John Deere, Meet Elon Musk: SpaceX Satellites to Link Farm Giant’s Equipment

John Deere will tap SpaceX’s satellite fleet to propel the tractor maker’s digital farming push and help automate planting and harvesting in remote locations. The world’s largest farm machinery manufacturer signed a deal with SpaceX’s Starlink business to connect tractors, seed planters, crop sprayers, and other equipment in areas that lack adequate internet service, allowing them to use Deere’s digital products. Illinois-based Deere has been investing billions of dollars in building out computer-assisted services for farmers, including software that allows herbicide sprayers to distinguish crops from weeds and driverless tractors to plow fields. Deere tested satellites for about eight months before settling on Starlink. The company chose Starlink in part because of the speed at which its low-orbiting satellites transmit signals, said Jahmy Hindman, Deere’s chief technology officer.