StarFire came about after a meeting in 1994 among John Deere engineers who were attempting to chart a course for future developments. At the time, a number of smaller companies were attempting to introduce yield-mapping systems combining a GPS receiver with a grain counter, which produced maps of a field showing its yield.
StarFire emerged from a 1994 meeting among John Deere engineers who sought to map out their path for future innovations. Meanwhile, other companies were working on introducing yield-mapping systems that combined GPS technology with grain counting, resulting in maps that showed the yield of each field.