With the rapid evolution of technology, farmers may not be able to afford to continue to control all aspects of their operations. Autonomous farm machinery could lead to producers outsourcing tasks to a skilled equipment operator, allowing the farmer to focus on other parts of their operation. 

A semi recently traveled 80 miles completely autonomously, marking a milestone for autonomous on-road equipment. At this pace, autonomy in the farm fields can't be far behind.

In this episode of the Precision Farming Dealer podcast, Ohio State University's Scott Shearer shares what surprised him about the announcement of John Deere's autonomous tractor, his predictions for the future of autonomous farm equipment and what issues he thinks manufacturers shouldn’t ignore when it comes to autonomy.

The autonomous electric machine, called Ted, drives in the rows between the vines to weed around plants. It uses RTK guidance, sensors, lasers, cameras and probes to understand its environment.