Agree with you that we need to move away from pesticides (and also do think something like lasers sounds like a great idea). And also agree with you that John Deere is not a great example of how to run a company (they are monopolistic and are know to charge insane pricing for repairs).

But, the thing I like is John Deere is the major player in farming equipment. They can have a huge, immediate impact on the amount of pesticide used today - this not a product that is being developed, it is available and already reducing the usage of pesticides.

It'd be better if it came from a better company, but it's a great transition product that will probably have a large impact on pesticide usage.