a bit faster. Current See & Spray models travel at up to 15 mph. Model year 2027 See & Spray Gen 2 machines have a maximum application speed of 16 mph.

Model year 2027 See & Spray systems support straight-down nozzle tips. This nozzle configuration, however, reduces the maximum application speed from 16 mph to 12 mph.

Deere is announcing Four-Wheel Steering for its 400 series sprayers for model year 2027, including a Crab Steering function.

"When we think about maneuverability through headlands, or in and out of tight corner conditions, or maybe it's just simply trying to get in and out of a shop more effectively, these are some major improvements coming in overall maneuverability," Ladd said.

Model year 2027 See & Spray machines are getting upgraded cameras with the capability to identify nearly four times the number of weeds down to one-fourth of an inch in diameter.

"It's not that the previous system was missing weeds, it's just the computing power of this camera is so much more powerful than what was previously on the system," Ladd said.

There is one other update for 2027 regarding cameras. Deere has moved the four center cameras from the back of the sprayer to the front. It is a solution to mitigate the impact of dust interfering with cameras mounted behind the tires.

The new camera placement is available as a precision upgrade back to model year 2018.

TILLAGE

Deere is offering new in 2026 its popular 2730 combination ripper autonomy-ready from the factory. Also, the 64-foot and 69-foot models of the 2230 field cultivator are available this year autonomy-ready.

The autonomy-ready ripper and field cultivator include a StarFire receiver mast and harnessing. Customers with 2016 or newer 2730 combination rippers can update to autonomy-ready through a John Deere Precision Upgrade kit.

"We've added the StarFire receiver mast and harnessing (to the ripper), but overall, the tool is, for the most part, unchanged," said Michael Porter, large tractor marketing manager at Deere. "We're unlocking the ability of the ripper (for autonomous operations). For the customer that does ripping, especially in the Midwest, they've been waiting for an autonomously capable system."

Early in 2025, Deere launched its 3-section High Speed Disk (HSD). On Thursday, Deere launched a smaller, 2-section HSD in 15-, 19-, 22- and 25-foot widths. They come autonomy-ready from the factory.

Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com

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