Young ag leaders see John Deere’s S7 Series Combine Harvester and C-Series Air Cart

Twenty-nine young leaders in the grain industry, including some WA locals, had the chance to be among the first to see John Deere’s new harvesting machinery as part of this year’s Graingrowers’ Innovation Generation Conference. John Deere’s brand-new S7 Series Combine Harvester and C-Series Air Cart were unveiled for the first time on Australian soil at the conference. Wheatbelt farmer George Gibson was one of the young leaders to attend the event held in Crestmead, Queensland. Mr Gibson, who manages a farm near Arthur River, said operational efficiently was “top of mind” in his decision making. “For example, the new boom spray we have seen today, with cameras and See & SprayTM Select, is something that makes me very excited about the technology that is coming into the country,” he said. “Operational efficiency is a massive thing for us within our group, so having that technology available and seeing John Deere innovate makes us innovate as well.” Another WA local in attendance was Ryan Greaves, a fourth-generation Wheatbelt farmer, who said machine automation was a big selling-point for him. “Being able to hire people that don’t really have a background in agriculture and put them in a machine that is worth a lot of money, and then trust them because the machine is doing a lot of the work – that’s what excites me.” John Deere Precision Ag marketing manager Max Cusack said the conference was a “wonderful” event that allowed people from all over the country to “listen and learn”. “Working collaboratively with industry, including with younger farmers and professionals, to understand their needs – and then meeting these needs – is at the heart of what we do to help make our customers the most productive and sustainable in the world.”