A multi-faceted whole farm planning model was developed to compare conventional and autonomous machinery for grain crop production.  Results suggested that autonomous machinery could be an economically viable alternative to conventional manned machinery if the establishment of intelligent controls was cost effective.  An increase in net returns of 22% over operating with conventional machinery was found.  This study also identified the break-even investment price for intelligent controls for the safe and reliable commercialization of autonomous machinery.  Results indicated that the break-even investment price was highly variable depending on the financial benefits resulting from the deployment of autonomous machinery and farm size.  The maximum break-even investment price for intelligent, autonomous controls was nearly U.S. $500,000.