Crestmead, Queensland (26 May, 2025) – Australian farmers are rapidly adopting agricultural technology (Ag Tech) to manage the increasing demands of large-scale operations and a persistent shortage of skilled labour.

During a recent visit down under, John Deere Vice President of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems, Aaron Wetzel, spent time with growers across Southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales. He noted that local farmers are at the forefront of tech-driven farming practices.

“The primary objective of my visit has been to spend time with Australian customers, understanding their daily challenges, and exploring how John Deere’s products, technologies, and local dealer capabilities can better support their needs,” Mr Wetzel said.

“Australian farmers are managing increasingly tight planting windows, operations that are a larger size and scale, and a growing labour shortage. What stood out to me is how proactively they’re turning to technology to meet those challenges head-on.

“Without the government subsidies seen in other markets, Australian growers must be exceptionally efficient with their inputs and capital investments. They’re not just open to technology, they’re demanding it.”

Mr Wetzel, who is based in Illinois and has spent 37 years with John Deere, has lived and worked in the United States, Europe and Brazil. He now leads global equipment development for crops including small grains, cotton, sugarcane, corn and soybeans.

“I’ve spent time with customers all over the world and, while the core issues are often similar, it is what I call the ‘last mile’ that is always local. Here, it might be putting chickpeas in the ground at just the right moment or managing moisture variability. That’s where we need to be truly in tune with our customers,” he said.

Local Farmers Grateful for Face-to-Face Visits

On Queensland’s Darling Downs, the Bailey family – David and Carmen, along with their son James and his wife Tash – manage a 3,400-hectare mixed cropping operation at Brookstead. Their rotation includes sorghum, wheat, chickpeas, mungbeans, and cotton, depending on market and seasonal conditions.

The Baileys run a fleet of John Deere machines, and David said it was a positive experience to host Mr Wetzel and members of John Deere’s Australian leadership team on their property.

“We run several pieces of John Deere equipment on our farm including a sprayer, header and several tractors, and we rely on the machines to run when we need them,” Mr Bailey said.

“It’s really good that guys at that level come out and talk to us growers. We appreciated being able to discuss some of our concerns and challenges with Aaron and the hierarchy from John Deere.

“Aaron asked a lot of questions, wrote many notes and took plenty of pictures, so it’s excellent to know they are listening, and we are looking forward to hearing the feedback from the trip.”

Automation Heading to Australia

John Deere has already released fully autonomous solutions for its 8R and 9R tractor platforms in the US, and Mr Wetzel said Australian growers should expect to see similar technology land here in the future.

“These systems are aimed squarely at helping farmers address labour shortages while increasing machine utilisation and overall efficiency.

“Having qualified people to do the work required is a challenge for many of our customers and they are actively looking for solutions to be able to address this.”

He reinforced John Deere’s strong commitment to the Australian market.

“Australia is a key growth market for John Deere. The innovation mindset here is unmatched, and we’re committed to supporting that with the very best equipment, precision technology, and on-the-ground dealer support,” Mr Wetzel said.

“We see tremendous opportunity to help growers here reach new levels of productivity.”


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