Golden Fendt tractor shines at US Capitol
ACGO showcased a one-of-a-kind golden Fendt tractor at the US Capitol in early August, commemorating the Great American Farmers Market, a week-long celebration of food, family and farming.
Global tractor manufacturer AGCO – the home of Massey Ferguson, Fendt and Valtra – has released a totally new engine design.
This comes as a result of a €1 billion investment at the Linnavuori engine production plant, near Nokia in Finland.
With what appears to be a growing list of alternative fuels, which hold potential for future use – including as hydrogen and natural gas, in both compressed and liquid forms. AGCO suggests that the way forward to utilise these “alternative” fuels is a new engine, designed from the ground up to be compatible with them – rather than adapting existing engines.
The company claims their new CORE engine family can be easily developed to run efficiently with different fuels as they become adopted as replacements for fossil diesel.
Compression ignition engines have been with us for over 130 years and remain the most practical solution in many applications. While electric vehicles are becoming more common, AGCO notes that battery capacity is not yet enough for off-road machinery applications, except for compact machinery – typically less than 75hp.
It says the chief advantage of diesel fuel is that it has a high energy density and is reasonably safe and easy to handle.
Thermodynamic principles also mean that higher compression ratio engines are more efficient.
Unfortunately, however, engineering constraints created in handling the higher temperatures involved puts a limit on their ultimate size.
The first engine from the new family is the CORE75. This is a 7.5L block, which delivers 1,450 Newton-meters (Nm) of torque at 1,300rpm (revolutions per minute). This is the highest in its power class, according to AGCO.
By reducing engine speed at maximum torque by 200rpm, fuel economy is improved, with a specific consumption of only 188g/ kWh.
Already fitted in the latest Fendt Vario 700 series tractors, the company claims it marks not only a new generation of flexible engines, but also a firm commitment to the internal combustion engine as a power unit for many years yet.
Designed as a multi-fuel engine, the CORE units are likely to be seen across the whole AGCO range and beyond.
Meat co-operative, Alliance has met with a group of farmer shareholders, who oppose the sale of a controlling stake in the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
Rollovers of quad bikes or ATVs towing calf milk trailers have typically prompted a Safety Alert from Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture across New Zealand.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
A group of Kiwi farmers are urging Alliance farmer-shareholders to vote against a deal that would see the red meat co-operative sell approximately $270 million in shares to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
In a few hundred words it's impossible to adequately describe the outstanding contribution that James Brendan Bolger made to New Zealand since he first entered politics in 1972.
Dawn Meats is set to increase its proposed investment in Alliance Group by up to $25 million following stronger than forecast year-end results by Alliance.
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