NEWS RELEASE May 26, 2025
Global John Deere Leader: Australian Growers Are Leveraging Tech to Manage Unique Conditions
Crestmead, Queensland (26 May, 2025) — Australian farmers' uptake of Agriculture Technology (Ag Tech) is helping them manage the growing pressure of larger, more complex production systems and critical labour shortages.
During his recent visit to Australia, John Deere Vice President of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems, Aaron Wetzel, spent several days meeting with growers across Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales and said local farmers were trailblazing the use of innovation in their operations.
"The primary objective of my visit has been to spend time with Australian customers, understanding their daily challenges, and exploring how John Deere products, technologies, and local dealer capabilities can better support their needs," Mr Wetzel said.
"Australian farmers are managing increasingly tight planting windows, operations that are a larger size and scale, and a growing labour shortage. What stood out to me is how proactively they're turning to technology to meet those challenges head-on.
"Without the government subsidies seen in other markets, Australian growers must be exceptionally efficient with their inputs and capital investments. They're not just open to technology, they're demanding it."
A 37-year veteran of John Deere based in Illinois, Mr Wetzel has lived and worked in the United States, Europe and Brazil and now leads the portfolio development and capital allocation for equipment designed for the production of small grains, cotton, sugarcane, corn and soybeans.
"I've spent time with customers all over the world and, while the core issues are often similar it is what I call the 'last mile' that is always local. Here, it might be putting chickpeas in the ground at just the right moment or managing moisture variability. That's where we need to be truly in tune with our customers," he said.
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Global John Deere Senior Leader, Aaron Wetzel & John Deere AU/NZ Director, Marketing, Ben Kelly meet on farm with customers James & David Bailey.
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Global John Deere Senior Leader, Vice President of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems, Aaron Wetzel meeting with customer James Bailey.
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John Deere customers David Bailey (left) and James Bailey (right).
Local farmers appreciate being listened to
Based at Brookstead on Queensland's Darling Downs, the Bailey family (David and Carmen and their son James and his wife Tash) operate a 3,400-hectare mixed cropping enterprise predominantly growing sorghum and wheat, along with chickpeas and mungbeans, and producing cotton from time to time, depending on pricing and seasonal conditions.
As part of their operations, the family run a fleet of John Deere equipment and David said he appreciated the opportunity to host Mr Wetzel and some of John Deere's Australian leadership team as part of the US leader's on-farm visits.
"We run several pieces of John Deere equipment on our farm including a sprayer, header and several tractors, and we rely on the machines to run when we need them," Mr Bailey said.
"It's really good that guys at that level come out and talk to us growers. We appreciated being able to discuss some of our concerns and challenges with Aaron and the hierarchy from John Deere.
"Aaron asked a lot of questions, wrote many notes and took plenty of pictures, so it's excellent to know they are listening, and we are looking forward to hearing the feedback from the trip."
Autonomy on the way
John Deere has launched fully autonomous solutions on 8R and 9R Tractor platforms in the US and Mr Wetzel said he expected this tech to follow in Australia in the future.
"These systems are aimed squarely at helping farmers address labour shortages while increasing machine utilisation and overall efficiency.
"Having qualified people to do the work required is a challenge for many of our customers and they are actively looking for solutions to be able to address this.
"Australia is a key growth market for John Deere. The innovation mindset here is unmatched, and we're committed to supporting that with the very best equipment, precision technology and on-the-ground dealer support," Mr Wetzel said.
"We see tremendous opportunity to help growers here reach new levels of productivity."
ABOUT JOHN DEERE:
It doesn't matter if you've never driven a tractor, mowed a lawn, or operated a dozer. With John Deere's role in helping produce food, fibre, fuel, and infrastructure, we work for every single person on the planet. It all started nearly 200 years ago with a steel plow. Today, John Deere drives innovation in agriculture, construction, forestry, turf, power systems, and more.
For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at JohnDeere.com or in Australia at JohnDeere.com.au.
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For further information, the news media should contact:
Kate Scott
kate.scott@bluehillagency.com.au
0438 389 092
Stacey Wordsworth
stacey.wordsworth@bluehillagency.com.au
0438 394 371
