Autonomous Tractor Technology Has Arrived For Tillage

Autonomous farm machinery is no longer a technology of the future — tasks such as tillage and grain cart operations are now operating nearly on their own.

John Deere and AGCO have been working toward full autonomy for years. Familiar functions, such as guidance lines, automated turns, and implement guidance, have been the building blocks for the truly driverless tractor. 

Deere’s autonomous upgrades and AGCO’s OutRun aftermarket kit have moved past the trial stage, with limited commercial availability in 2025 — the first growing season in which farmers are buying and using this technology outside of testing programs. Dozens of units have tilled fields this year, according to Michael Porter, go-to-market manager of large tractors and tillage at John Deere. 

Spring tillage often has farmers operating in tight windows; autonomous tillage can help alleviate labor shortages and allow planting to take place optimally, according to Darcy Cook, senior director of autonomous solutions at PTx Trimble. 

“We have a mixed-fleet solution we are developing around the crop cycle — from the grain cart to tillage — and we’ll have fertilizer spreading and other functions in the future,” Cook said.

Hands-Free Farming

Before a farmer can start with autonomous functions, they first need to verify field boundaries and guidance lines in their farm management information software — John Deere Operations Center or PTx Trimble Ag Software. They then drive their tractors and connected implements into the field. 

For Deere’s system, farmers open Operations Center on their phones, select the field in which they want autonomous tillage done, and create a work plan. There, they set up the type of tillage, direction, heading angle, and how many headland passes they want. Once set up, the farmer accepts the work plan inside the machine. 

“And then, it’s getting out of the machine, using Operation Center Mobile, and swiping to start,” Porter said.

The machine performs safety checks using its vision system, honks the horn to alert anyone nearby, lifts the tool to the starting point, and tills the field. Farmers are free to work elsewhere on their operations, using the mobile app to monitor the tractor’s progress or any obstacle alerts. Thanks to high-visibility headlights, Deere’s system can also operate overnight, preparing fields for planting the following morning. 

For AGCO’s OutRun system, once the tractor is in the field, farmers use the operator interface on their phones or the in-cab display to set boundaries and headlands. The farmer then sets the machine to autonomous mode, steps out of the cab, and presses an arming button on the tractor’s ladder. Once the farmer is clear of the tractor’s path, they can start the tractor from their phone. 

Compatibility and Installation

AGCO’s OutRun system is compatible with model year 2014 or newer John Deere 8R tractors with Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT). Compatibility with Fendt tractors is planned to begin in 2026. The main portion of OutRun’s intelligence technology is designed to be broadly the same across all tractor models, needing only a specific drive-by-wire kit for different makes and models.

Farmers order their systems through AGCO dealers who sell PTx Trimble technology. The dealer installs at the farm and walks operators through its use and safety tips. Typically, installation takes only a single day. 

John Deere’s autonomous tractor kit is compatible with mid-model 2022 or newer 8R tractors, or 2022 or newer 9R tractors; all need to be wheel or 4-track RX machines. Tillage implements are compatible as far back as 2017, including Deere’s chisel plow, vertical till, high-speed disk, and coulter chisel models. Depending on the year, tractor and tillage models may require different installation kits. Porter said complete installation for software, cameras, and harnessing typically takes about seven hours. 

A farmer provides their tractor’s serial number and type of tillage tool to their dealer, who then builds out a compatibility kit.

For more information, visit deere.com/en/autonomous and outrunag.com.