AGCO announced it has entered into a proof of concept (PoC) collaboration agreement with Robert Bosch GmbH, BASF Digital Farming GmbH, and Raven Industries Inc., with the objective of evaluating targeted spraying technology to make the application of crop protection products more effective and efficient by reducing crop input costs while driving farm and environmental sustainability.

To support the reduction in herbicide application, the targeted spraying PoC will focus on real-time sensing technology to make crop protection decisions. By detecting weeds in growing crops as well as on fallow ground, day or night, this technology will execute precise targeted product placement down to the individual plant level. In addition to the environmental benefits, targeted spraying will help enhance farmer profitability by only spraying the herbicide where needed. This makes the use of more efficient herbicides affordable allowing for much better weed control. Where optimal herbicides are already used, the smart sprayer provides a volume and cost reduction.

The initial concept is being evaluated on a Fendt Rogator sprayer in Europe with plans to extend to North America in 2022.

“Farmers have long been searching for innovative ways to minimize chemical usage and reduce passes through the field to achieve their crop protection goals. Combined with the potential for further regulatory pressure, we believe this collaborative spraying effort advances our farmer-first focus and is further evidence that we will work with the best-in-class partners to serve farmers’ needs. This effort is aimed at validating targeted spraying solutions, delivering a reduction in product use to achieve the same results as broadcast spraying in both pre- and post-emergence with the flexibility of spraying day or night,”

said Seth Crawford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Precision Ag and Digital for AGCO.

Coupled with AGCO’s application equipment expertise, Bosch brings capabilities in hardware, machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as digital services. xarvio Digital Farming Solutions provides an automated, real-time, in field agronomic decision-making engine for weed management and crop optimization. Raven Applied Technology is committed to sprayer efficacy and operational efficiencies that further enable precision control of chemicals for targeted spraying applications.

“Raven is excited for this collaboration. The expertise of each organization will undoubtedly provide industry changing solutions for some of agriculture’s greatest challenges. This smart spraying proof of concept is the first of many that will aid in advancing solutions for a more sustainable future,”

said Dominic Walkes, Raven Applied Technology Director of Strategic Initiatives.

The combined power of the technologies that this collaboration is focused to deliver will empower farmers to drive greater efficiency in their operations while helping to protect the environment through reduced chemical usage in line with AGCO’s commitment to providing farmer-focused solutions to sustainably feed the world.

Source: AGCO

The post AGCO Enters into Targeted Spraying Technology Collaboration Agreement with Bosch, BASF Digital Farming and Raven Industries appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Raven Industries announced the launch of its new product brand and autonomous growth platform, OMNi. This new product brand highlights Raven’s advancements in autonomous solutions for agriculture with a strategic offering of two integrated products: OMNiDRIVE and OMNiPOWER.

The OMNi name (meaning “all”) will take center stage within Raven.

Nick Langerock, Director of Strategic Marketing for Raven, said:

“Empowering ‘all’ is exactly what OMNiPOWER and OMNiDRIVE bring to the agriculture industry. OMNi enables holistic, hands-free precision; it gives the farmer total control of their time and maximizes operational productivity and efficiency. As we bring OMNi to market, we want farmers to understand that some of their pain points are now more manageable through autonomous solutions. OMNi solutions allow the farmer to trust the routine tasks to automation and focus on the important farm functions.”

Effective today, OMNiDRIVE replaces the AutoCart name from the previous acquisition of Smart Ag. The former DOT name is now OMNiPOWER. All of Raven’s intelligent autonomous solutions for the agriculture industry will be branded with the OMNi prefix and are part of one connected ecosystem. This ecosystem leverages Raven’s innovative and ever-growing technology portfolio that makes smart products smarter. OMNi solutions provide multiple paths to autonomy and equip the ag professional to get more, do more, and give more from their operation.

Dominic Walkes, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Raven, said:

“We understand the importance of quickly scaling and adopting new power platforms, farming applications, and implements into purpose-built autonomous agricultural machines. OMNiDRIVE is a significant growth platform and we are actively working with OEM partners to release compatibility on additional tractors and implements. We are excited about the opportunities rolling out under the OMNi prefix as it ties our entire portfolio together and helps to provide the entire solution from top to bottom for the farmer.”

OMNiDRIVE is Raven’s aftermarket technology kit that transforms existing tractors into driverless machines. It is the first farming application that allows the farmer to monitor and operate a driverless tractor from the cab of the harvester so the harvester can offload on the go, then return the tractor and grain cart to a predetermined unloading area — all without a second driver.

The technology connects, manages, and safely operate autonomous agricultural machinery and is compatible with:

• Case IH Magnum CVT (2014-2020 models): M250 / 280 / 310 / 340 / 380 (available in October 2021)
• New Holland CVT (2014-2020 models): T8.320 / 350 / 380 / 410 / 435 (available in October 2021)
• John Deere 8Rs Powershift and IVT (2010-current models)

OMNiPOWER is a self-propelled power platform that easily interchanges with farm implements. This will allow the ag professional to perform multiple farm tasks in all the growing seasons. The farmer launches missions in autonomous mode or can also control directly from the tablet. In either instance, no driver is necessary. Currently, OMNiPOWER has interchangeable implements for spreading and spraying with additional applications coming soon.

More OMNiPOWER implements will launch quickly and consistently as Raven works with OEM partners to release new implements.

OMNiPOWER will be available for order on June 1, 2021, with delivery in the fall of 2021.

“The future of agriculture is here and now. The pivot point is OMNi. You’ll see the new brand identity and campaign to reflect and communicate our advancements to the market,”

said Langerock.

Source: Raven Industries

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