NongHyup Farm Machinery Bank Demonstrates Smart Farmwork Outsourcing with Unmanned AI Tractor

The mechanization rate for rice farming has reached 99.7% (Rural Development Administration, as of 2025), but in rural areas people still say, “We can’t farm because there are no people.” Farmers are aging, and labor shortages have become chronic. The cost of purchasing farm machinery, which can run into tens of millions of won, also increases the burden on farms. Beyond the stage where machines replace human hands, even the number of people who can operate those machines is now declining. NongHyup’s solution is “smart farmwork outsourcing,” which combines data and artificial intelligence (AI).

The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation held a “Farm Machinery Bank Smart Farmwork Demonstration” on the 28th around the Jeongnam NongHyup Distribution Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The event was attended by NongHyup Chairman Kang Ho-dong and National Assembly member Song Ok-joo (Democratic Party of Korea, Hwaseong City A, Gyeonggi), as well as officials from Hwaseong City and heads of local cooperatives, with some 200 executives, employees, and members of Jeongnam NongHyup also taking part.

Chairman Kang Ho-dong said, “We often hear that people cannot farm because there are no workers,” adding, “We prepared this event to help resolve farmers’ difficulties through a smart farmwork demonstration as we adapt to changes in the times.” Kang emphasized, “We will open an era of 30 million won in agricultural income by helping farmers farm more comfortably.” Kang also added that, in response to labor shortages, NongHyup is supplying about 2.6 million workers annually through a public seasonal worker program with the government and by mobilizing internal organizations, including its 120,000 executives and employees.

From nationwide outsourcing status to soil data by plot on one screen

On the day, Jeong Tae-yeon, head of the Agricultural Machinery and Materials Department at NongHyup Agribusiness Group, reported on the progress of building the “Farm Machinery Bank Smart Farmwork Outsourcing Platform,” which NongHyup is developing together with the national agricultural AX platform project. The national agricultural AX platform is a project for which the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected in July a consortium led by Daedong as the operator. 

The platform displays the status of farmwork outsourcing nationwide in real time. According to Director Jeong, 618 NongHyup cooperatives are currently participating in the Farm Machinery Bank program. Among them, 270 are places where NongHyup directly supports farmwork outsourcing as of 2026. In the remaining 348 places, about 71,000 farmers are carrying out outsourced farmwork on 148,000 ha. By region, the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City had the largest number with 116 locations, followed by South Chungcheong with 99 and Gyeonggi with 85.

At the cooperative level, the operating status can be viewed in greater detail. Gunseo NongHyup in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, which was introduced in the demonstration, has 1,307 members and 3,672 ha of cultivated land within its jurisdiction. Its cumulative work area, including plowing and leveling, rice transplanting, and harvesting, reaches 7,854 ha. It also operates 60 ha of double cropping of soybeans and rapeseed, and was cited as a leading NongHyup cooperative that generates its own revenue through farmwork outsourcing. Director Jeong said, “Through the screen, we can check the location, inventory, and breakdown status of farm machinery in real time, and automatically create work schedules linked with the weather.”

The platform also shows work conditions and data at the plot level. In the demonstration plot that day, an AI autonomous tractor with no operator on board (Daedong HX1400 AI) was shown in real time on the screen performing plowing and leveling work. The tractor’s work progress rate (67%), driving speed (6.6 km/h), and remaining fuel (40%) were also displayed. Ten types of soil diagnostic data analyzed with a soil scanner, including acidity, organic matter, phosphoric acid, and potassium, can also be viewed on the platform. The system is structured to establish work plans based on full-cycle farmwork data, from plowing and leveling to rice transplanting and seeding, growth diagnosis, and yield prediction. Director Jeong said, “The Farm Machinery Bank farmwork outsourcing platform connects nationwide status to individual NongHyup cooperatives and to precision-agriculture data for each and every plot.”

A demonstration site traversed by AI tractors, drones, and combines

After the report ended, attendees moved to the demonstration plot. In the tractor category, Daedong’s GX7510 and HX1400 AI and LS Mtron’s MT9 and MT7, among others, demonstrated work while equipped with implements. Daedong’s HX1400 AI performed plowing and leveling work with no operator on board. For combines, the Daedong DH6135 and TYM CX6130 demonstrated rice harvesting, while pest control work was handled by a drone from AFI and a boom sprayer from Asia Technology.

Two combines set off at regular intervals and cut the rice. Chairman Kang Ho-dong and lawmaker Song Ok-joo also climbed into combines themselves and experienced the harvesting work.

Visitors showed the greatest interest in Daedong’s fully unmanned autonomous tractor. When the tractor, with an empty driver’s seat, set a route along the outside of the plot and carried out plowing work, visitors stopped in their tracks to watch.

Cooperative member: “An atmosphere of actively considering adoption”… the remaining challenge is cost

Farmers who watched the demonstration said their willingness to adopt the technology had grown. Lee Young-soo, a member of Jeongnam NongHyup, said, “If introducing autonomous farm machinery to the Farm Machinery Bank had previously been at the level of simple consideration, after seeing the demonstration there is now an atmosphere among members of considering adoption more actively.” The average age of Jeongnam NongHyup members is in their 70s. Lee said, “After seeing it in person, many people said they realized this kind of new technology exists and that applying it would help with the labor shortage and improve efficiency.”

The soil analysis function was also cited as an advantage. Lee explained that drone pest control and similar technologies had already been widely introduced at the cooperative. He added that if soil analysis could also be performed with an autonomous tractor, farms would not have to visit an agricultural technology center in person to receive analysis.

However, cost remains an obstacle. Lee emphasized, “There are many concerns about cost, and that aspect is still insufficient,” adding, “Only when support programs are expanded through administrative agencies or the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation will farms be willing to actively review and participate.” Lawmaker Song Ok-joo also pointed to the same issue in her congratulatory remarks. Song said, “It would be good if advanced farm machinery incorporating artificial intelligence is introduced well in the region, but it is too expensive,” adding, “We will think about ways for NongHyup, Hwaseong City, and the government to make it more affordable and accessible to farmers.”

Daedong HX1400 AI, Level 4 unmanned work with added vision cameras

Daedong’s AI autonomous tractor demonstrated that day was the 140-horsepower-class “HX1400 AI,” launched in April this year. The tractor’s vision AI-based autonomous driving technology was recently designated as a new-technology agricultural machine by the Rural Development Administration. Cho Jin-seok, manager of Daedong’s AI Technology Development Team, whom we met at the site, explained, “Whereas existing products from other companies drove autonomously based on real-time kinematic (RTK) satellite navigation information, this product is additionally equipped with a vision system featuring cameras on the front, rear, left, and right.” Cho said, “Based on data learned through the cameras, it extracts the outer boundary of the farmland and generates a route within the cultivated area,” adding, “During autonomous driving, it is at Level 4, detecting obstacles and even performing emergency stops.”

The range of compatible implements is also expanding. Cho said, “It does not support all implements, but rotary tiller and plow work can already be done unmanned,” adding, “Some implements that cannot be used for unmanned work also support manned autonomous driving or A-B straight-line driving functions.”

Distribution is now in its early stages. Cho said that about 240 units have been produced since the launch this year, and he understands that around 10 units have actually been supplied to farms. He added, “We also support OTA services that handle performance updates and issue responses for the control terminal wirelessly,” adding, “We are continuing to upgrade the platform.”