Deere (NYSE:DE): Fires on All Cylinders to Bolster Smart Equipment Portfolio Illinois-based Deere Company (NYSE:DE) is making huge investments to increase the application of software and automate farm equipment. The company is expected to roll out two revolutionary pieces of equipment: self-driving tractors, and smart-crop sprayers this year. Deere appears upbeat about the contribution of automation initiatives to its top-line growth. According to a WSJ report, the company believes that 10% of its annual revenues will be attributable to the fees charged for using Deere’s software by the end of the decade. Further, Deere aims to link its cloud-based John Deere Operations Center to 1.5 million machines that are already in service and a half billion acres in use by 2026.