What's New at Farm Machinery Show

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (DTN) -- DTN/Progressive Farmer spent Wednesday and Thursday looking at new machinery at the 2023 National Farm Machinery Show here. The venue saw 300,000 people crowding hundreds of thousands of square feet of exhibits and forming long lines for ice cream, pizza, beverages and pork chops, the latter served by the Kentucky Pork Producers. Clearly, this year, the event has moved beyond the COVID pandemic, with exhibitor cancellations and face masks things of the past.

Here are some of the things we saw at this year's event.

CASE IH UNVEILS NEW AUTOMATION MACHINERY, TECH

Case IH rolled out a long list of new machinery and tech it created to automate the more labored -- but still important -- farming practices. Here are some of them:

-- Case IH revealed its new AFS Furrow Command downforce automation package (AFS Furrow Command is the nameplate that will birth other "furrow-centric" automations). Available for spring 2023, the Precision Disk series air drill with AFS Furrow Command automates downforce settings to maintain consistent seed depth regardless of terrain or residue cover.

AFS Furrow Command adjusts the hydraulic pressure for each frame section independently for improved depth control. Feedback from the system also allows operators to minimize the force required to maintain gauge wheel contact with the ground for reduced component wear. "It's a reactive system that simplifies setting down pressure from the cab," Trent Nowosad, seeding product marketing manager, told DTN/Progressive Farmer. "(AFS Furrow Command) keeps seed placement accurate no matter soil conditions."

-- Case IH introduced its new 2110 Early Riser planter and updated 2150 Early Riser planter. The 2110 mounts 1.9- or 3.0-bushel on-row hopper options. The 2150 Early Riser planter update includes split bulk fill tank scales and an optional increased liquid tank capacity.

-- Case IH Steiger series is now a half-dozen models, all new. The AFS Connect Steiger 425, 475, 525, 555, 595 and 645 (467- to 699-horsepower) tractors feature horsepower ranges higher than any articulated four-wheel-drive tractor in the industry, Case IH says. Steiger's all-new Stage V engine improves engine response time by 50% while maintaining long service intervals. There are two transmission options -- the Diesel-Saver Automated Productivity Management PowerDrive powershift transmission and the CVXDrive continuously variable transmission.

Steiger series tractors can be equipped with a second AFS Pro 1200 display for dual-display in-cab management. Dual screens allow operators to simultaneously view and monitor separate ISOBUS implements, such as planters, fertilizer bars or air seeders.

Development of the new line is driven by customers with heavy tillage needs and who desire a high-horsepower machine for better timeliness in the field, said Matt Booms, tractor product specialist. "This is a major investment (for Case IH)," he told DTN/PF. "We're trying to dial into (farmer) needs for more torque, more fuel efficiency, more acres in a day, more comfort (in the cab), even better lighting and premium sound options." LED light packages provide up to 5,000 lumens of light per lamp, illuminating a wide area around tractor and implement. Sound is produced through amplifier, tweeters, 6.5-inch subwoofer with ported box and additional speaker grills for those moments when you just need to crank up George Strait and "All My Ex's Live in Texas."

NEW HOLLAND'S NEW T7.300 LONG WHEELBASE WITH PLM INTELLIGENCE

New Holland is introducing a new T7.300 Long Wheelbase tractor with PLM Intelligence. This T7 delivers more power than other models of the T7 tractor with larger 6.7-foot-tall tires, but no increase in overall dimension. It's a design feature New Holland calls Ultimate Performance Density.

"Previously, we topped out a 270 boosted horsepower. (The new T7 Long Wheelbase engine it borrowed from the T7 heavy-duty series tractor) gives us a 260-rated horsepower, 300-boosted-horsepower engine," said Ken Paul, product marketing manager for New Holland. "The unique thing about this model is its torque value. We've got what's called an electric variable geometry turbo equipped on this engine, and what that does, it allows us to have over a 500-rpm range, max torque, at 1,300 rpms. That's great for saving fuel (by 18%), but it really gives us a great torque curve."

The cab of the T7.300 Long Wheelbase is larger, boasts more processing power, and features a new armrest and display incorporated from New Holland's T8, T9 and T7 heavy-duty series tractors. Visitors to the display might notice the pretty, deeply blue color of the T7 Long Wheelbase. New Holland is calling this tractor with this color its Blue Power edition. The color scheme is complimentary for units purchased in this model year.

TRIMBLE LAUNCHES NEW PATH PLANNING TECH

Trimble launched at the Farm Machinery Show its new advanced path planning technology. This is technology that gives equipment manufacturers and Trimble ag customers the ability to automate the trajectory, speed and overall path design of industrial equipment to increase efficiency of work.

Traditional path planning options require manual setup. Whereas Trimble's path planning technology offers automated, full path, complete project trajectory from entry to exit, including logistics points. The technology allows plans to be created in the office and adjustments made in the field.

Trimble field tested the technology with HORSCH (manufactures tech and machinery applications built for soil cultivation, seeding and plant protection). Path planning technology was used to manage HORSCH's self-propelled PT and VL sprayer series to provide an autonomous, four-wheel-drive solution. For the first time ever, HORSCH was able to execute fully automated spraying, testing path planning technologies in real-time on farms in Europe.

"Our new path planning technology is the next step in Trimble's vision of making fully autonomous solutions available across industries, regardless of brand, type of equipment or use case," said Finlay Wood, general manager, off-road autonomy, Trimble. "With this easy-to-integrate solution, we've taken another significant step towards full autonomy. It enables our customers to reduce waste and simplify complex tasks, whether they are in the cab or not -- part of our vision to meet operators where they are on their path toward fully autonomous solutions."

KUBOTA BRINGS NEW TRACTORS TO MACHINERY SHOW

Kubota Tractor Corporation announced its addition of a new LX20 Series, adding two new models -- the LX3520 and LX4020 -- and the expansion of its L02 Series tractor, adding the L2502 and L4802. Here are brief descriptions:

-- LX20 Series. Starts at 35 horsepower (LX3520) and up to 40 horsepower (LX4020). Both are available with a factory-installed cab or ROPS, wider front axle and a wider loader.

-- L02 Series. The L2502 and L4802 feature brakes relocated to the left side for ease of use, a new loader and new bucket options, LED headlights and side work light. The L2502 HST models also feature an independent PTO switch.

Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com

Follow him on Twitter @DMillerPF

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