Equipment Roundup

In this Equipment Roundup, DTN/Progressive Farmer looks at John Deere's introduction of a self-repair solution in the U.S. through its Equipment Mobile app, Trimble's announcement of a series of technology innovations and agreements, STEYR and AGCO's several awards and Mississippi State University's opening of the nation's first interdisciplinary research center focused on autonomous technologies.

**

DEERE DELIVERS SELF-REPAIR SOLUTION

John Deere has introduced a self-repair solution available in the U.S. through its Equipment Mobile app. Using a John Deere Operations Center account, Deere customers operating compatible 4G-connected machines can use this solution to complete secure software updates directly to an embedded controller through a user-friendly interface using the Equipment Mobile app.

Available on both iOS and Android at no cost, the Equipment Mobile app helps John Deere customers manage, maintain and keep their equipment running. Deere says this software-updating program is another step toward digitizing self-repair for its customers.

For more information, visit www.Deere.com/repair.

**

NEW FROM TRIMBLE

Trimble recently announced a series of technological innovations and agreements.

-- Trimble has unveiled stream switching, a feature allowing farmers to seamlessly stream Trimble CenterPoint RTX, RangePoint RTX and ViewPoint RTX over internet provider (IP) services or satellite. Available for farmers using a NAV-900 or NAV-500 receiver, this solution was designed to provide farmers with the optimal Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) corrections stream, delivered via IP or satellite, depending on signal strength. In areas prone to satellite cutoffs due to elevation changes or canopy, the signal switches to the modem and stays on IP. For regions with bad cellular connection, the streaming automatically switches to satellite. Through this seamless stream switch, farmers gain improved guidance uptime.

For more information, visit www.trimble.com/en/solutions/industries/agriculture.

-- Trimble has added an integrated Precise Point Positioning (PPP) solution for agriculture applications. It combines Trimble CenterPoint RTX and the Trimble NAV-900 with a complimentary one-year subscription.

Always-on CenterPoint RTX corrections are part of a comprehensive subscription solution activated within the GNSS receiver. Providing added convenience and cost savings for worldwide agriculture customers, this solution reduces the complexity of dealing with different suppliers, delivering a more seamless way to receive accuracy levels of nearly 2 centimeters or better.

CenterPoint RTX correction services enable farmers to quickly achieve RTK-level horizontal performance without a local base station. The corrections are available worldwide using GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BDS-III satellites.

More info about CenterPoint RTX can be found at positioningservices.trimble.com/en/agriculture.

-- Trimble and Sabanto have integrated Trimble BX992 Dual Antenna GNSS receivers with Trimble CenterPoint RTX into Sabanto's autonomy solutions. Trimble will act as Sabanto's key autonomous technology provider, delivering high-accuracy positioning to its fleet.

Farmers demand a high level of uptime and reliability to avoid service disruption. Trimble's BX992 GNSS receiver and satellite-delivered Trimble CenterPoint RTX corrections service mean Sabanto's autonomy solutions can now receive centimeter-level L-Band corrections nearly anywhere in the world.

In addition to RTX corrections, Trimble will offer correction stream-switching enabling farmers to automatically switch from IP to satellite seamlessly.

Sabanto's headquarters are in Itasca, Illinois. Its core competency lies in low-cost autonomous retrofits to existing agricultural machines.

For more info, visit https://sabantoag.com/….

**

STEYR LANDS DESIGN AND FUNCTION AWARD

The CNH (Industrial) Design team has been recognized by the 2024 German Design Awards, presented by the German Design Council, for "Excellent Product Design" of its STEYR brand's Plus tractor series. The council cited an impressive synergy of function, design, quality and sustainability.

STEYR Plus tractors are the first in the CNH line to feature a new design language developed for the brand's products, the manufacturer said. This "sharp and crisp language" emphasizes modernity, strength, power and technology through features such as striking new hood styling with integrated road and work lighting, CNH said.

**

AGCO BAGS SIX 2024 AE50 AWARDS

Six AGCO Corporation products and solutions have been recognized with 2024 AE50 awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). The AE50s recognize the industry's top new products and services for remarkable innovation, significant engineering advancement and impact on their markets.

Awards were given to:

-- Fendt 200 Vario. Available in North America in three models ranging from 94- to 114-rated horsepower. The tractors are powered by the AGCO Power 3.3 L engine and feature the Fendt Vario CVT.

-- Fendt's 600 Vario Series. The tractor features AGCO's new Power Core 50, four-cylinder, 5.0-liter engine in four models from 164 to 224 maximum horsepower coupled with the intelligent Fendt VarioDrive CVT transmission.

-- Massey Ferguson 500R Series. The MF 500R comes standard with LiquidLogic, which ensures constant circulation through the entire system and offers boom clean-out, product recovery and no-spray priming capabilities.

-- Massey Ferguson 3 Series Specialty tractors. Seven models across three versions focus on meeting the specific requirements of vineyards and fruit orchards.

-- Massey Ferguson 9S Series tractor. The S Series spans the 285- to 425-horsepower segment. The 9S turning axle achieves 10% improvement in turning radius. The Massey Ferguson 9S tractor debuted at Agritechnica in 2023 and will be available in North America in 2024.

-- Precision Planting's SymphonyNozzle. The pulse-width modulation system (PWM) allows for independent rate and pressure control in self-propelled or pull-type sprayers. These capabilities allow for a consistent droplet size to be maintained across the field regardless of changes to rate or operating speed.

**

MISSISSIPPI STATE OPENS AGRICULTURAL AUTONOMY INSTITUTE

Mississippi State University has opened the Agricultural Autonomy Institute, the nation's first and only interdisciplinary research center focused on autonomous technologies.

Alex Thomasson, Agricultural Autonomy Institute director and head of MSU's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, said autonomous technologies can reduce the impact of labor shortages by making farm workers more efficient with the aid of novel systems.

"Overall, the goal of the institute is economic development. We want to attract agricultural equipment companies and conduct research that leads to technology-based startup companies. We want to develop a new workforce that will have the ability to work in this new world of robotics, mechatronics and computer coding," he said.

The research infrastructure for the institute includes a 4,800-square-foot laboratory space in the Pace Seed Technology Laboratory and a five-acre "Autonomous Acres" proving ground at MSU's R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center.

MSU's agricultural autonomy research efforts include using robots to harvest crops, such as cotton. An interdisciplinary team is also studying how cows respond to robotic herders.

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

Follow him on X @DMillerPF.

(c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.