Olathe, Kansas – John Deere recently earned nine 2025 AE50 Awards for outstanding innovation in engineering and technology for agricultural, food and biological systems.
Annually, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recognizes the 50 most innovative product-engineering designs in the food and agricultural industry as chosen by international engineering experts. AE50 winners include machines, systems, components, software and services that rank highest for innovation, significant engineering advancement and impact for the markets they serve.
This year, John Deere received AE50 Awards for the following innovations:
“The AE50 Awards demonstrate the work done by our team to provide applicable products and technology to our customers,” said Jon Chase, vice president of marketing and shared services for John Deere’s ag and turf divisions. “The John Deere team works with our dealers and farmers to innovate the tools and technology that help them be more productive and efficient by doing more with less.”
Here’s a recap of this year’s winners:
300M Series Self-Propelled Sprayers. These sprayers are highly maneuverable, making them ideal for narrow-access roads, and are fully integrated with John Deere precision ag technology with advanced spray control systems, delivering high quality crop protection.
Implement Control Mode (ICM) with eDrive Kit. John Deere now has the ability to offboard electric power generated by an EVT transmission to enable precise control and enhanced drivability for third party implements. Examples include the Spudnik potato harvesters and JOSKIN manure tankers.
See & Spray™ Premium. John Deere See & Spray Premium technology is available on certain models of John Deere and Hagie sprayers from the factory or as a Precision Upgrade. See & Spray technology activates individual spray nozzles when target weeds are “seen” by boom-mounted cameras. The cameras scan over 2,100 square feet of crop per second as the sprayer is in motion. Onboard processors then determine whether an individual plant is a crop or weed and sends commands to individual ExactApply nozzles, which deliver a precise dose of herbicide only where the weed is recognized. The technology is currently available for application on corn, soybean, cotton and fallow fields and can cut herbicide usage by more than 50 percent*.
C-Series Air Carts. The C-Series air cart line offers reduced maintenance and improved seeding accuracy with features including corrosion-resistant AccuRate stainless steel meters that are electronically controlled; faster calibrations and improved seeding confidence from the start with the industry-exclusive EZCal calibration system; the ability to know how many acres are left by using the tank scales.
5ML Tractor Cab. Designed specifically for the tight spaces of orchard and vineyard environments, the John Deere 5ML specialty tractor offers advanced technology and impressive horsepower, with options up to 130-engine horsepower. The all-new cab provides exceptional comfort and access to John Deere precision technology, similar to larger John Deere models. Standard features include JDLink, integrated AutoTrac straight-line guidance via the center console display, and compatibility with the latest G5 Display and StarFire receiver. Growers can customize the tractor with a standard axle model or the new 5ML narrow model, which has a working width as narrow as 61-inch, enabling it to handle big tasks in small spaces.
AutoSelect Pulsing with Multi Rate. AutoSelect Pulsing with Multi Rate is a new functionality available with ExactApply nozzles compatible with model year 2023 and newer John Deere self-propelled sprayers. This functionality delivers multiple rates across the boom — up to 11 unique sections, leading to more precise product placement and increased rate range for variable rate prescription and curve compensation.
Milk Sustainability Center. The Milk Sustainability Center (MSC) is a cloud-based solution that serves dairy farmers by integrating their machinery, milking equipment and herd management software brands into one platform to support monitoring and recommendations. MSC was founded by John Deere and DeLaval and is developed by Dairy Data Warehouse which integrates the agronomic data from the John Deere Operations Center and animal data from existing systems to support dairy farm efficiency and profitability.
Active Slope Adjustment. The innovative Active Slope Adjustment technology provides active material re-distribution on the cleaning shoe by a variable speed conveyor belt during sidehill operation. Additionally, through its active pre-cleaning attributes, the performance in level-land, high-grain and material-other-than grain conditions is increased.
9RX 710, 770 and 830 Tractors. Three new 9RX models, 710, 770, and 830 hp, are powered by the JD18 engine from John Deere Power Systems. This Final Tier 4/Stage V-compliant 18-liter engine meets emissions requirements using exhaust-gas recirculation technology, eliminating the need for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), potentially saving farmers the cost of hundreds of gallons of DEF per season. The new tractors give farmers the confidence to pull wider implements, reducing the number of spring and fall passes, and with the higher engine and hydraulic power they can pull fully loaded air seeders over virtually any type of terrain without slowing down.
Additional information on the award-winning John Deere solutions can be found at Deere.com.
*Results based on internal John Deere strip trials in corn, soybeans, and cotton in Arkansas, Nebraska, and Texas, in typical growing conditions, with varying weed size, crop canopy, and field conditions, using targeted spray of non-residual herbicide only, and using current software/algorithm at time of trials. Results vary based on crop; for details. Individual results will vary.