A major milestone, BBSF has since set up its headquarters in Cologne, Germany, and appointed experienced managing directors BASF’s Silvia Cifre Wibrow and Bosch’s Florian Gwosdz to jointly lead the company. The company will distribute its Smart Spraying solution, which Bosch and BASF are developing and testing, to initial markets in North America, South America, and Europe. Its Intelligent Planting Solution is already commercially available in Brazil and Argentina and will use the advanced digital agronomic intelligence of BASF’s xarvio crop optimization platform to enhance zone-based seeding recommendations in the near future in Brazil.

Smart configuration aiding efficiency

The Smart Spraying solution offers real-time, automated pre-emergence (“green-on-brown”) and post-emergence (“green-on-green”) weed identification and management day and night. Combining Bosch’s high-tech camera sensor technology and software with xarvio’s agronomic intelligence enables Smart Spraying in milliseconds to precisely detect weeds in crop rows and to spot apply herbicide only where needed. Its unique configuration supports the more efficient use of herbicide, with trials showing herbicide volume savings of 70% are achievable. Higher savings are also possible, with variability depending on the prevailing field conditions and weed pressure of individual fields.

Supporting sustainability and biodiversity

“We have reached another important milestone in receiving merger control approval and have made considerable progress in the past few months. We have established the new company together, built the new team, and continued to test our products successfully under different climatic conditions with various manufacturers. Our Smart Spraying Solution continues to return consistent, positive test results, which clearly shows the combination of our hardware, software, and advanced agronomic logic delivers,”

says Florian Gwosdz, joint Managing Director of Bosch BASF Smart Farming.

“With Smart Spraying, we are bringing a new digital solution to market and a new approach to weed management – a volume-optimization model that increases farm profitability through more precise and efficient use of the herbicide. The unique ability for Smart Spraying to see, decide and spray based on agronomic intelligence is not just financially good for farmers, but it’s good for the environment, sustainability, and biodiversity,”

says Silvia Cifre Wibrow, joint Managing Director of Bosch BASF Smart Farming.

Bosch BASF Smart Farming remains on track to launch the Smart Spraying solution in limited numbers by the end of this year.

Source: BASF

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Michael Wellenzohn, the member of the Deutz Board of Management responsible for sales, marketing, and service, and Dr. Matthias Szupories, Senior Vice President of Sales for the EMEA region, accepted the awards virtually.

“We used a smart and flexible approach to turn a challenging situation into a success – as you would expect from Deutz,”

noted Wellenzohn in his acceptance speech.

Due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, attendance at the international flagship trade fair in Las Vegas in March 2020 was much lower than expected. Dr. Szupories recalls:

“After the first day, we asked ourselves: If our customers cannot come to the trade fair, how can we bring the fair to them?”

Deutz acted quickly and got YouTube influencer Dirt Monkey on board to present highlights from the trade show on his channel, which has more than half a million subscribers. The digital live coverage enabled Deutz to maintain contact with established customers, but also created an opportunity to reach a much wider target group in a cost-efficient way.

The impromptu YouTube campaign and influencer collaboration won Deutz three golden Stevie Awards in the categories “Crisis Communication Online”, “Community Engagement”, and “Influencer Management”.

The German Stevie Awards are a highly respected set of awards for companies from Europe’s German-speaking regions. Since 2002, eight international Stevie Awards for specific topics or categories have been awarded on an annual basis. Awards are presented for outstanding achievements in more than 200 different categories, which have been evaluated by a jury of business and industry experts.

Source: Deutz

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“Customer interaction has changed in the wake of COVID-19, driving us to think differently about our approach to marketing. Access Your World’ is a unique, customer-focused virtual experience that allows visitors to explore and consume information about JLG products, services, and technologies, however and wherever they prefer,”

says Jennifer Stiansen, director of marketing, JLG.

In addition to featuring virtual job sites, the “Access Your World” event offers equipment owners and end-users the opportunity to view virtual walk-around videos, download product information and apps, view 3D hydraulic schematics, order parts, sign up for training, schedule meetings and ask questions of JLG experts, offering a healthy mix of virtual and “person-to-person” interaction.

Experience participants can also access resources, such as JLG’s #DirectAccess, JLG Financial, JLG Gear, and the JLG dealer locator, from within the environment.  

