Farming tech is on display CES: How John Deere and others are embracing sustainability

Sustainability is a key theme this year at the annual tech trade show in Las Vegas.

When Russell Maichel started growing almonds, walnuts and pistachios in the 1980s, he didn’t own a cellphone. Now, a fully autonomous tractor drives through his expansive orchard, spraying pesticides and fertilizer to protect the trees that have for decades filled him with an immense sense of pride.

“The sustainability of doing things perfectly the first time makes a lot of sense,” the first-generation...