Deere tapping into Apple-like tech model to drive revenue

Deere & Co. 8R autonomous tractor is pictured at Jensen Test Farm in Bondurant, Iowa, U.S., April 28, 2022. Picture taken April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Bianca Flowers

BONDURANT, Iowa (Reuters) -Deere & Co has sold its tractors and other equipment to farmers for decades, but the world's largest agriculture machinery manufacturer is tearing a page from the technology world's playbook - combining cutting-edge hardware with software and subscription models to drive revenue growth.

In a world with a dwindling number of grain producers and a growing population, Deere and its rivals are developing self-driving equipment loaded with the latest software that is harvesting a new kind of bumper crop: data. All that translates into recurring revenue, something companies like Apple have long enjoyed and industrial manufacturers like Deere hungrily eye. "The more technology we can develop to allow farmers to get productivity out of their land without having to spend so much money on fertilizer and inputs, the better off everybody is," Julian Sanchez, Deere's director of emerging technology, told Reuters.