GPS systems benefit Deere machinery, farmers

Deere machinery and farmers benefit from enhanced GPS systems.
Deere machinery and farmers benefit from enhanced GPS systems.
Farmers have a new and improved automated ally that will streamline their efforts into an efficient process, an Illinois newspaper writes.

Among the latest advancements to benefit farmers are global positioning systems and the software that comes with them, the Pontiac Daily Leader of Central Illinois reports. Ryan Myers, an agriculture management solutions consultant at Kelly-Sauder-Rupiper Equipment, told the publication farmers are buying more of the advanced navigation systems.

"More than 60 percent of our customers use our GPS devices, every year we see a few more wanting to give them a try," Myers said.

GPS technology has greatly improved since first appearing in the early 2000s and John Deere machinery is equipped with GreenStar GPS. Solid agricultural information replaces farmers' guesswork for systems that range from $5,000 for used devices to in excess of $20,000.

"John Deere has a new satellite system and that has really created a used market where we see a lot of growth, as new users buy second-hand to see what it's all about," Myers, who also is a salesman, told the publication. "It's allowed me to sell a lot more to customers who otherwise wouldn’t have them."