Farm Trader takes a look at the John Deere digital ecosystem and what it now offers
John Deere has expanded the compatibility of Machine Sync, the technology that allows a harvester to control the speed and guidance of the chaser bin working beside it, to a wider range of machinery.
The update is available across the John Deere Digital Ecosystem, including Operations CenterTM, MyOperationsTM, and JDLink MobileTM apps, as well as the Gen 4 line of displays, and provides new features, broadened compatibility, and new products.
Machine Sync was first introduced to the grains industry in 2013 and enables harvesters to control the speed and guidance of the chaser bin working beside it on the go to provide a safer and more accurate unloading experience. With the latest update, Machine Sync will become available to horticulture and forage producers, as it’s rolled out across Self Propelled Forage Harvesters and Tractor to Tractor applications specific to the industry.
John Deere production system manager, Ben Kelly, says Machine Sync can automate the unloading process improving safety and productivity and was a huge step towards improving multi-machine automation and operational logistics.
“The expansion of Machine Sync on more equipment now makes it accessible to producers across a far greater range of commodities, from grains to horticulture and forage,” Ben says.
“It brings powerful efficiency gains as the chaser bin is working at the optimal location and speed in relation to the harvester, which minimises the amount of crop lost and also enables the harvester to operate at maximum capacity while unloading.
“There’s also a new Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) feature, which allows farmers wanting to use Machine Sync to ensure unloading equipment can stay on the CTF track when unloading. This helps prevent soil compaction and reduces the possibility of human error and collisions to make working conditions safer for the people in the field.”
Maintenance tracking has also been improved and simplified by this round of updates with the introduction of Maintenance Manager to the JDLink Mobile app to replace the MyMaintenance app.
“This consolidation will undoubtedly bring improved user experience by reducing the number of apps farmers need to learn and operate,” Ben says.
“Maintenance manager allows operators to track the maintenance of their farm equipment in one place, including maintenance plans for non-connected equipment such as a truck or stationary irrigation pump engine. Prior to this update, customers could only monitor their connected equipment.
“This means our customers are able to manage the maintenance needs of their entire fleet regardless of age or colour.”
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