John Deere announced that the company acquired Sentera, a remote imagery solutions provider for agriculture. By acquiring the company, John Deere advances the capabilities of its existing technology. Sentera’s cameras are compatible with most major drone platforms and provide farmers and crop scouts with high-resolution data.
John Deere Invests in Drone Tech
The acquisition of Sentera adds new insight into the fields.
“Combining Sentera’s imagery capabilities with the John Deere Operations Center will enable farmers and trusted advisors to seamlessly gather and integrate agronomic data, understand real-time conditions, and turn data into insights that drive decisions in the field throughout the growing season,” said Chris Winkler, Director of Digital Software and Solutions at John Deere.
Drones equipped with Sentera’s technology take high-resolution images. The images are processed using the company’s FieldAgent application to identify the specific locations of weeds and generate a weed map.
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This allows a farmer to know exactly how much weed-killing product to load into a sprayer, resulting in less waste. Once the map is generated, it is sent to compatible equipment through the John Deere Operations Center.
According to the press release, weed maps are only one example of the technology’s capabilities. The process can assess crops’ uniformity, disease pressure, and pests.
Sentera will continue to provide cameras to drone manufacturers and agricultural users, such as farmers. At the same time, the John Deere Operations Center will remain open to multiple drone imagery providers, giving customers flexible solution options.
“John Deere provides us a great outcome and is exactly the right home for Sentera,” said Brian Wenngatz, CEO of Sentera. “They are the industry benchmark for innovation in precision agriculture, and they share our belief that the future of access to these technologies is built on trusted relationships, measurable insights, and scalable platforms.”
He added, “Together, we’ll be able to support more farmers and help them unlock even more value.”
