The ErgoSteer retrofit kit allows high-spec 500 to 1000 Series Fendt tractors to be controlled through a steering joystick mounted on a left-side seat armrest.

Fendt ErgoSteer brings joystick steering control to tractors

A retrofit option offers a second type of steering input for operators

A few years ago, Agco’s Fendt brand replaced the steering wheel on its Ideal combines with a joystick control. In 2024 it introduced a retrofit kit that can bring joystick steering control to Fendt tractors, too. That system just won Agco an AE50 award for its design. “It’s 100 per cent retrofittable,” says Daniel Smith, […] Read more

Kubota M7 and M8 tractors now come auto guidance-ready, with an open-architecture system that allows for any third-party GPS system.

Kubota to expand in-house guidance system offering

The brand’s current open architecture also allows for third-party guidance options

As Kubota continues to move toward being an ever-more-significant player in the ag equipment market, its two highest-horsepower tractor lines now come auto guidance-ready. The brand recognizes many of the farms that use its tractors are also likely to have other major brand machinery and already use the auto-guidance systems those companies provide. So Kubota […] Read more


NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a strong solar flare on May 8. The image shows a blend of 171 and 131 Angstrom light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.

More guidance outages possible this growing season

Newer GPS receivers may prove more reliable during intense solar storms

In spring many producers lost GPS signals and were forced to go old-school and actually use the steering wheel — or shut down until service was restored. That interruption was caused by intense solar flare activity, creating outages across most of North America. It may not be the only GPS interruption producers can expect through […] Read more



Staff of SB Quantum at work. The Sherbrooke, Que. company was chosen to be part of John Deere’s annual Startup Collaborator program for 2024. It has developed technology based on a novel quantum magnetometer that can more accurately measure fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field.

A quantum-sensing startup gets Deere backing

John Deere's Startup Collaborator program helps new companies develop, explore innovative tech

Glacier FarmMedia — A Canadian firm that uses quantum sensing to improve navigation for autonomous vehicles is among six start-up companies from around the world that will be collaborating with John Deere. “This is a perfect opportunity to find a technology that’s really interesting that may have a large application to solving customer problems that […] Read more

With the AutoTrac steering system, Gators can now follow the same precision guidance as tractors equipped with this technology.

Deere introduces AutoTrac-ready Gators

The green brand brings auto steer to its UTVs

It goes without saying that GPS auto-steer capability on ag equipment is a pretty ordinary feature these days, but John Deere is now bringing that technology to a machine you might not have expected to find it on, the Gator UTV. “John Deere is enabling the productivity gains farmers have seen while using AutoTrac technology on […] Read more


Screengrab from a Wheelman autosteer installation video. (HandsFreeFarm.com)

Kubota to buy autosteer maker AgJunction

All-cash deal worth about $91 million

Autosteer and ag equipment guidance system maker AgJunction is poised to sell itself to farm equipment maker Kubota Corp. in a $91 million all-cash deal. Publicly-traded AgJunction, which is registered in Calgary but based at Scottsdale, Ariz., said Thursday its board has unanimously approved Kubota’s 75-cents-per-share proposal and recommended shareholders vote in favour. AgJunction would […] Read more

(TopconPositioning.com)

Brandt closes GeoShack deal, locks up Topcon sales in Canada

Tractor company revives Ontario deal

A deal to make Brandt Tractor the exclusive dealer for Topcon geopositioning equipment clear across Canada has been resuscitated. Regina-based Brandt announced Tuesday it has closed its previously-announced deal to buy the assets of GeoShack Canada — two weeks after Dallas-based GeoShack declared that “a mutually beneficial deal… has not been attained.” GeoShack has been […] Read more