John Deere Looks to the Future by Remembering the Past with New ISG Center
October 21, 2019 
John Deere’s new 134,000-square-foot facility in Urbandale, IA — the Intelligent Solutions Group — is devoted to problem solving with technology, collaboration, testing, and development for the company’s precision products.
John Deere has been known for agricultural technology innovation for many years, dating back to the company’s first Maps Yield mapping data in 1994 and the StarFire receiver in 1999. Now, with an eye towards the future, John Deere has opened a new 134,000-square-foot facility in Urbandale, IA, devoted to problem solving with technology, collaboration, testing, and development for the company’s precision products and services. The new building is known as the Intelligent Solutions Group (ISG).
“By locating our development teams in the heartland, we are ideally positioned to be close to the farming challenges John Deere is actively working to solve on behalf of our customers,” said John Stone, Senior Vice President for John Deere ISG, at an open house held for the media this past August. “Our new ISG facility in Urbandale further emphasizes the role John Deere has as a technology leader with an equal commitment to agriculture and technology, supported by our tech-first presence in the Midwest.”
Stone went on to point out why precision agriculture and technology will increase in importance for the marketplace going forward. “Soon, there will be two billion more mouths to feed on this planet,” he said. “But by utilizing precision agriculture, growers can be more sustainable in their practices by learning to do more with less.”
Crop Importance
To emphasis what the ISG center is trying to help agriculture accomplish, the facility features various crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton, oats, and sunflowers planted just outside in the front of the building. According to Stone, this area is referred to as the Front 40 Farm. “The Front 40 Farm gives employees who may not have grown up on a farm a glimpse into the lifecycle of crops and the ability to see the finished product of what our customers produce,” said Stone. “It’s an everyday reminder of why their work matters and the customers it impacts.
“John Deere has a legacy of bringing meaningful innovation to the market and our latest expansion reflects our continued commitment,” he concluded. “Being easily connected to our customers allows us to have a deep understanding of what is really needed to make the difficult job of farming easier and more precise. That knowledge is directly incorporated into every product we create.”
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