• Iron still rules and captures the imaginations of those in attendance. The tractor hall was packed with people and surveys indicated that two thirds of the producers will make buying decisions at the show. At this show, 46% of the producers have smaller than 250 acre farms, yet the really big rigs took center stage. Roughly 16% of those attending farmed more than 2,500 acres, largely from east Germany and former Eastern Block countries. The old farm collectives were privatized and now many are being purchased by oil companies. They are flush with cash and were reportedly on a mission to buy equipment and technology. [The running joke at Agritechnica was if you wanted to capture a rep’s attention, speak Russian]. These Eastern Block farms operate with many of the constraints that American farmers face — a lot of land to cover in very little time. There were a lot of huge farming implements — hay rakes, tillage equipment, and planters. Horsch had a 60-foot planter with trailing seed tender supporting up to four different seed sources.

• John Deere won one of the Neuheit Innovator Gold Medals for its E-Premium series electrical power network in tractors. The fan, air compressor, air conditioning system plus the onboard 12 volt network is powered by a generator flanged directly to the crankshaft. Also, when the vehicle is standing, electrical devices can be operated from a plug socket with 230 volt or via 3-phase socket with 230/400 volt (5kW).

• The Kinderfinder, another Neuheit Innovation winner, employed RFID technology.  RFID coded radio chips are built into bracelets or children’s clothing and onboard receiver aerials are placed on the equipment’s front and back. An alarm sounds in the cab if there is a child within up to 100 meters of the equipment.

• In small tractors, my personal favorite was one manufactured by Ferrari. Incredible design, it made you want to spend your entire day driving.

• One statistic that may reflect a coming change in German equipment purchase is the projection that roughly 30% of the land will be sold and consolidated into larger operations as boomers retire. This may shift future equipment purchases to larger tractors, etc.

• Guidance systems booths were well trafficked, with many of the global players present.

• There seemed to be more open architecture of software, with a greater ability to move data around and link equipment from different vendors than seen earlier.

• Regulatory concerns are still a major driver for data collection and use in decision aids. Europeans are obligated to justify their pesticide and fertilizer applications relative to environmental conditions and production goals. Geospatial tracking of applications is key.

• Consultants still develop yield maps and use other map layers derived from historical data, but there is a shift to real time sensors measuring chlorophyll and biomass to adjust nutrient application rates and to determine plant stress. For instance, Yara has developed on-the-go tractor mounted infrared N-sensors that read chlorophyll levels, the data is run through a rate controller and variable rate fertilizer is applied. Another firm uses aerial and satellite imagery as a scouting tool to assess stress and nutrient deficiency and then uses this data to develop a variable rate map for fertilizer application. There were also handheld units for conducting research.

• Applications for sensor technology were displayed in many booths. One of the Neuheit Innovation winners scanned broken corn kernels and non-grain constituents on the combine conveyor and computed grain quality. The operator could then optimize combine settings to improve harvest quality.

• There were several vendors featuring PDAs with GPS and customized software for collecting georeferenced data and displaying maps. AGRO-SAT’s PDA displays yield maps, chlorophyll maps and soil test data and transmits to a controller via Bluetooth technology. Also, with a system developed by agrocom, users could go online to Google Earthmap and visualize map layers online over the satellite image. The data is used to pre-plan applications and provide regulatory documentation, also to perform cost analysis and assist in decision making. The software provided a user-friendly interface for georeferenced data collection with PDAs and served as a reference in the field. Application maps could then be uploaded to a chip and read by the controller for variable rate application.

• LandData Eurosoft was one of the most popular booths, demonstrating its financial management software that performs business analyses, and calculates payroll, taxes, and production costs.

• GPS tracking equipment was employed by one group for sugar beet harvest logistics. Equipment, fields, and routes were tracked, planned and verified. It was an innovation winner for the event.

• Drones with onboard cameras for field scouting were displayed.

• A German online subscription service, Expert.com,  is available for weather data and field specific insect and disease forecast, with models that factor crop stage of development, varietal sensitivity, previous crop, soil, nitrogen, and current local weather conditions. The organization conducts independent trials to determine product efficacy and offer treatment options, and to evaluate cultivar/varietal susceptibility to disease.

• In terms of services, there were a few large multi-national precision agriculture consulting firms. They largely assisted with data collection, interpretation and management. Several had customized equipment developed for their consultants. 

Growers using GPS steering are able to chip away at the payroll, says Trimble's Rob Lindores.