(ABC 6 News) – Farming is one of the world’s toughest jobs. During planting and harvesting season farmers may start working long before sunrise and work long after the sun sets.

John Deere is the company that currently holds the majority of the farm implement business in the U.S. It released autonomous tractors that make the job of farmers a little easier. When you pass a farm on the side of the road you may see a tractor tilling the soil without anyone behind the wheel.

At CES, John Deere demonstrated its autonomous farm tractor. On a large screen, a driver-less tractor plowed a field. Other screens showed 5 different views of the tractor and the tiller it was pulling.

“This is a view from Austin, Texas. We are tilling ground without an operator in the cab,” explained John Deere spokesman Tim Marquis.

“We are interacting with it from here at CES in Las Vegas. You are watching it go through the field. Perfectly holding that guidance line, lowering that implement, and tilling the land getting it prepared for the seed to go into it.”

The tractor is being controlled by another John Deere employee from a smartphone. The tractor has cameras on all sides. One screen shows if it’s staying in a straight line. Another watches for obstacles. As a farmer watches on his or her phone, they can see a rear view of the tiller. A side-view also shows the tractor as it turns down one row and heads down another. The farmer can even drive the tractor back to the pumps for refueling all from his or her smartphone.

“The machine plants straight rows of corn, that’s why the corn rows are perfectly straight when you drive down the road,” Marquis said.

The company insists the new technology isn’t necessarily about cutting jobs. Rather it’s because, on large farms, everything a farmer needs to do happens at once.

“You have to be running your combine harvesting the crop, you have to be unloading that crop onto a tractor and grain carts to transport it to a semi-truck. And you need an operator in the semi-truck to get grain stored and eventually sold,” Marquis said.

As that is happening, the farmer needs to start tilling the land again for the next crop. If rain is moving in, tilling needs to happen quickly so the farmer can plant again.

“We think of our autonomy as more filling that needs to have your more experienced operators doing the more important work so that it can run and handle that job. So you’re not set back come spring and having to till before you plant,” Marquis said.

“The window is super tight. You don’t have time to mess around. Especially if Mother Nature throws you curve balls.”

This isn’t a concept. John Deere’s autonomous vehicles are already working on farms in seven states. The company’s goal is for every piece of equipment that touches corn or soy to be autonomous within six years.