You can go with non-John-Deere equipment and get a relatively cheap and simple tractor. I'm not sure about the minimum you can get in terms of electronics. A b

You can go with non-John-Deere equipment and get a relatively cheap and simple tractor. I'm not sure about the minimum you can get in terms of electronics. A big challengefarm equipment manufacturing companies are facing are related to emissions controls. A 40 year old tractor doesn't give a rip about CO2 emissions, but new equipment has to meet the strict standards. This means you've probably added a computer to fine tune performance, or perhaps you're simply operating moderately less efficiently than optimal. A number of years ago, some dust control laws were passed. If farmers were to follow the letter of the law, their harvester would have needed to spray water to prevent dust from the gravel road, and needed to do similar out in the field (harvesting corn is very dusty). It would be hopelessly uneconomical, and would have absolutely killed efficiency in harvesting. It was talked about on the farm radio programs pretty extensively in the context of "the politicians don't get what it takes to farm. These sorts of controls sound great for factories, but they're not adding nuance to the bill for farmers, and it's unrealistic they we could follow the law if we wanted to."