‘There’s nothing this sprayer can’t do’

HOUSTON — As farmers try to cover more acres and get more done in a day, they are looking to bigger, wider and faster equipment.

John Deere is also striving to be smarter.

Already available as a precision upgrade on select John Deere sprayers, See & Spray Premium will expand to model year 2025 Hagie STS sprayers.

Tim Deinert, John Deere go-to-market manager for application equipment, described See & Spray as “technology with a purpose.”

“When we talk about See & Spray, it’s about how do we be smarter about every acre, because we’re treating the field at a plant-by-plant basis, which is crazy, right? It’s mind-blowing that there’s millions and millions of plants in the field, but we are literally scanning thousands of plants per second,” Deinert said.

“It’s using computer vision machine learning, where it’s going through the field, looking at crop versus weed and you say you’re, you know, in Indiana and you’re growing soybeans, you tell it I’m in a soybean field, it knows what a soybean plant looks like, based on that computer vision machine learning, powered by artificial intelligence, to spray just the weed.”

“It’s essentially an extra set of eyes, 36 eyes, for you going through the field that can understand what’s happening,” he said. “It’s not about being bigger, faster, wider. It’s about being smarter about every single plant in the field.”

Deinert said See & Spray is a game changer for farmers, after they quickly realize it is real technology that has real value and can lead to real savings.

He predicts it will be mainstream, like autotrac and autosteer, in just a few years.

“You can see the gears turning in their head. What can I do differently about the growing season to be smarter? What can I change about what I apply and when I apply?” he said.

“There’s the chemical savings, which are real, 50%, or two-thirds, depending on the See & Spray technology used.

“You’re using less product on your crop, you’re saving on the chemical, but then you can also start to apply different chemicals, knowing that you’re smarter about it. You can control your drift. It’s just all about being smarter about every single plant in the field.”

And this is only the beginning, Deinert stressed.

“This is a journey we started three years ago with See & Spray and it’s just going to keep getting better and evolving and it’s going to get smarter and the data that we can harness from the field is going to continue to grow, what it can do is going to continue to grow,” he said.

“We’re just trying to get this in as many customers’ hands as possible. If they’re looking to get it on a sprayer today they can get a precision upgrade kit, or if they were looking to get it from the factory brand new they can do that, as well. So, whether you’ve got a used piece of equipment or new, we can get this technology to you today.”

The Hagie sprayer stands out, truly, with its high crop clearance — a whopping 72 inches.

“It can go in season to corn and do a late-season fungicide application. It also has 2,000 gallons capacity, which is a little bit more than a John Deere sprayer, has all-wheel steer and then it still has the front-mounted boom,” Deinert said.

And it still comes with all integrated tech.

“So, whether you’re looking at a John Deere sprayer or a Hagie sprayer, in 2025 it has the Integrated StarFire 7500, to make sure you have repeatable guidance lines, the new display, the G5PLUS display, it’s kind of like a next-gen display with all those features and the dexterity to it,” Deinert said.

“So, just really taking this thing to the next level as far as what it can do and what it can apply, really get into the field any day.”

For split-applied nitrogen, Deinert noted, the boom — which can go out to 132 feet, as well — can fold into 60 feet to match the planter and just apply that 60 feet.

It works really well with the ExactDrop in-season fertilizer application system, Deinert said.

“This sprayer really is a big opportunity for ag service providers or a local co-op because they can do the traditional broadcast before the crop comes up, they can do in-season See & Spray and spray just weeds, they can do late-season fungicide, nitrogen — there’s nothing this sprayer can’t do if you’re a local co-op trying to serve your customers in your local area,” he said.

John Deere dealers will start taking orders for the sprayers in the next few months for delivery this fall.