Deere’s new AI assistant isn’t ChatGPT with a logo slapped on it.
It’s built on 30 years of data and technology Deere has built through its Precision Agriculture platform.
Precision Ag was born in 1996 when Deere launched GreenStar, a GPS receiver that farmers nicknamed the “Green Egg.” Since then, they’ve added hands-free steering, guided planting and “See & Spray,” which uses cameras to target herbicides only on weeds.
Precision Ag is a canonical case study in building a moat. Deere isn’t just selling tractors, it’s selling a platform that helps farmers increase yields, cut costs and spray fewer chemicals on their crops.
This creates lock-in that gets deeper every year: Why buy your next tractor from Kubota when everything else is on Precision Ag?
Lock-in can go too far: Deere settled two “right to repair” lawsuits this year, and has to offer its tools to independent repair shops.
Two things I’m curious about:
How much more valuable will JD AI become if farmers opt-in to data sharing? Cross-farm comparison would give farmers better insights and make it even harder to leave Deere’s platform.
When does a farmer actually want to “talk” to their data, and what questions will they ask most often?