PAG | September 2022

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AGCO acquired a technology company
to help the farm equipment manufacturer
develop precision agriculture and
autonomous products.
In May, AGCO announced its purchase of JCA
Technologies, based out of Winnipeg, Man.
JCA’s path planning, sensor fusion and remote-control
products are already in use by other equipment
manufacturers.
But one area of JCA’s business proved to be what drew
AGCO towards its acquisition, said Seth Crawford,
general manager of AGCO’s precision agriculture and
digital division.
“What was most appealing for us was their efforts
around autonomous software,” Crawford told
Farms.com. “They were really involved in many of
the early efforts of the autonomy we’re starting to
see in the market today.”
Bringing JCA into the fold will allow AGCO to
implement a retrofit strategy.
Fewer than 300,000 new tractors are sold in the U.S.
each year.
But approximately 3 million tractors between three and
15-years-old are in use.
AGCO’s acquisition of JCA allows customers to
consider a retrofit autonomous option rather than
purchasing a new piece of equipment, Crawford said.
“We’re focused on the machines farmers have in their
fields, so things like tractors, combines and sprayers,”
he said. “Farmers are looking at their tractors asking
how they can upgrade it without buying a $500,000
tractor. We think this gives us an opportunity to
bring some performance enhancing retrofit
products to our customers.”
One benefit of autonomous
equipment is the stress it can
help alleviate from farmers.
The U.S. ag sector faces a
labor shortage.
Data from the
for example, shows the number of hired farmworkers
has dropped from 2.33 million in 1950 to 1.13 million in
2000 – a decrease of 51 percent.
Finding skilled labor is challenging, but autonomous
equipment removes that challenge, Crawford said.
“There’s a short window to plant and harvest crops and
often a limiting factor of those two is labor,” he said. “If
we can develop a productive solution that farmers can
trust and is easy to use, we can get to a point where
farmers aren’t concerned about finding labor.”
Another potential benefit of autonomous equipment
could be seen in a farmer’s mental health.
Data from a
indicated stress and weather as issues
affecting a farmer’s mental health.
With autonomous equipment, a farmer may not have
to worry about putting in a 16-hour day because the
equipment can perform the tasks itself.
“There’s nothing more stressful than wanting to get
the crop off,” Crawford said. “But at the same time,
the human body can only go so many hours without
extreme fatigue. I do think there’s a farmer mental
health aspect to autonomous equipment.”
Farmers may not have to wait that long before seeing
some AGCO autonomous equipment in action.
AGCO plans to release some autonomous software
on a limited test basis in summer of 2023, Crawford
said. | pag
AGCO ACQUIRES JCA
This acquisition will help AGCO develop precision ag and
autonomous products
DIEGO FLAMMINI
FARMS.COM