St Joseph, Michigan--The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) will welcome John Stone, newly elected president at Deere & Company, as the keynote presenter for the 2020 ASABE Annual International Meeting. The address will take place Monday, July 13, at 8 am (US Eastern time) and will be accessible to those registered for the virtual event.
In his ASABE address, “Digital Agriculture: New Answers to Old Problems,” Stone will discuss a range of complex and difficult problems facing the global agriculture industry and introduce the most promising new technologies that are bringing forth solutions that were not even possible just a few years ago. From cloud computing to artificial intelligence, together these innovations hold wondrous potential to solve many of the most complex and long-standing challenges that have existed in agriculture.
Stone's presentation will be followed by a panel discussion, and session attendees will have opportunity to ask questions of the panel participants.
Stone was recently named president of Deere's Worldwide Construction & Forestry and Power Systems, effective July 1. According to the Deere announcement, he will be responsible for the overall management and performance of the company's construction and forestry operations throughout the world and for the continued success of the Wirtgen organization. He also will have responsibility for the engine, drivetrain, and electronic-component businesses. Stone joined the company in 2002 and since 2016 has been senior vice president for the Intelligent Solutions Group. In that role, he led the company's highly successful efforts to develop precision technologies and was instrumental in the opening of John Deere Labs, a San Francisco-based research unit focused on breakthrough technologies such as machine learning and robotics. Also under his leadership, Deere in 2017 acquired Blue River Technology, a company that develops computer vision and machine learning capabilities for agriculture.
The ASABE 2020 Annual International Meeting will take place virtually July 13-15 and will include live and on-demand components. The event will feature more than 1,000 technical and poster presentations, professional development sessions, invited speakers, and panel discussions and round-table discussions. Professional development credits and a career fair will also be available. More information about the 2020 Annual International meeting is available at the meeting site.
ASABE is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. Further information on the Society can be obtained by contacting ASABE at (269) 429-0300, emailing hq@asabe.org or visiting www.asabe.org/.