-Submitted photo
Beck’s Hybrids put Deere’s See & Spray technology to the test and documented the results in its 2024 Practical Farm Research report. The data showed a 3.3- to 4.2-bushel-acre soybean yield advantage where See & Spray technology was used.

Increasing input costs. Narrow application windows. Tighter margins. It’s never been more important to do more with less in farming.

That’s why more producers are investing in high-tech solutions to manage weeds more effectively, including See & Spray technology from John Deere.

With a combination of on-board cameras and computers, See & Spray turns sprayers into targeted, weed-killing machines, only applying crop-protection products where they are needed.

“Blink your eyes — you’re too slow,” said Josh Ladd, go-to-market manager/application for John Deere. “See & Spray works at lightning speed.”

He’s referring to See & Spray’s ability to scan 2,500 square feet per second, thanks to on-board cameras, as the sprayer moves across the field.

-Submitted photo
Josh Ladd is the go-to-market manager/application for John Deere.

“The technology makes decisions in 200 milliseconds or less about when and where to apply crop-protection products in the field,” Ladd said.

See & Spray uses 36 on-board cameras, including 16 on each side, and four in the center. “There’s a camera about every three feet,” Ladd said.

The technology is available as a factory-installed system on a variety of John Deere and Hagie sprayers. See & Spray is also available as an upgrade kit to retrofit existing sprayers.

See & Spray technology works with a variety of crops, including corn, soybeans and cotton, as well as fallow ground. See & Spray Premium is an entry-level product that starts at $25,000. It’s available as a factory install or a precision upgrade that turns a grower’s current sprayer into a precision machine.

By target spraying only where necessary, Deere notes that farmers and custom applicators can:

Cut herbicide usage by more than 50%. (These savings refer to volume application savings. Individual results will vary, based on weed pressure, crop types, machine settings and environmental conditions.) “This past year, we covered over a million acres,” Ladd said. “On average, we saw a 59% savings in non-residual herbicide products. The return on investment is definitely there.”

Reduce water use and crop stress. See & Spray reduces crop stress by providing an effective weed-kill strategy, eliminating weeds that rob plants of valuable nutrients and moisture.

Improve cost efficiencies and boost profit potential.

Deere has developed a variety of See & Spray options. See & Spray Ultimate, for example, is available for select 400 and 600 Series John Deere sprayers. The sprayer’s two tanks help growers manage herbicide resistance by using two independent tank mixes in one pass.

The dual-tank configuration lets farmers and custom applicators apply targeted spray and traditional broadcast at the same time. Applicators can target-spray weeds and broadcast fungicide, or better manage weeds by applying a non-residual targeted spray and residual broadcast, all in one pass.

“Combining two passes in one saves time and money,” Ladd said.

Soybean trials show 3- to 4-bushel yield boost

See & Spray technology isn’t just for large farms or big custom applicators.

“We’re seeing utilization from all different sizes of farms all over the country that want to be as efficient as possible,” Ladd said.

How does See & Spray “know” when to spray?

Deere has designed the technology to recognize what a healthy corn, soybean or cotton crop looks like at every stage of growth. When a sprayer is working in a corn field, for example, the cameras and computers are basically answering the question “Is it corn, or is it not corn?” for each plant the technology “sees.”

“That’s how it knows to spray volunteer soybeans, for example, or Palmer amaranth,” said Ladd, who noted that the technology incorporates computer vision and machine learning.

See & Spray technology has proven to be a great fit for producers who want to farm more sustainably, Ladd added.

“Along with less product you have to apply, less water is used, as well,” he said.

Doing more with less could be the motto of this technology, which contributes to higher yield potential. Beck’s Hybrids put See & Spray technology to the test and documented the results in its 2024 Practical Farm Research report. The data showed a 3.3- to 4.2-bushel-acre soybean yield advantage where See & Spray technology was used.

“These yield increases give us a lot of optimism,” Ladd said.

After the numbers were crunched, the savings per acre with See & Spray technology ranged from $12.80 to $24.84, according to the Beck’s Hybrids report. (All See & Spray calculations included the herbicide cost for the acres sprayed and a $5/acre tech fee for the non-sprayed acres.)

“John Deere’s See & Spray technology allows farmers to target specific weeds, reducing herbicide use,” noted the Beck’s Hybrids report. “Using less herbicide can minimize crop stress, which may offer yield benefits. In our first year of testing this technology, we witnessed both benefits. We plan to continue testing this technology in the future.”

Making the technology better

While there’s a bit of a learning curve associated with See & Spray technology, it’s designed to be user-friendly. Deere also offers a quick reference guide in the cab. “This technology does a phenomenal job, from needing less product to giving you more application flexibility,” Ladd said.

If this all sounds too good to be true, that’s understandable, Ladd noted. “There’s a lot of ‘I want to see it to believe it.’ Growers and applicators want to make sure not only that the technology works, but that it works in their geography.”

More Deere dealers across the country are demonstrating the technology, Ladd said. The John Deere team continues to refine the See & Spray technology to make it even more useful, he noted.

“We’re driving towards individual weed identification,” Ladd said. “We’ve got a long list of features we want to bring to market to make this technology even better.”