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John Deere’s ag machine range has been boosted by the purchase of Sentera, specialists in equipment for capturing and interpreting aerial images.
While tractors combines and machinery for agriculture and construction is still its key business, John Deere appears to be taking opportunities in the hightech sector via acquisition, with the recent purchase of Sentera, a Minnesota-based company that specialises in equipment for capturing and interpreting aerial images.
Described as being able to provide “farmers and ag service providers with a more comprehensive set of tools to generate and use data to make decisions that improve farm profitability,” Sentera may be viewed as a further piece in the smart farming jigsaw.
Interestingly, it also means that Deere might be adding drones to its portfolio, as Sentera – on top of offering sensors and cameras – has a plane-type drone within its offering, as a mounting platform for the former. The PHX drone can fly for an hour, in which time, it can collect data over three hundred acres.
Offering the opportunity to capture more information, it is understood that Sentara’s imagery capabilities, in conjunction with Deere’s digital hub, will enable farmers and advisors to seamlessly gather and integrate agronomic data, understand real-time conditions, and turn data into insights that drive decisions in the field throughout the growing season.
Key areas of assessment are crop health and weed infestation, with the ability for high resolution images to be analysed to locate individual weed plants.
The resulting prescription map could be used by sprayers to treat weeds though section control, or even single nozzles. It is claimed that the same process can be used in a paddock to assess crop stand uniformity, disease pressure, and pests, opening all areas to more efficient remedial action.
Rural News understands that Sentera will continue to supply cameras directly to drone manufacturers for integration into their products, as well as selling to farmers, agronomists, ag retailers, and other users.
In addition, the John Deere Operations Centre will continue to be open to other drone imagery providers, where images may be used in the Map Layers tool, enabling farmers and advisors to continue to have the choice of which solutions best suits their operation.
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With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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