JOHN Deere and company will be recognised for technological innovation at the Agritechnica Innovation Awards to be held this November in Germany
Deere will receive one gold award and two silvers at the prestigious biennial ceremony.
Awardees for innovation must represent a significant advance on currently available machinery, both in function and in how well they perform the job they are designed for, and be field ready, said organiser of Agritechnica, the German Agricultural Society (DLG).
“Award-winning products must be fully functional at the time of the exhibition and ready for market launch at the latest in 2018,” said organiser of Agritechnica, the German Agricultural Society (DLG).
Silver – EZ ballast wheel system
The EZ ballast wheel system will earn one of two silver medals for John Deere at Agritechnica.
Deere said in a release the EZ will provide a versatile ballasting solution for tractors, without blocking the front and rear hitches.
“The system’s flexible weight distribution is designed to ensure higher traction and lower soil compaction in the field,” it said.
“Flexible ballasting for different applications often fails in terms of the time and effort required.”
Deere said the system would enable operators to change the front and rear wheel weights very quickly without additional tools.
“Each front wheel can be equipped with one 250kg weight, while the rear wheels can be fitted with two 250kg weights, which means a total of up to 1.5 tonnes can be added and removed,” it said.
Silver – Auto Trac implement guidance
John Deere’s tractor integrated AutoTrac implement guidance system will be awarded a silver medal at the Agritechnica Innovation Awards.
The guidance system is capable of steering both the tractor and row-crop cultivator by combining a camera with GPS steering for high speed, high output weed control, John Deere said in an announcement.
Deere said the system would increase the efficiency of inter-row hoeing weed control.
“The time window for optimal mechanical weed control is very limited,” it said.
“The system enables very high working speeds of up to sixteen kilometres per hour without damaging the crop.”
Deere said the implement guidance uses a camera mounted on the hoe which calculates the predicted track along the plant rows.
A satellite receiver is attached to the hoe, increasing accuracy, or where plant rows are uneven or interrupted, Deere said.
Run though the tractors command centre, sideways movements of the hoe are controlled by an electro-hydraulic control unit.
Deere claim the implement guidance system will steer not only in straight rows but also on slopes and around corners.
“Corrections and cross shifts of more than 500mm of the hoe’s tools are possible, while two hydraulic disc coulters ensure precise tracking accuracy, especially at high speeds, it said.
“The patented coulters are fixed onto the tractor’s hitch block and absorb the forces of both the tractor and the attached implement.”
Gold – Kemper Stalk Buster
John Deere and Company will receive a joint gold medal with primary manufacturer Kemper for the StalkBuster.
The integrated header technology destroys one hundred percent of stubble in an effort to control corn borer, said the DLG.
The corn borer, along with fusarium blight is a severe pest in maize crops, particularly in Europe.
“One of the most important methods to fight the pest, along with chemical and biological options, is to chop the maize stubble thoroughly and immediately after the crop is harvested.”
John Deere in an announcement said destroying the overwintering habitat of the corn borer and reducing the risk of fusarium in the soil was a key benefit of the technology.
“The StalkBuster is integrated into the base frame of Kemper’s rotary crop header,” it said.
“ A special flail crushes every row of stubble before the wheels of the forager and transport vehicles can flatten it.
“As a result, the stalks are not only cut down but also smashed into small pieces.”
Deere said a special swinging gearbox would allow optimum ground adjustment for individual rows, while a pneumatic pressure system would provide additional close tracking of ground contours.
“This ensures that every stalk is fully chopped down to ground level,” it said.