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TopDown and Opus with E-services are available to order now, with the first machines expected in New Zealand in late 2024.
While many industry watchers have been singing the praises of the latest and greatest innovations at the recent Agritechnica Event, held recently in Germany, agricultural journalists have been deliberating the winners of the Farm Machine of the Year 2024.
Väderstad’s TopDown with E-services was the winner of the Farm Machine 2024 award in the tillage category. The introduction of E-Services on TopDown 400-700 and Opus 400-700 allows the machines to use prescription maps to control the machine settings automatically and on the go.
This means operators can program how the individual working elements behave for each specific paddock’s characteristics. The discs, tines, leveller and packer can be programmed to achieve the best results considering the soil type or other characteristics in different areas of each field.
With the TopDown with E-services, Väderstad claims to be applying the same thinking used in its variable rate seed application and fertiliser application technology to cultivate – using the ‘as much as necessary, as little as possible’ approach. This is said to deliver benefits including reduced diesel consumption and wear and tear, alongside improved soil health and increased working speeds.
TopDown and Opus with E-services are available to order now, with the first machines expected in New Zealand in late 2024.
Meanwhile, the Kuhn FC 13460 RA mower-conditioner with grouper was awarded Farm Machine 2024 in the forage harvesting category.
It is said to offer a significantly higher work output than conventional mowing combinations with a variable working width of 12.4 to 13.4 metres. Operators benefit from substantial savings on pulling power, fuel and labour costs when mowing large areas with a single machine.
In a single pass, the machine’s belt grouper forms a swath from 1.8m to 3m wide, with the forage collected over a cutting width of more than 13m. This allows the user to exploit the full potential of forage harvesters and large square balers.
Design detail sees the inclusion of a telescopic axle to increase clearance, making it easier to form a wider and evenly shaped swath for even drying and improved pick-up. It also gives improved stability of the machine during U-turns and working on slopes.
This machine also lends itself to Controlled Traffic Farming strategy on a 12m track. This reduces the impact of machine passage on the ground, while machine controls – including the front mower – are easily operated by an ISOBUS compatible on-board terminal or either the CCI 800 or 1200 terminals and the CCI A3 joystick.
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Following the record-breaking success of its hydrogen-powered Hydromax, JCB is ramping up its investment in the business, key to the first major change at the executive level of the business, with George Bamford stepping up to the post of joint chairman, alongside his father Lord Bamford.
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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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