This highly interactive and dynamic experience will evolve over the next six months to include additional job sites that feature a variety of products and content for users to explore.

“This virtual environment was not designed to be a stop-and-go solution; rather, a start-and-grow experience that provides visitors the flexibility to attend, navigate and absorb content at any time, from anywhere, at their own pace,”

concludes Stiansen.

Source: JLG

The post JLG Launches “Access Your World” Experience appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

The result of a dynamic team’s desire to continue to make the world of agricultural equipment shine despite the health situation. This web series has enabled AgroSup Dijon students to interview professionals of industry from all over the world. These exchanges took the form of a web series of 20 episodes of 8 minutes each. The episodes deal with the issue of innovation, environment, marketing, professional integration, digital issues, etc. in the field of AgTech or agricultural equipment.

The broadcast started with one episode, then two episodes per week until February 2021.

It showcases this innovative industrial sector and demonstrates the ability of a French engineering school in agronomy to mobilise a large network at a global level.

You want to follow the series? Go to www.agritech-world-tour.com

The web series in figures:

17 professionals

9 companies

12 countries

The speakers of the AgriTech World Tour web series :

• the John Deere company in France and Germany for Central Asia,
• the company Case IH in Austria,
• the New Holland company in Italy,
• the company Kuhn in the United Kingdom, Brazil, China and Australia,
• the Lemken company in France, Canada and Germany,
• the company Berthoud in France and Ukraine,
• an International Voluntary Service in Chile,
• AXEMA (French Agricultural Equipment Manufacturers’ Union),
• Teagasc, the agricultural and agri-food research agency, in Ireland.

More about The Tech Agro Sup Chair

AgroSup Dijon supports the farm equipment sector to meet the challenge of digitalisation and ecological transition.

AgroSup Dijon is leading the European agro-equipment campus project through its Tech Agro Sup industrial chair. The Tech Agro Sup Chair has four patrons: Lemken, John Deere, Berthoud and Kuhn.

Broadcast on

Facebook & Youtube

More about AgroSup Dijon : training and research missions

AgroSup Dijon, Higher National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Food and Environment, is a public institution of cultural and professional scientific nature (EPSCP) under dual supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry in charge of higher education and research.

Training

• Integrated preparatory cycle

• Agronomist Professional Licenses

• Specialized Masters

• Masters Ph.D

Research

The research of AgroSup Dijon aims to produce knowledge, to transfer and valorize it by units labeled in territories – environment – agroecology – food processes – nutrition – sensoriality – health and socio-technical innovation and professionalization. The institution gives a large place to the human and social sciences in the approach of these themes.

Internationally

It is also possible to study at AgroSup Dijon as part of an exchange program, to access your home university and be a partner of AgroSup Dijon. The duration of the exchanges can vary between 6 and 12 months.

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Freudenberg Filtration Technologies will present its premium filter solutions for agricultural vehicles at the EIMA Digital Preview. The event serves as a multimedia preview of the traditional on-site International Exposition of Machinery for Agriculture and Gardening (EIMA) in Bologna, which was postponed to February 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are very excited about this year’s additional EIMA Digital Preview event, because it is accessible to anyone around the world, from the comfort of their own desks,”

says Giacomo Menzio, Market Manager Italy at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies.

The global filtration experts will virtually present high-quality cabin air filter applications, which meet the strict requirements for air purification systems in agricultural vehicles set out in the European standard EN 15695-2, from Category 2 up to Category 4.

Effective protection against hazardous substances

Especially for tractor and self-propelled vehicle drivers potentially handling toxic pesticides and liquid fertilizers out on the fields, reliable protection from dust, aerosols, and gas as well as vapor contaminants entering the cabin is key for their health and safety. Freudenberg Filtration Technologies offers filtration solutions with tailor-made protective functions for all cabin categories (according to EN15695 standard definitions).

Category 2 filters deliver high efficiency and dust-holding capacity, even during extended periods of operational use. At the same time, they maintain low pressure-drop values and thus ensure long filter lifetime and high energy efficiency in the vehicle’s air ventilation system. The Category 3 filtration design concept includes these Category 2 features and additionally extends the performance range to include the finest droplets and particle aerosols.

