John Deere announced a set of updates to its See & Spray precision application system that change how growers and custom applicators can use the technology in coming seasons. The company said customers will now be able to operate See & Spray in fallow without an extra fee, Free fallow use, and that new mapping and analytics will be added as part of a 2027 rollout. The changes affect both retrofit and next-generation systems.
Farmers and custom applicators can immediately expect the fallow change to remove a previous per-acre charge for unsprayed ground, letting operators use spot-application capability at no additional cost. John Deere framed the move as widening practical use of targeted spraying during non-crop periods, with the goal of reducing inputs and improving timing of field passes.
Beginning in 2027 John Deere will introduce See & Scout, a data layer that produces field insights automatically with machine passes. Field insights 2027 will include weed pressure maps generated on every pass and stand-count maps starting with corn, and the company says those maps will be provided at no additional charge for qualifying systems. Josh Ladd, marketing manager for John Deere’s application portfolio, said farmers can use weed-pressure data as a proof point for management decisions such as tillage, cover crops, seed varieties or additional sprayer passes.
Weed maps and counts
See & Spray Premium, Ultimate and the new Gen 2 platforms will create the weed-pressure maps, and stand counts will be produced beginning with corn. John Deere described the maps as part of the on-pass data stream rather than a separate, post-season product, meaning operators receive situational insights as they work fields.
Crop support expansion
For Gen 1 Premium and Ultimate machines, John Deere said it is expanding crop support in 2027 to include barley (broadleaf only) and canola, adding to crops the system already supports such as wheat, sugar beets, peanuts and milo. The company indicated the expansion responds to customer demand and testing on additional broadleaf crop types.
Compatibility and rollout
See & Spray Premium is offered as a retrofit precision upgrade for ExactApply-equipped sprayers covering model years 2018 through 2026, and John Deere confirmed the new See & Scout mapping features will be available at no extra cost on See & Spray Premium, Ultimate and Gen 2 systems starting in 2027. Ladd said the company continues to develop features across crop support and data outputs to give operators more actionable information from every pass.
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