# John Deere Auto Pilot and parallel guidance: how we drive without overlaps

Parallel guidance means driving the tractor pass after pass, with no overlaps and no gaps. We show how John Deere Auto Pilot with RTK works on our onions.

Parallel guidance means driving the tractor across the field pass after pass, track for track, with no overlaps and no gaps. The machine holds the line by itself, while the operator watches over the implement. On our farm this is handled by the John Deere Auto Pilot system together with GPS Trimble navigation and RTK correction. It is not a gadget, it is the foundation of all the precision farming we run across more than 400 hectares, including onions on 150 hectares of the Vistula delta's heavy soils.

## What parallel guidance is

In classic driving, the operator eyeballs the previous pass. There is always a margin left over so nothing gets missed, so the tractor slightly overlaps the strip already worked. On a single hectare that is a few percent of the area done twice. On several hundred hectares it adds up to doubly used fuel, seed, fertiliser and crop protection.

Parallel guidance removes that margin. The system knows the working width of the machine and lays out the next tracks exactly next to each other. The tractor drives along them automatically, and each following pass meets the previous one with no overlap and no gap. The same works on a straight line, on curves and when returning to the field after a break, because the driving line is recorded, not reconstructed from the operator's memory.

## How John Deere Auto Pilot works on our farm

Auto Pilot takes over the steering wheel and keeps the tractor on the set track. The operator does not turn the wheel all day, but oversees the machine, the implement and what is happening in the field. The heart of the system is an accurate position. We take it from GPS Trimble navigation with RTK correction, which corrects the satellite signal in real time and brings the error down to around 2-3 centimetres.

That accuracy is a requirement here, not a luxury. We grow onions on beds 2 metres wide and in narrow rows. If the tractor lost the line by more than a dozen centimetres, it would damage the plants at every following treatment. At 2-3 centimetres we return along the same track through the whole season, from sowing, through care and protection, all the way to harvest. We write about how we use this precision in zone fertilising in our post on [variable rate application](/blog/zmienne-dawkowanie-variable-rate).

## What it gives us in the field

Parallel guidance pays off on several fronts at once. We gathered the most important ones in the table.

| Benefit | Where it comes from | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fewer overlaps | Tracks meet without overlapping | Lower use of fuel, seed and crop protection |
| No gaps | Line recorded, not eyeballed | Even crop, no unworked strips |
| Less soil compaction | We always drive the same tracks | Healthier soil profile, better yield finishing |
| Work after dark and in fog | The machine holds the line without visibility | A longer window for urgent treatments |
| Less fatigue | The operator does not turn the wheel | More attention, fewer mistakes |

On the Vistula delta's heavy soils, driving along fixed tracks matters especially. These are heavy, fertile soils, close in their parameters to the polders in the Netherlands, but sensitive to compaction. When the wheels keep to the same line, the rest of the field stays loose, and the onions finish their yield better. At yields of around 60 tonnes per hectare, every such detail adds up. We wrote more about the soil itself in our post on [the Vistula delta soils for onions](/blog/gleby-zulawskie-mady-pod-cebule).

{% captionedImage src="/images/video/precyzja-osprzet-pole.webp" alt="Tractor with an implement guided in parallel across an onion field" caption="Auto Pilot holds the line, the operator watches the implement and the field." /%}

## Parallel guidance is the foundation, not an add-on

Without accurate guidance, nothing we do next works. Variable rate application needs a machine that hits the field zone to the metre. Spot spraying, like the Ecorobotix ARA we tested in 2025, requires each pass to line up with the previous one with no gap. Even harvesting onions with the combine runs more evenly when the rows are sown straight and always in the same place. That is why we put parallel guidance first, and build the rest of the technology on top of it.

{% callout tone="info" %}
Order matters. First accurate RTK navigation and parallel guidance, only then maps, variable rates and spot protection. Without centimetre repeatability, the rest loses its point.
{% /callout %}

We show all the equipment we use to work the field in our [machinery park](/park-maszynowy). There you will find the card for GPS Trimble RTK navigation and the John Deere Auto Pilot system, alongside the combine, the storage facility and the packing line.

## What the onion buyer gets out of it

For the buyer, what counts is even, repeatable produce in a good size and of steady quality. Parallel guidance works exactly toward that. An even crop with no gaps and no double-worked strips gives an even yield and fewer off-spec bulbs. Driving along fixed tracks protects the soil, so the onions finish their yield across the whole field, not only on the better patches. Less wasted product also means cleaner, better documented raw material, which matters for the GlobalG.A.P. and GRASP certificates and for running the farm under Integrated Plant Production.

Even raw material is easier to sort and pack, which is why our onions go to large packing houses and processing plants. If you are looking for a supplier, check our [onion offer](/oferta/cebula) or write to us through the [contact page](/kontakt). We describe how we grow onions from sowing to harvest in our main post [about onions from the Vistula delta](/blog/cebula-z-zulaw-jak-uprawiamy).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is parallel guidance?
It is automatic tractor driving across the field, pass after pass, with no overlaps and no gaps. The system knows the working width of the machine and lays out the next tracks exactly next to each other, and the tractor holds them by itself.

### How does Auto Pilot differ from ordinary GPS navigation?
Ordinary navigation only shows the driver where to go. John Deere Auto Pilot takes over the steering wheel and keeps the tractor on the track by itself. The operator oversees the work of the implement rather than steering by hand.

### What accuracy does RTK correction give?
On our farm, around 2-3 centimetres. The satellite signal is corrected in real time, so we return along the same track through the whole season, from sowing to harvest.

### Does parallel guidance save fuel and inputs?
Yes. With no overlaps we do not work the same strip twice, so we use less fuel, seed, fertiliser and crop protection. Driving along fixed tracks also protects the soil from compaction.

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Want to see what else we work with in the field? Take a look at our [machinery park](/park-maszynowy) or write to us through the [contact page](/kontakt).