To do so, it employs an additional stage of high-efficiency particulate air filtration at the efficiency level required for hospital and pharmaceutical cleanroom applications. In addition to all of these features, Freudenberg’s Category 4 filtration design boasts a perfectly coordinated multi-stage filter system, which adds a unique, high-performance, activated-carbon layer in the final filter stage. These highly efficient filters can even block vaporous contaminants that can be harmful to drivers’ health.

All filtration solutions combine state-of-the-art filtration media with optimized and robust technological solutions. This makes them ideally suited for daily use even under extreme conditions, which are “business as usual” for farmers during their intensive plant protection activities in open fields, vineyards, and orchards.

Multimedia information and 24-hour booth service

At Freudenberg’s digital exhibition booth, visitors will be able to access and download a variety of information on these filtration designs, which are in high demand among tractor manufacturers and manufacturers of air-ventilation systems alike. The booth will be staffed not only with Italian experts from the local Freudenberg Filtration Technologies subsidiary but also by an international team of Freudenberg Filtration Technologies experts around the clock on exhibition days to cover all time zones.

“We can offer virtual one-on-one meetings or group meetings with up to four participants via conference calls. All in all, the virtual booth offers a variety of great ways to get to know our technologies and contact us for specific information,”

says Giacomo Menzio.

Source: Freudenberg

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Elizabeth Van Devender has over twenty years of experience in marketing, branding, design, and digital marketing. She worked for an innovative manufacturing company for thirteen years where she has extensive experience in directing and organizing all marketing communications for major product launches and sales initiatives.

She also worked within advertising and marketing agencies where she was responsible for the concept, design, and management of branding, email campaigns, social media, and digital marketing projects for clients in manufacturing, real estate, legal, education, and economic development.

Elizabeth will expand and enrich John Blue’s marketing efforts including branding, digital marketing, industry events, and social media.

“I am excited to be a part of the John Blue Company with its long and successful history. I look forward to connecting with current customers as well as reaching out to new markets that will benefit from John Blue’s dependable pumps, systems, and accessories. ˮ

Source: John Blue

The post John Blue Welcomes Elizabeth Van Devender as Senior Marketing Specialist appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

It’s the leading symposium for the military-to-agriculture movement – the growing movement to support the veteran men and women who choose to continue their service to the country by feeding it. The gathering returns for the sixth year.

A national non-profit that helps veterans pursue careers in agriculture, FVC mentors members of our Armed Forces who seek new ways to stay in communities they left in order to serve. When FVC was established in 2008, no one was connecting veterans with the farming community. Today there are more than 250 organizations supporting this movement. The Stakeholders Conference brings all the players together.

Founder Michael O’Gorman said:

“A study showed that ever-increasing numbers of our all-volunteer military are coming from rural areas. We want to help them have a meaningful career when they return home. Farming has become their new mission.”

FVC has assisted thousands of veterans with everything from equipment and grants, business plans, training, and peer collaboration.

The conference connects veterans who are geographically isolated and sometimes separated from access to services. It’s a forum for members to share their stories – their triumphs, struggles, lessons learned, and successes gained. It also serves as an introduction to resources available to veterans – from government, higher education, and partner organizations. Farmer veteran members benefit from exchanging ideas, and building their own community, together as individuals with unique goals, but in a united spirit of camaraderie.

America’s farmer veterans have been severely impacted by Covid-19. This year’s conference features two days of resources crucial to members during this time, through education, workshops, distinguished speakers, guest panels, networking, and development of FVC’s 25 state chapters.

FVC welcomes veterans – including those still serving – who are currently farming, interested in farming, or just want to learn more about the movement. They also welcome non-veterans who would like to show their support of these brave men and women and tune in for agricultural education.

Natalie Monroe, Communications Director, said:

“While nothing can replace the energy of an in-person gathering, we are thrilled that this likely will be the largest gathering of our community. A virtual platform means every single one of farmer veterans has the real possibility of attending without having to travel away from their farms. They can even tune in from the seat of their tractor!”

Even in this virtual capacity, FVC has plans for attendee interaction so that the experience is beyond simply tuning into a screen.

With the whole nation taking a new interest in the health of our rural communities and economies, the collaborative effort of these farmer veterans becomes even more important for making a greater impact in their home towns.

