Automation and comfort key in John Deere’s 2026 combine upgrades flagged to boost productivity by 20 per cent

John Deere has unveiled new automation and efficiency updates on 2026 model combine harvesters it claims can boost productivity by up to 20 per cent on Australian farms. The new features unveiled this month focus on speed, automation, sensors, connectivity and comfort — with the overall aim of bolstering productivity with less operator intervention. John Deere Australia and New Zealand production and precision ag marketing manager Royce Bell said the updates would “create a smoother experience” and enable less-skilled operators to maximise crop quality. “They (the updates) are designed to help farmers to fully optimise working time in tight harvest windows,” he said. “Whether it’s anticipating crop variability, fine-tuning weed detection sensing or improving the grain unloading experience.” Ground speed upgrades mean the combine will automatically adjust to varying field terrain, rather than requiring operators to disengage the predictive ground speed automation feature in sensitive areas. Predictive ground speed automation now also supports edible beans and lentils, while cab-mounted cameras can also sense individual weed patches by detecting weed-like plant shapes and heights. Depending on the weed density and operator-defined sensitivity, the combine will reduce ground speed as it harvests through these areas to reduce slugging and help prevent reel or rotor wrapping. John Deere’s operations centre will automatically send harvest automation files, including crop data from planting, so that satellite views of predictive ground speed automation are available on all eligible harvesters. It also now includes an out-of-crop setting that engages when the harvester is passing through areas already harvested, helping to reduce grain loss and maintain a cleaner tank sample in sparse areas of the field. Other automation upgrades include hands-free turning through John Deere’s AutoTrac turn automation, while a new auto-unload camera has been mounted to the auger to help evenly fill the grain cart. The camera senses the grain fill level inside the cart and sends in-line nudge commands to the tractor. Following successful trials in Australia’s unique conditions, operators can now monitor harvest with at-a-glance views on their mobile device through updates available through the operations centre. The company’s popular grain sensing with HarvestLab 3000, which was previously only available on S700 harvesters, has been extended to all model year 2021 and newer X9 harvesters plus the new S7 and T6 models. Grain sensing collects and records the percentages of crop moisture, protein, starch and oil content of wheat, barley, canola, corn, soybeans, oats and rye crops. John Deere will also offer a satellite connectivity solution called JDLink Boost from mid-2025, enabling farmers to work in paddocks with little to no cellular coverage. The field-installed kit allows machines to transmit data in real time and better supports remote display access, which reduces the time taken to diagnose a machine issue. The company has also released a new three-piece CAM reel with dense pack fingers, designed for optimal performance when harvesting challenging crops such as pulses. For farmers chasing comfort, Mr Bell said the company had taken customer feedback on board and introduced new in-cab upgrades, with a “stadium” seat that flips up and can be folded down to be used as a shelf when not in use. A dual USB-C charging module has been installed in the new models, to charge batteries quickly for mobile devices.