As editors, it’s our job to know, and deliver on, the news, topics and ideas that are most relevant to the farm equipment industry. Unlike years past, the prevalence of analytics in today’s world allows us to take a first-hand look at the information-consumption habits of our audience.
Farm equipment manufacturers are responding to and, in some cases, anticipating farmers’ needs in designing new products. This was evident in the many new developments rolled out during the 2016 Farm Progress Show.
Not only did Farm Equipment editors carry out their traditional duties of digging for the newest and most innovative products at this year’s Farm Progress Show, but this time we dug a little deeper. This year we spent additional time with exhibitors to get their take on what’s driving new equipment designs and developments and how they’re responding to what they’re hearing from their dealers and customers.
Farm Equipment editors spoke with Nick Jensen, president of Thurston Mfg., during the Farm Progress Show to learn more about how the manufacturer has responded to the down ag economy with increased product innovation.
There’s been a lot of talk about Case IH and New Holland’s introduction of autonomous concept tractors at the Farm Progress Show earlier this month. The Case IH model, as I’m sure you’ve seen by now, is a completely cabless vehicle that looks like something from the future.
“The impact of driverless tractors on farm operations will be dramatic, and the vehicles hold the potential to provide a huge boost to productivity,” says Manoj Sahi of Tractica. In a report issued on Sept. 4, following the introduction of Case IH and New Holland’s concept autonomous tractors at the Farm Progress Show on Aug. 30, Tractica said it expects rapid growth of driverless farm vehicles starting about 2020.
One of the more interesting comments I’ve read from an outsider looking into the current ag equipment environment came from an Aug. 17 report that quotes Karen Ubelhart, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in New York. In assessing the current sales slump and the ongoing backlog of used farm machinery, Ubelhart said, “People are comfortable that it’s bad and that it will take a while. It’s not great, but they’re not bleeding. It’s just not getting better.”
You can continue to follow our real-time updates complete with photos and videos throughout the show @FEeditors, on our Facebook page or through the hashtag #FarmProgressShow.
Built on 90 years of expertise, Yetter Farm Equipment leads the agriculture industry in designing effective and innovative equipment for residue management, seedbed preparation, precision fertilizer placement, harvest attachments, strip-tillage, and more.
Montag is the industry’s innovative leader for precise, accurate metering of fertilizer, seed and other nutrients. The Montag system has become the standard for deep banding of fertilizer. Montag is also pioneering the technology for cover crop seed application. The new Cover Crop+ is able to meter the smallest seed, and can be mounted to tillage implements, combines, plus Hagie sprayers and detasselers.
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