John Deere Press Room 2009

John Deere demonstrated a 155hp 6930 tractor equipped with the market leading GreenStar AutoTrac hands-free steering system, in addition to a new 100hp 5100R tractor on turf tyres and an XUV Gator utility vehicle on static display.

The advent of affordable GPS satellite steering systems has led many farmers to invest in such equipment for reducing bout overlaps, wheelings and operator fatigue, and for providing accurate direction when there are no tramlines to follow. Turf growers such as Paynes Turf in Essex also benefit from this technology, which can provide accuracy levels as low as +/-2cm.

AutoTrac is capable of providing far better accuracy than an operator can consistently achieve for drilling, fertiliser spreading, spraying and wide area mowing. John Deere’s AMS (Agricultural Management Solutions) product range also offers simple LightBar and parallel tracking systems as well as AutoTrac Universal, which can be used on other makes of tractor and self-propelled vehicle.

The photograph shows Paynes Turf's extensive John Deere tractor fleet, including AutoTrac-equipped models, supplied by local dealer P Tuckwell Limited of Ardleigh, near Colchester in Essex.

June 2009