Future Farming 4: focus on autonomous technology

Issue 4 of 2019 focuses on autonomous technology. We took a seat behind 6 factory-fitted GPS guidance systems (Claas, Deutz-Fahr, John Deere, Massey Ferguson, New Holland and Valtra) and put them to the test.

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Future Farming took a seat behind six factory-fitted GPS guidance systems and put them to the test.

At the upcoming Agritechnica show in Hannover, Germany you will find over 70 new and updated digital and IT concepts. We selected the most important ones for you.

Autonomy, or maybe not just yet?

There are numerous projects under way across te world involving autonomous agricultural vehicles. The majority of these concern (small) robots and small to medium-sized tractors. We took a detailed look at 20 projects around the word.

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Are we and is agriculture ready for autonomous tractors? The answer to that question mainly depends on who you ask…

Autonomous Case IH Magnum still to feature cab

Everyone has seen the autonomous, cabless Case IH Magnum. The stractor stole the show at various trade fairs and the videoclips of it went viral. Now, it stands inoperational in the museum in Racine, Wisconsin, USA. Is the end of the exercise? No, just the beginning: CNH Industrial is working hard on the underlying technology. To find out what the company is exactly working on, we talked to the Global Product Manager for Magnum Tractors, Brad Lukac.

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Brad Lukac: “Even though the Magnum can already drive autonomously, many farmers will also use the cab as an office, allowing them to take the wheel now and then to carry out certain tasks.”

SwarmFarm robot causes ‘less drama than expected’

Cotton grower Jamie Grant from the Australian district Jimbour is the first farmer that uses a commercial SwarmFarm robot with a WEED-IT system on his farm. It has a boom of 9 meters and a 1000 litre tank. We talked to Jamie about his experiences with the robot, and Jamie is ‘pleasantly surprised’: “We had far less drama than I expected.”

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Jamie Grant showed us how he benefits from his SwarmFarm robot.

Also in this issue:

• CropScan 3300 NIR analyser
• Does ag tech really help? Test it!
• 15 year precision pioneer Ton Moors
• Hoeing machines becoming high-tech
• Expert opinions by Matt McIntosh, Leo Tholhuijsen and Jehiel Oliver

Read these and other stories in the digital issue of Future Farming. Don’t have access yet? Create your free account here!