John Deere launches Harvest Profit in NZ & Australia
Recently released in Australia and New Zealand by John Deere, a unique new software platform offers near real time profitability monitoring across crops and individual paddocks.
A collaboration between Claas and JD is described as agri’s first direct cloud-to-cloud data exchange solution.
For ten years or so, technology such as GPS, auto steering, precision seeding and variable rate fertiliser application have helped boost farmers’ profits.
The only real problem, particularly for operators of mixed fleets of differing brands, has been the inability of machines to ‘talk’ to one another.
Now comes DataConnect, a venture between Claas, 365 FastNet and John Deere. It’s described as agri engineering’s first direct cloud-to-cloud data exchange solution.
The collaboration is part of the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AIEF) project that allows manufacturers to talk to one another using an agreed common interface.
Currently, farmers or contractors with machinery fleets of differing brands have only been able to record, process and document data using the respective equipment and web portals of the individual brands. But DataConnect allows users to exchange their data via a common interface, and to monitor and control the fleet via the favoured system.
The concept allows users to choose a preferred platform from a specific manufacturer, and to transmit data from other machines via the new interface. This means data will still be available in each of the brand’s portals and this can be exchanged in real time from one cloud to another.
A key benefit means that all machine configurations are available in one system. This enables the exchange of important machinery data, eg past and current location, fuel levels, work status and forward speed.
The system will also likely be able to transmit agronomic data in due course.
DataConnect is scheduled for release at Agritechnica ‘19 in November.
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.

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