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UK-Based company Ag-Drive recently showcased a new paperless solution for agricultural contractors.
Agricultural contracting throws up many challenges – not least getting the job done, breakdowns, bad weather and finding suitable and committed staff.
At the same time, once the tractor is parked in the shed on completion of a job, contractors need to scrutinise time sheets and raise invoices for payment.
At Fieldays, UK-based Ag-drive showcased a new paperless solution for agricultural contractors that should make the end of the day tasks just that bit easier. Designed by a third generation farmer/contractor and agricultural university graduate, Will Dunn – who started Ag-drive two years ago and wanted to solve the everyday challenges his father Simon faced in their family’s contracting business based in Yorkshire, UK.
“From growing up working for the family contracting business and then coming home full time after university, I wanted to improve the running of the contracting business at home.” Dunn said.
“At home, my old man used to spend hours trailing through job sheets every week, which seemed bizarre in an industry that operated high value machinery. In many cases, he was still invoicing based on notes written on the back of a cigarette packet.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, with a little time on his hands, Dunn started to develop the Ag-drive app and web portal.
Ag-drive is an all-in-one app for agricultural contractors that eliminates the need for paperwork. It streamlines the process of job recording to invoicing with common accounting software packages like Xero, Sage Online and Quickbooks. Other key features include live location tracking of operators, timesheets, field mapping, job reports, health and safety checks as well as invoicing.
Having launched in the UK in June 2021, Ag-drive took the best innovation at the LAMMA agricultural machinery show, earlier in the year. It now has contractors signed up across the UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, Australia, and New Zealand.
“As a finalist in the Fieldays Innovation Awards, we’ve noticed that NZ contractors appear to be more ready to adopt technology compared to contractors in the UK,” Dunn says. “So, it’s an ideal event to launch Agdrive formally to New Zealand and build on our existing customers over here.”
Ag-drive is available on both iPhone and Android smartphones and has been designed for simplicity to support all users. A web version is also available and is mainly used for invoicing and processing time/job sheet information.
A free, 14-day trial gives users the ability to try all the features before committing to a monthly subscription, starting from $20 per month, depending on the size of their contracting team.
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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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