Ep. 219 - How John Deere Tractor Tech Is Evolving for the Future of Farming
Agriculture Technology Podcast
RDO Equipment Co.
4.2 • 48 Ratings
🗓️ 7 July 2025
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tractor technology has come a long way in the past 20 years — and it’s evolving faster than ever. In this episode of the Agriculture Technology Podcast, host Tony Kramer is joined by Brian Verkuehlen of RDO Equipment Co. to discuss how John Deere tractors are becoming more versatile to meet autonomy and precision agriculture.
Once used solely for tillage and planting, John Deere tractors have transformed into advanced, multi-purpose machines. Tony and Brian dive into the impact of emerging technologies, the shift toward electrification and how farmers can strategically plan for the future of their operations.
This episode covers:
• How tractor roles have evolved from specialized to multi-functional
• The impact of AutoTrac, AutoPath and autonomy
• Why horsepower needs are increasing and what that means for your fleet
• The shift from hydraulics to electric power in implements
• Flexible technology integration with G5 displays, EVT transmissions and off-board power
• Choosing between wheels, two-track and four-track configurations • Why long-term planning is essential for equipment investments
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Tony Kramer, your host of the Agriculture Technology podcast, and I'm sitting down with |
| 0:06.4 | agriculture technology and equipment experts to help you enhance your operation for today, tomorrow, |
| 0:12.6 | and into the future. In this episode, I talk with Brian Verkeelan about what the landscape |
| 0:18.3 | of tractor offerings looks like today in the John Deere portfolio. |
| 0:24.0 | With that, let's dive into the show. |
| 0:26.0 | Like I said, I'm here with Brian Berkeelan. |
| 0:27.9 | We're going to talk a little bit about how the landscape of tractors has changed over time |
| 0:34.5 | and what that portfolio looks like within John Deere's product offerings and what |
| 0:39.8 | we can offer you as a customer here at RDO equipment. So before we dive into the show, Brian, |
| 0:45.3 | why don't you take a minute just to introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about who you are, |
| 0:49.5 | where you come from, and what you do here at RDO. Yeah, good afternoon, everyone, and Brian Berkeelan. |
| 0:54.8 | I'm a general manager at the Moorhead location here in Moorhead, Minnesota. |
| 1:00.0 | So I've been with RDO just short of 20 years and started here back in 2006 as kind of the |
| 1:06.7 | first precision products manager back when Deere was getting their auto-steer solution to market. |
| 1:12.2 | So I've been multiple roles, regional sales manager, general manager of sales, now currently over at the Morehead location. |
| 1:18.8 | Wonderful. Well, glad to have you here. You bring with a long time of experience here 20 years with RDO equipment. |
| 1:27.3 | And I'm sure prior to that, you probably had some touch of agriculture in your background. |
| 1:33.3 | So you bring with some great experiences and some great knowledge on how this has changed over the 20 years. |
| 1:41.9 | Even myself, being 15 years with RDO equipment, has changed over the 20 years. Even myself, being 15 years with audio equipment, |
| 1:47.0 | has changed so much in what we've seen and what we've done. |
| 1:50.0 | And going back to, like you said, in 2006 when you started, |
| 1:54.0 | kind of on that technology team or the AMS team, |
... |
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