Sorry for the length of this post.   Cliff notes version... Deere has just made it much easier for companies like FarmWorks and Agco to interact with their GS2 hardware.

The full story: 

Deere's EIC (Equipment Configuration Component) is the software that has been provided to third-party vendors to be able to work with GreenStar hardware.   This component and license has been available fo a little over a year, but the license has prohibited anyone from accessing EIC through a middleware component like FODM.   So, while MapShots has had a driver that supports the GS2 within FODM for the past year, no other vendor was allowed to use it.   Agco and FarmWorks and other companies that have not given me permission to use their names have been lobbying Deere to allow them to integrate with the GS2 through FODM and our FODD.   Deere just released an ammended license agreement today, and the ammended license gives third-party vendors the right to access EIC through the same component that has made it possible for EASi Suite to integrate fully with the GreenStar 2 system.

The ability to write setup info and prescriptions to the Deere GS1 system has been available to the industry through a FODD (Field Operations Device Driver) for two years, and has been successfully implemented by serveral companies.  Deere's decision to allow support for the GS2 through a FODD means that the same code that worked for GS1 will work for the GS2 with minor changes.  That's the power of the "driver" concept... just as it is for printers. 

We applaud Deere for their decision.   We consider this a milestone for precision ag data interoperability.  This means that should a vendor choose to do so, they can use the same generic code for writing setup and prescription information to Ag Leader's PF3000 and InSight, Agco Falcon, Agco Console II, Raven, MidTech, GreenStar 1, GreenStar 2, the Trimble options, and SiteMate.  

While MapShots is a competitor to FarmWorks' FarmSite/SitePro, AgLeader's SMS, etc... we really don't want to compete on the basis of support for proprietary data formats.  We commit to the industry that our GS2 FODD is available to anyone that wants to use it, royalty free, and we will do our best to provide a a level of support and documentation that will allow any third-party vendor the same level of GS2 support that we have incorporated within EASiSuite, Deere/Agris's AgroGuide, and Pioneer's FIM/FIT applications.   We acknowledge that documentation of the GS2 FODD for third-party vendors is marginal at this point, but now that it is acceptable for other companies to use it, we will remedy this situation within the next month.

Agco stepped forward several months ago and committed to FODM and ISO 11783 as the mechanism for interaction with their hardware solutions (Falcon, FieldStar, Console II, etc).   They are the first company to step foward and build and support their own FODDs.   FarmWorks is close to releasing FODDs that they have created for interoperability with FarmTrac and Loup.  MapShots has built the other FODDs that are available.

There is a FODD Updates page that contains the latest versions of FODM and the MapShots and Agco FODDs.    If you know that your software package is using FODM to interact with hardware from AgLeader, Agco, or Deere, you might want to monitor this page to make sure that you always have the most current version of FODM and the related FODDs.   Sometimes, the components available here are more current than those that were distributed with your application.

I can confirm that both Agco's SGIS and FarmWork's FarmSite and SitePro are field-testing support for the GS2 FODD with good success.   These companies can elaborate on their support if they wish, as can any other company that might want to use the FODD.  As a competitor to other companies, part of our commitment to FODM is that we will not indicate any company that is using it w/o their permission.

Frankly, the willingness of the industry to support FODM, beyond Agco and Farmworks, has been tentative.  But we believe that with full support for the GS2 now available through the same architecture that supports other popular field hardware, FODM will become the interopability standard that so many have been looking for.   For the first time in three years, we have several companies asking about scheduling a workshop this summer so they can better learn how to incorporate FODM for integration with third-party devices, and write FODDs to make support for their own devices more readily incorporated by the rest of the industry.   And that's where FODM is ready to go.   As one company, we were never willing to define a data dictionary... only a framework to support one.   Now is the time for interested companies to convene and start to define dictionaries.

And... stay tuned for another major announcement of progress with industry interoperability.