STEM Café: Why an Acre Matters: How Digital Technology is Transforming Agriculture

John Deere was founded in 1837 with the invention of the steel plow, which revolutionized agriculture. Now the agricultural revolution has gone digital with technologies such as GPS, yield monitors and cloud-based data management reshaping the way farmers work. As the global population increases, farmers need to produce more crops with fewer resources – and they want to do this in a way that’s sustainable environmentally and economically.

At our next NIU STEM Café, hear from a John Deere product manager and an engineering manager to learn about the development of precision digital technology over the past two decades. Learn how new technologies, such as autonomous tractors, weed-targeting computers and precision fertilizer applicators, are helping farmers get better results while using fewer chemicals, helping to reshape America’s acres.

Presenters:

Carollyn Gehrke, product manager, AOM Dynamic Portfolio, John Deere.

Ryan Pritchard, engineering manager, operations and site reliability engineering, John Deere.

Northern Illinois University STEM Cafés are part of NIU STEAM and are designed to increase public awareness of the critical role that STEM fields play in our everyday lives. They are offered in partnership with the NIU Alumni Association and made possible with support from Thermo Fisher Scientific and Bayer Fund.