News Release   29 August, 2025

John Deere's Harvest Customer Experience Delivers Technology, Tools and Tips for a Smarter Harvest

Crestmead, Queensland (29 August 2025) — John Deere and its customers converged on Griffith in Southern NSW recently for a 'Harvest Customer Experience', designed to showcase the machines, technology and tools they can use to ensure a smarter harvest season.

John Deere Australia and New Zealand Production and Precision Ag Marketing Manager, Royce Bell, said the Harvest Customer Experience held at Hutcheon & Pearce Griffith was the latest in a series of four events across the country (Horsham, Vic; Moree and Griffith, NSW; and Esperance, WA) designed to share John Deere knowledge and expertise.

"We want to make sure customers understand the productivity and efficiency gains on offer by keeping every machine consistent, with every combine doing its best every day through harvest, with the support of the dealer," Mr Bell said.

"The John Deere Harvest Customer Experience is really about achieving a smarter harvest and an improved bottom line through productivity, reliability and efficiency, and we can do all that automatically."

Participants rotated through three stations, focusing on the new features of the latest S7 Series and X9 Series combine harvesters; showcasing the new integrated technology and John Deere Harvest Automation; and demonstrating how John Deere's digital tools can help manage the day-to-day harvest.

John Deere's S7 and X9 combine harvesters integrate advanced automation technologies such as Predictive Ground Speed Automation, Harvest Settings Automation and AutoTrac™ Turn Automation.

The updates on 2025 combine harvester models onwards can boost productivity by up to 20%* on Australian farms, with new features designed to improve machine performance to ensure harvest quality is maintained regardless of operator experience.

Manager of John Deere Australia and New Zealand Production Systems Specialists, Max Cusack, said the Harvest Customer Experience was also a great opportunity to get closer to customers and dealers to understand their pressure points, in order for John Deere to continue to improve in the future.

"Efficiency is all about minimising grain loss and fuel use, and doing more with less in the harvest window. The reliability and performance of our combines, our fronts, and all of the enabling technology is crucial to achieving that," Mr Cusack said.

"Skilled labour is a real challenge right now and that's why these technology improvements need to come together using automation to maximise a machine's productivity through harvest. Harvest Automation technology from John Deere is now smart enough to self-optimise making adjustments to improve machine performance.

"It's super exciting. Farmers investing in these machines can get the best return possible through automatic adjustment and optimisation of these machines, regardless of the operator in the cab," he said.

James Trethowan, Farm Manager for Lawson Grains, travelled from his home on a 10,000-hectare operation at Urana, in the Riverina region of NSW, for the Harvest Customer Experience.

Lawson Grains currently run a John Deere X9 with another on the way for the upcoming harvest, a S790 combine, an 8R and 9RX tractor, as well as two 616R self-propelled sprayers – one with See & Spray™.

"The updates for John Deere Machine Sync will help with our controlled traffic system, and I'm very excited about John Deere's new JDLinkTM Boost device that provides constant connectivity using Starlink from the SpaceX network, since I'm in an area that doesn't have the best connectivity,"Mr Trethowan said.

"Being a large corporate farm, we try and capture as much data as we can for informed decisions and budgeting. John Deere Operations Center™ is a must for us – it's very heavily used within Lawson Grains, right down to having the farm plan correct for every application.

"Yield maps are also crucial. We're looking at putting protein monitors on the headers this year because we're doing trials for different fertilisers, biostimulants and natural products, and we want to get the data from that to see what is viable."

Mr Cusack said John Deere was excited to be offering HarvestLab™ 3000, which provides on the go measurement of moisture, protein starch and oil values in wheat, barley and canola, on S7 and X9 combines to assist farmers meet their agronomic data needs.

One of the Harvest Customer Experience hosts, Hutcheon & Pearce Griffith, is a multi-generational John Deere dealership that’s been in business for 70-plus years. For CEO Arron Hutcheon, the workshop is a valuable educational tool.

"The John Deere X9 combine is an evolving product for us and it is quickly becoming a major part of our harvester business," Mr Hutcheon said. "For us, rather than picking on one particular technology, Harvest Customer Experience is about customers unlocking all of the technology that's available on that machine."

To watch the highlights of the Harvest Customer Experience held in Griffith, Australia visit the John Deere Australia and New Zealand YouTube channel.

* Results are from using optional Ultimate Technology Package. Anonymised John Deere Operations Center™ data gathered in soybeans, corn, and small grains. Performance varies based on machine size and field and crop conditions.

ABOUT JOHN DEERE:

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