For farmers, this kind of efficiency is not a luxury. It is a must. Skilled farm labour is nearly impossible to find, a fact that’s long inspired livestock producers to adopt time- and labour-saving technologies such as robotic feeders and dairy cow milking machines.

It is the same with tractors. While automobile manufacturers rave about self-driving cars, that technology has been available for tractors for 20 years. In fact, autonomous technologies, like hands-free steering, are now standard on high-powered commercial tractors, including those built by John Deere.

While the tractor plows along thanks to features like autosteer and computer-assisted technologies for applying fertilizers or pesticides, the farmer can send work texts or emails, pay bills or even flip through Instagram stories or TikTok videos.