John Deere See & Spray Review (2026): Pricing, Features, Pros & Cons
Our verdict
See & Spray is the most widely deployed case of farm AI acting rather than advising: cameras pick out weeds and only those nozzles fire. John Deere publishes savings of 59% to 77%. No price is published, and it needs a large herbicide bill to pay back.
- Rating
- 4.04.0 out of 5 stars
- Best for
- Large row-crop operations with a significant herbicide spend
- Starting at
- Contact sales
- Free tier
- No
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Quick facts
| Pricing | Contact for pricingContact sales |
|---|---|
| Free tier | No |
| Platforms | |
| Launched | — |
| Company | Deere & Company · United States |
How John Deere See & Spray scores
Editor scores out of 5. Overall rating: 4.0.
| Output quality | 4.2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 4.4 | |
| Ease of use | 3.5 | |
| Value for money | 3.6 |
About John Deere See & Spray
See & Spray is a camera system bolted to a John Deere sprayer boom that decides, plant by plant, whether to open a nozzle. Cameras watch the ground as the machine moves, a vision model classifies what it sees, and only the weeds get hit. Everything else stays dry. It is not an app you subscribe to — it is an option on a large piece of farm equipment.
John Deere publishes several savings figures and does not always make clear which configuration each belongs to. Its material cites 77% average herbicide savings for See & Spray Select, a 59% average across corn, soybean and cotton fields in the US for the AI weed-sensing technology, and an Iowa State University study reporting 76% product savings across all test fields with an economic saving of $15.70 per acre. These are the manufacturer's numbers and the manufacturer's choice of study. Treat the spread between 59% and 77% as the honest range rather than picking the best one.
The technology came out of Blue River Technology, the computer-vision company John Deere bought, and it is now the most widely deployed example of AI making a physical decision in a field rather than a recommendation on a screen. That matters for the category: most agriculture AI tells you something and leaves the acting to you. This one acts.
For model year 2026, See & Spray Select is available from the factory on 400 and 600 series sprayers with 90-, 100- or 120-foot steel booms, and John Deere says a new annual licensing option arrives in 2026 for high-use operations. That licensing change is worth watching, because it moves part of the cost from capital to recurring.
No price is published, for either the hardware or the licence. Pricing on equipment of this class comes through a dealer and depends on the machine, so expect a quote rather than a page. The savings case also only works at scale: the percentages are of a herbicide bill, so the bigger that bill, the sooner the system pays back. A smallholder is not the customer here, and no amount of percentage saving changes that.
The obvious limitation is that it only exists where the sprayer exists. This is North American row-crop technology sold through John Deere dealers, on John Deere machines, at John Deere prices.
Key features
- Per-plant weed detection from boom-mounted cameras
- Targeted nozzle control instead of broadcast spraying
- Factory fit on 90-, 100- and 120-foot steel booms
- Annual licensing option announced for 2026
Pros & cons
Pros
- AI that acts in the field rather than producing a recommendation
- Vendor-published savings figures ranging from 59% to 77% of herbicide
- Cites an Iowa State University study at $15.70 per acre saved
- Factory option on model year 2026 400 and 600 series sprayers
Cons
- No published price for the hardware or the 2026 annual licence
- Savings percentages are the manufacturer's own, and not independently verified here
- Multiple figures published without always stating which configuration each applies to
- Only available on John Deere sprayers through John Deere dealers
- The economics need a large herbicide bill, so smallholders are not the customer
Who should use John Deere See & Spray
- Large row-crop operations with a significant herbicide spend
- Farms already running John Deere 400 or 600 series sprayers
- Growers trying to cut chemical use rather than just track it
Frequently asked questions
How much does John Deere See & Spray cost?+
John Deere does not publish a price. It is an option on a sprayer, quoted through a dealer, and from 2026 the company says an annual licensing option will also be available for high-use operations.
How much herbicide does See & Spray actually save?+
John Deere's own figures range from 59% average across US corn, soybean and cotton fields to 77% for See & Spray Select. It also cites an Iowa State University study at 76% product savings and $15.70 per acre. All of these are the manufacturer's numbers.
Is See & Spray worth it for a small farm?+
Probably not. The saving is a percentage of your herbicide bill, so the payback depends on that bill being large, and the system is sold as an option on full-size self-propelled sprayers.
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