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Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) has acquired Smart Apply, Inc., a precision spraying equipment company based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The company developed the Smart Apply Intelligent Spray Control System™, an upgrade kit that can improve the accuracy and performance of virtually any air sprayer used in orchard, vineyard and tree nursery spraying applications. Smart Apply helps growers reduce chemical use, airborne drift and depletion while optimizing high-value crop yields and meeting sustainability goals.
John Deere has been working with Smart Apply since 2020.
“This is a natural progression of the two companies’ working relationship,” said Mike Bailey, director of John Deere’s Small Tractor & HVC Production System. “It’s a continuation of our commitment to customers and distributors of high-value crops, further expanding a portfolio of solutions to help growers address their biggest challenges in terms of labor, cost of entry and regulatory requirements, and achieve environmental objectives.”
Smart Apply precision spraying helps achieve up to 93% less chemical runoff and up to 87% reduction in airborne drift, while reducing chemical use by an average of 50% . With less use of chemicals, producers also reduce water consumption by 50%.
Sophisticated LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology detects the presence of individual trees and vines and automatically adjusts spray volume based on foliage density to optimize protection. The system stops spraying between trees and rows, adjusting without human intervention. Smart Apply’s proprietary GPS-enabled software captures a wide spectrum of data while spraying. The system documents date and time of spraying, overall spray volumes, chemical savings, tree count, canopy volume, individual tree/vine health and acres/hectares sprinkles Precision data leads to a deeper understanding of the productivity, profitability, health and sustainability of an orchard or vineyard.
Growers can choose to share their Smart Application data with John Deere Operations Center™ farm management software, unlocking another level of insight and expert support.
“Both John Deere and Smart Apply recognize the importance of high-value crops and are committed to investing in innovation and technology that better serves high-value crop producers and helps them solve their problems,” said Jerry Johnson, president and CEO of Smart. To apply.
Smart Apply was founded in 2014 and has approximately 20 full-time employees. Smart Apply is sold primarily through John Deere dealers in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and England. Going forward, Deere plans to offer Smart Apply across much of its dealer network in North America and Australia and will explore additional opportunities in new markets.
About Deere & Company
Deere & Company (www.JohnDeere.com) is a world leader in the delivery of agricultural, lawn, construction and forestry equipment. We help our customers push the limits of what is possible in a more productive and sustainable way to help life move forward. Our technology-enabled products, such as the John Deere Autonomous 8R tractor, See & Spray™ and the E-Power backhoe, are just a few of the ways we help meet the world’s growing need for food, shelter and infrastructure. Deere & Company also offers financial services through John Deere Financial.
For more information about Deere & Company, visit us at www.deere.com/en/news/.
