Bushel Plus entered into a strategic partnership with John Deere, making the Bushel Plus SmartPan System available to U.S. and Canadian customers through John Deere’s North American dealer network.
This collaboration brings together Bushel Plus’s drop-pan measurement system and John Deere’s Harvest Settings Automation technology providing users precise data to minimize harvest loss and optimize combine performance.
“John Deere and Bushel Plus share a commitment to innovation and farmer success,” said Ryan Krogh, Global Combine and FEE Business Manager at John Deere. “Our decision to partner was driven by aligned values both companies prioritize solutions that empower growers to maximize efficiency and profitability. This partnership is an important step for us to give our customers access and training to use the SmartPan System in combination with our Harvest Settings Automation technology, giving producers the tools they need to reduce harvest losses and make data‑driven decisions with confidence.”
John Deere’s Harvest Settings Automation automatically adjusts key combine parameters, including rotor speed, fan speed, concave clearance, and sieve and chaffer settings – in real time to maintain operator-defined limits for grain loss, broken grain, and foreign material.
The Bushel Plus SmartPan System works in tandem with John Deere’s Harvest Settings Automation to optimize efficiency during harvesting. The SmartPan System provides the ground truth data for the loss target number calibration within the Harvest Settings Automation screen. By delivering reliable measurements, the SmartPan System empowers operators to fine-tune harvest settings, improving overall efficiency and reducing grain loss.
By physically collecting and calculating true bushels-per-acre losses, the SmartPan System provides farmers with the real-world verification to calibrate and validate their automated settings. This ensures that the combine’s loss limits and adjustment strategies align with actual field results. Farmers can drop the pan at any point during harvest, compare SmartPan results to their John Deere G5Plus display, and adjust machine settings accordingly. Harvest Settings Automation automatically adjusts settings across changing crop and field conditions to maximize productivity while keeping losses below the operator-defined loss limit.
Broad access through John Deere network
Under this new agreement, John Deere dealers across the U.S. and Canada will be authorized to sell and support the SmartPan System, giving farmers streamlined access through the same dealer network they rely on for combine sales, service, and technology integration.
“Partnering with John Deere, marks a major milestone in our growth and global reach,” says Marcel Kringe, founder and CEO of Bushel Plus. “John Deere’s commitment to innovation aligns perfectly with our mission to deliver high-tech harvest optimization solutions and technology. With OEM endorsement, the phrase ‘you can’t manage what you don’t measure’ reaches a whole new level.”
John Deere’s dealer-led distribution ensures broad access, timely support, and seamless integration of the Bushel Plus SmartPan System with its existing combine technology. In 2026, Bushel Plus and John Deere will collaborate on joint training sessions, in-field demos, and educational events to help operators understand how the SmartPan System works alongside automation to improve harvest precision.
Converging data, better decisions
According to Kringe, the SmartPan System provides farmers with immediate, actionable intelligence that directly strengthens harvest precision, equipment and labor efficiency, and crop management decisions. “Seed-to-harvest precision is only as good as the data behind it,” says Kringe. “By working hand-in-hand with John Deere, we’re delivering a streamlined flow of data between field measurements and machine analytics, enabling farmers to refine combine calibration and automation for more efficient harvesting, reduced grain loss, and ultimately higher profitability.”
The Bushel Plus SmartPan System supports a wide range of crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat, canola, barley, rice, and milo, and is available in 20-inch, 40-inch, and 60-inch pan sizes to accommodate various John Deere combine models, stubble conditions, and header widths.
