Harvesting in diverse conditions

"These new updates are designed to help unlock the full potential of the John Deere combine," said Bergen Nelson, John Deere go-to-market manager for harvesting equipment. "From improving the grain-unloading experience to solutions that help increase the combine working time, these updates are designed to help farmers work in those often-tight harvest windows."

Predictive Ground Speed Automation, a part of the ultimate technology package, was introduced with the model year 2025 combines and incorporates predictive inputs measuring crop variability ahead of the combine for controlling ground speed. Two factory-mounted stereo cameras look ahead and measure crop height and stay in front of the cutter bar. Satellite views leverage the John Deere Operations Center to generate predictive yield maps based on midseason biomass results. Together, these systems create a more productive and smoother harvesting experience, which allows less skilled operators to maintain grain quality.

Customer feedback provided direction for the following predictive ground speed updates:

Harvest Settings Automation helps combine operators get into the field faster by automatically setting concave clearance, fan speed, rotor speed, sieve clearance and chaffer clearance, all based on the combine model, crop type and geolocation.

In addition to updates in automation, the model year 2026 release also includes improvements designed to enhance productivity with less operator intervention. These updates particularly benefit less experienced operators.

Harvest updates available through the John Deere Operations Center give operators at-a-glance views of their farm on their mobile device to help make in-field decisions to manage their harvest activity.

In addition to updates in automation, John Deere introduced improvements to its combines. All changes are based on customer input and designed to maintain productivity and efficiency during long harvest days.

These devices require sufficient battery charge and users have come to expect that charge to be completed quickly. A dual USB-C charging module is included in the new combine models and provides faster charging when both ports are in use.

To help ensure reliable capture of the needed field and machine data, John Deere also offers JDLink  Boost, a satellite connectivity solution to ensure customers continue seamless work in fields with little to no cellular coverage. This is a field-installed kit with customized harnesses that allows machines to transmit data in real time to and from the John Deere Operations Center across machines, helping support the advanced automation and technologies, and providing information for farmers to better manage their fleets. This feature also better supports remote display access, reducing the time it can take to diagnose a machine issue.