FVC member Rachael Taylor-Tuller of Lost Peacock Creamery in Washington reflects:

“I think people who join the military feel called to be part of something bigger than themselves. Farmers are the same way. When you’re in the military, you’re helping keep your community safe. When you’re in farming, you’re helping keep your community fed. You go from national security to food security. I am very proud to call myself a farmer and I consider it an honor to nourish my neighbors.”

Source: Farmer Veteran Coalition

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The newest ag megatrend unfolding is e-commerce; particularly in the crop input sector. This year, concern about contracting (or spreading) COVID19 has only accelerated promotion, interest, and use of e-commerce for purchasing among farmers. In a September 2020 report, Purdue’s Dr. Scott Downey, Director, and Professor; Dr. Michael Boehlje, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and Dr. Luciano Thome e Castro, International Adjunct Professor, found three distinct categories among ag e-commerce platforms:

• Retailer-to-farmer online only (no physical presence),
• Manufacturer-to-farmer direct online sales, and
• The retailer-farmer omnichannel experience (both online and physical presences).

The 1998 trailblazer was XSAg.com; now FarmTrade.com. There were no brick-and-mortar facilities or inventory involved. Founder Fulton Breen of XSInc. described their XSAg.com division as

“a secure trading platform to facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers of herbicides, pesticides, and other inputs at discounts averaging about 20%.”

Then, in 2013, he decided to focus on XSInc’s data analytics services and divest itself of the XSAg platform. To his great satisfaction, the buyer was one of his long-time employees, Jeff Stow, who renamed the business FarmTrade.com to avoid confusion with Breen’s XSInc ag analytics business.

“We are still a family business,”

says Stow,

“and we’ve only enhanced the name-your-price approach for buyers with our unique ‘Dutch auction’ approach. Instead of sellers offering prices they’ll take; on our site, buyers offer prices they’ll pay. They wait until a seller meets their offer and we make a small commission; simple as that.” Stow adds, “We even hold the buyer’s money in escrow until they take delivery; eliminating that element of risk for all of us involved.”

Farmers Business Network (FBN) launched in 2014, with a former Google exec at the helm, and attracted $571 million in the capital. They are seen by some as a threat to disrupt ag retailing the way Amazon.com has turned malls into ghost towns. Brick-and-mortar ag retailers feel pressured to adopt the “if you can’t lick ’em, join ’em” response to the impending migration to e-commerce on their own websites. Alas, many are finding there’s little or no margin left for them when farmers are finding input costs at or below what manufacturers are charging the ag retailers as “middlemen”!

Between XSAg.com (now FarmTrade.com) and FBN, other e-merchants have emerged. In fact, Farm Journal magazine began surveying farmers with at least 500 acres of corn on their use of e-commerce sites in 2018. The most recent data is from the 2019 survey compiled last November. Farm Journal’s Margy Eckelkamp cited three key take-aways:

• Farmers’ purchase intentions tend to exceed what they actually do online.
• Their experience drives their online purchase decisions, with the price the number one factor, followed by the availability of products, ease of the purchasing process, the delivery process, and consulting available for specific questions.
• Online purchases vary by input category. The highest interest is for crop chemicals (63% in 2019 with indications this would jump to 75% for 2020); followed by seed (42%); then fertilizer (19%).

When Farm Journal asked farmers to list online retailers they use, 14 different e-commerce sites were mentioned among nearly 400 respondents from 36 states and are shown below:

Most noteworthy to me is that despite its enormous capital infusions, relentless promotion, and offering the entire array of ag input products, FBN is still only slightly higher in the percentage of farmers using it than FarmTrade.com, which specializes in crop protection inputs only.

FarmTrade’s Stow says

“When we purchased the XSAg business in 2013, we were excited about our new direction and value proposition but didn’t expect the success we’ve had since our very first year.”

When asked to explain why Stow says

“it’s a combination of earning intense customer loyalty, the word-of-mouth referrals we get from them, and attracting channel members (vendors) with the hottest input products.” 

That 2019 Farm Journal farmer survey also reported the most important factors farmers consider in choosing e-commerce over their regular ag retailer here:

Stow says those top influences in Fig. 2 are right in line with their own experience at FarmTrade and have guided their own site development. I’ve also learned consultants to traditional brick-and-mortar retailers feeling threatened by e-commerce are telling them not to count on the “personal, face-to-face relationship with their salespeople” to immunize them from the lure of e-commerce competitors. Why? Among Gen X, Gen Z and Millennial generations of farmers, brand and dealer loyalty are a distant second to saving time and money.

