Farming smarter with technology
The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry professionals from across the country.
The technology and Innovation Centre (TIZ 3) at Grieskirchen in Austria was founded in 2002 and is operated by three shareholders.
Pöttinger, as the lead company, is running a state-of-the-art research and testing centre, offering prototype construction, testing, measurement and inspection technology.
The latter is used not only for Pöttinger’s agricultural machinery, but also for running pilot projects for external customers.
During development of agricultural machinery, the test centre has the task of generating knowledge for the transfer to series production and collaborating with testing companies to guarantee the best possible working result. Additionally, durability testing is carried out on the test beds that cover the full-service life under operational conditions such as those found in the field.
A recent expansion at the Centre provides 1800m² of additional floor space; 1300m² of this is dedicated to testing technology, with the remainder for prototyping, with equipment that includes a 360m² component testing station for individual test bed setups.
Described as using the most modern component testing equipment in Europe, the Centre also provides access to test scenarios for e-mobility including testing of high-voltage components.
Markus Baldinger, Pöttinger managing director, explains that in addition to investing in modern production plants, the company has a strong focus on testing and inspecting agricultural machinery.
“This additional investment in TIZ 3 sees us fulfilling our promise to our customers regarding high quality, strength, reliability and durability.
“The tests that simulate real operating conditions save up to 75% of the time and costs compared to practical tests performed in the field.”
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
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