CNH ag equipment equipped with Starlink terminals. Photo: CNH

Multinational agriculture brand CNH has signed an agreement with Starlink to bring satellite connectivity to farmers. 

CNH announced May 15 that Starlink will equip CNH brands Case IH, New Holland, and Steyr with “robust and affordable high-speed connectivity – further unlocking the benefits of a fully connected fleet. The announcement did not include specifics about the timeline or scale of the roll-out.

CNH shared an image of Starlink terminals installed on combines. The company detailed that the Starlink Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity will allow its machines to communicate and coordinate, and integrate with the company’s FieldOps digital platform for farm management. CNH also described precision spraying as a use case, explaining that Starlink can export data “near instantaneously” to create a prescription spraying map for the machine. 

“We’re thrilled to offer our customers access to industry-leading satellite connectivity, enabling them to maximize the potential of our full suite of precision technology in even the most challenging rural environments,” said Stefano Pampalone, agriculture chief commercial officer at CNH.

John Deere has a similar offering in place with Starlink for agricultural connectivity. 

CNH has also worked with Intelsat on agriculture connectivity, under an MoU announced last year, and Case IH showcased a model of an Intelsat terminal at Farm Progress last year. 

In the second half of 2024, Intelsat and CNH conducted tests in Brazil and the U.S. which were Geostationary Orbit (GEO) only, a representative for Intelsat confirmed to Via Satellite. These tests demonstrated machine IoT and cloud connectivity for agricultural equipment. 

“Using our ruggedized GEO terminal, we successfully conducted tests in Brazil and the U.S., proving the viability of Intelsat’s mobility solution for agriculture. We are pleased that CNH finds our solution compelling due to its high reliability and service level guarantees,” an Intelsat representative said in a statement. “We hope to continue our partnership with CNH when our ruggedized multi-orbit GEO and LEO solution becomes available early next year.” 

Via Satellite has reached out to CNH for comment on the status of its work with Intelsat.