Some consulting firms are even advising ag retailers to do a careful cost analysis for the extra services they “bundle” with their input sales to “justify” prices for inputs to the farmer. One put the reasoning starkly and bluntly:

“I tell them that if they couldn’t charge for those perks and services a la carte on an invoice, they ought to stop offering them, save the cost, and trim their input prices instead to compete with these aggressive, penny-pinching e-commerce platforms.” 

The consensus among those focused on the future of ag retailing says it will always demand price competitiveness for crop inputs. They add it will create the opportunity to charge for actionable analytics using the farmer’s precision ag data as a separate profit center. Others I monitor predict the next megatrend driving such analytics will be the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the farmer’s precision ag data. It will churn out the most profitable prescription on a field-by-field basis in a matter of minutes. But that’s grist for another article on another day!

Source: Perfect Fit Presentation

The post Perfect Fit Presentations talks about e-commerce in agriculture appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

The new Opti 8 computer offers more power and memory than the previous version, experienced by users in faster and smoother operations. The storage capacity of the hard disk has been doubled to ensure the operation of future applications.

Markku Savolainen, Ponsse Plc´s Product Manager, equipment automation, says:

“The design of PONSSE Opti 8 computer focuses, above all, on its use in a demanding forest machine environment. The computer is developed by Ponsse, together with the Group’s technology company Epec. Opti 8 computers are manufactured at Epec´s production facility in Seinäjoki. Opti 8 allows us to make the control systems of PONSSE forest machines more user-friendly than before”,

Savolainen says.

The Opti 8 computer will come as standard in PONSSE harvesters and forwarders from the beginning of 2021.

The best properties for demanding conditions

• Enables the research and development of machine information systems far into the future.
• Designed to meet the high-quality requirements of Ponsse forest machines and forest companies.
• Larger 15.6” display with first-rate brightness, resolution, and viewing angle.
• The capacitive touchscreen used on mobile devices.
• Starts immediately, also in extreme cold.
• Windows 10 operating system

Ponsse is an active developer of information systems for forest machines. The Ponsse Opti product range consists of machine control and measuring device systems for harvesters, forwarders, and track-based applications.

Epec Oy is a system supplier that specializes in smart machine control systems and advanced electronics for electric machines. Epec Oy is responsible for the production planning and manufacturing of the Opti 8 computer. Epec Oy is a subsidiary of Ponsse Plc.

Source: Ponsse

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Engcon‘s strategy is to continually improve the excavators’ everyday lives with more efficient, flexible, and safer solutions. This means, among other things, providing access to smart solutions for everyone, by offering them as standard. The automatic quick coupler system, EC-Oil, has previously been added as an option at no extra charge. Further increasing safety, Engcon will offer the safe locking system QSC under the tiltrotator as standard.

The current system for controlling the bucket lock under the tiltrotator will be replaced with Engcon’s standardized locking panel, directing the driver’s actions by means of an alert system to ensure correct positioning. In this way, Engcon simplifies the handling of the bucket lock – the hitch control function is standardized, regardless of the make and model of the excavator. This minimizes the risks of dropped or swinging tools.

”We usually compare it to the fact that the gas and brake pedals would have different placements in a car depending on which car brand it is. In short, if a driver who changes from one excavator to another and can operate it in the same way, the risk of making mistakes with serious consequences is greatly minimized”,

says Martin Engström, Product Manager at Engcon.

Unique safety function that saves lives

In addition to the standardization of the locking procedure, it is also impossible to activate the bucket lock under the tiltrotator while the bucket is hanging in midair – a safety function that is unique to Engcon’s locking solution.

”This reduces the greatest risk that a bucket or a tool is accidentally dropped when up in the air. Which can prevent both injuries and deaths,”

says Martin Engström.

The locking system, QSC, together with Engcon’s quick coupler Q-Safe, also has an audiovisual warning system. The system warns with sound and light alarms if the bucket is connected incorrectly. As an accessory, you can also order a safety function that locks the excavator’s turning movements, which further increases safety.

“To sum up, we continue to standardize for maximum safety and to prevent unnecessary accidents due to mistakes, stress, or improper handling. And not only that, it costs nothing extra”,

Martin Engström concludes.

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