MACHINERY manufacturer John Deere has acquired Sentera, a provider of remote imagery solutions for agricultural applications such as potato growing, which is headquartered in Minnesota.
The company’s Director of Digital Software and Solutions said the acquisition will advance the capabilities of John Deere’s existing technology offerings, providing growers and ag service providers with a more comprehensive set of tools to generate and use data to make decisions that improve farm profitability, efficiency, and sustainability.
Chris Winkler, Director of Digital Software and Solutions at John Deere said combining Sentera’s imagery capabilities with the John Deere Operations Center™, an online operations management system, will enable growers to seamlessly gather and integrate agronomic data, understand real-time conditions, and turn data into insights that can drive decisions in the field throughout the growing season.
Sentera’s cameras are compatible with most major drone platforms. Their capabilities and FieldAgent software tools help growers and agronomists assess plant-level health, identify stressors, and take action. In addition, SMARTSCRIPT™ Weeds, a customised herbicide prescription, can be delivered to sprayers with individual nozzle control.
Drones equipped with Sentera technology fly over fields at high speeds and generate high-resolution images which are processed with Sentera’s FieldAgent application to identify the exact location of specific weeds and generate a weed map. This map becomes a targeted prescription for how much product a grower needs to load into a sprayer, helping minimise waste. Once the prescription is generated, it can be wirelessly sent to compatible equipment via the John Deere Operations CenterTM.
The same process can be used in a field to assess crop stand uniformity, disease pressure, and pests.
Sentera will continue to supply cameras directly to drone manufacturers for integration into their products, as well as sell to growers, agronomists, ag retailers, and other users. The John Deere Operations CenterTM will continue to be open for other drone imagery providers for integration, as well, ensuring customers and their trusted advisors continue to have choices on the solutions that work best for their operation.
