John Deere at the Dairy Event

THE DAIRY EVENT & LIVESTOCK SHOW 2010, NEC, SEPTEMBER 7 & 8

New John Deere forager saves fuel

John Deere is showing its new top of the range 7950 self-propelled forage harvester for the first time at the 2010 Dairy Event & Livestock Show, as well as new models from the 5M Series tractor range, which are also making their show debut, and the 2010 round baler range.

John Deere’s 7050i Series foragers with HarvestLab dry matter sensing and AutoLOC (Automatic Length Of Cut) allow fast, accurate and automatic adjustment of chop length, which increases fuel efficiency as well as delivering optimum silage quality.

All models can also be equipped with an engine/speed management system which, when linked to the Pro Drive transmission, provides additional fuel savings. A choice of three modes enables the operator to simply tune the SPFH, at the press of a button, for maximum harvesting efficiency. According to independent tests by DLG and profi in Germany, this system can result in fuel savings of up to 14.7 litres/ha – with the result that the grass crop can be harvested using as little as 0.7 litres of fuel/tonne, which is over 30 per cent less than other machines tested.

Taking crop readings 17 times per second, HarvestLab has also been independently verified by DLG to provide +/-2 per cent accuracy. Using the forager’s AutoLOC transmission linked to the HarvestLab system, the operator can set dry matter and chop length information on the in-cab GreenStar 2600 touch screen display prior to work, according to end user requirements. As the forage dry matter within a field varies due to differences in soil, seed varieties and other external factors such as trees on the headlands, AutoLOC automatically adjusts the chop length in 1mm increments based on the preset values, to produce the optimum feed quality from the harvested crop.

Mixer-feeder machinery demonstrations

John Deere is once again sponsoring the main mixer/feeder wagon machinery demonstration area at the event (adjacent to the John Deere stand, near the event entrance), which this year includes models from JF-Stoll, Keenan, King Feeders UK (for the first time), Shelbourne Reynolds and Harry West, plus the Lely Juno automatic feed pusher. The working demonstrations are designed to provide visitors with an opportunity to compare models from different manufacturers, working under the same conditions.

Win a Gator

Visitors to the Dairy Event & Livestock Show can enter a prize draw to win a John Deere Gator XUV 850D utility vehicle, worth £11,000, by completing a form printed on the event entry ticket. All completed entries posted in one of the Gator-based competition boxes around the show will be included in the draw, which will take place on October 12. The award-winning 24hp XUV Gator is specifically designed for off-road and rough-terrain use, and features a true four-wheel drive traction system, a dual range continuously variable transmission, all-round independent suspension and a maximum payload capacity of 635kg.

Balfour Beatty invests in new fleet of tractors

Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, one of the UK’s leading utility solutions providers, has invested more than £1.3m in 33 brand new John Deere 5M and 6030 Series tractors, all equipped with front loaders. The machines have been purchased to support ongoing overhead line projects and increase operational capacity.

The company uses tractors extensively whilst installing and renovating overhead electricity lines. The new tractors will be equipped for one of two key roles; as either winch or tow machines.

The winch tractors will each be fitted with a 2000kg winch to enable them to raise and lower insulators and other equipment to teams working on towers. Tow tractors are used to move equipment around sites as well as towing tensioners – machinery used to raise and tighten the main power cables – to and from site.

In a change from the traditional green and yellow of John Deere tractors, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions’ machines have all been finished in the companies’ distinguishing blue, giving them a unique and smart presence at sites around the country.

Rob Sonnex, Mechanical Plant Manager for Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, said:

“We always buy the best when it comes to our plant and vehicles, and this investment is no exception. John Deere has an excellent reputation for quality and safety, whilst the technical support and dealership back up offered by the company and its dealer, Agricultural Industrial Services, made our choice clear. The new tractors will increase our capacity for overhead line work and therefore give significant benefits to our clients, especially on projects where time is a factor.

“When it came to purchasing our new tractors, we needed machines which would stand up to the stresses and strains our important work puts on them. We take safety extremely seriously in all of our work, so this was also an important factor when choosing a manufacturer.”

John Deere’s agricultural marketing manager Chris Meacock said:

“John Deere and AIS are delighted to have won this important contract to supply our tractors to one of the country’s major utility businesses. It underlines our continuing efforts to provide market leading technology solutions to a wide range of customers.”

The investment in the tractors comes only a few months after Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions invested in a fleet of 700 Mercedes Sprinter vans to improve safety for its entire workforce.

John Deere innovations at work

One of the primary roles of the newly established European Technology and Innovation Centre (ETIC) in Kaiserslautern is the development of advanced technologies and software and their integration into agricultural machinery, for precision farming applications and the automation of routine machinery operations.

At this month’s official ETIC opening, John Deere demonstrated two of its Agritechnica silver award winning systems (tractor-implement automation and extended sprayer solutions), which are already commercially available. In addition, the company presented two advanced guidance solutions for passive and active implement steering, which are designed to bring the highest precision to tillage, seeding and planting operations.

Tractor-implement automation

Tractor-implement automation enables two-way data exchange between the tractor and more complex implements via an extended ISOBUS system. During operation, the system allows the implement to take command of certain pre-assigned tractor functions to make the operator’s life easier. In the field demonstration, a John Deere 864 round baler tells the tractor when bale formation is nearly complete. It then slows down and stops the tractor, starts the netwrapping process and finally releases the bale automatically before the next cycle begins.

Automatic control of tractor functions such as forward speed, hydraulics and pto operation is enabled by the open ISOBUS design, which can also be applied to other makes of equipment. One such application, developed by the Austrian implement manufacturer Pöttinger for a forage wagon, was also awarded a silver medal at Agritechnica in 2009.

During operation, the forage wagon slows down or accelerates the tractor depending on the density and shape of the grass swath, which is recorded by a sensor mounted on the front of the tractor. This determines the intake rate of the forage wagon’s pick-up, and results in increased productivity and reduced operator fatigue.

Extended i-Solutions for sprayers

John Deere has extended its intelligent, innovative and integrated solutions for trailed sprayers by introducing additional technologies that increase productivity, minimise operator error, reduce costs and protect the environment throughout all stages of the spraying process, from filling to spraying and diluting chemical residues.

A number of challenging farming conditions continue to face larger arable farms and co-ops, including the correct timing of spray applications, changing weather conditions, higher spraying speeds, reduced application rates and increasing environmental restrictions, all of which affect their overall economic prospects. John Deere’s extended i-Solutions are designed to give customers the confidence that their spraying operation will result in the best possible crop care and health.

Extended i-Solutions consist of a new tank fill calculator, the Sprayer Pro automatic boom master and section control system, and the Auto Dilute continuous spray dilution system. With these features, John Deere offers a completely new and fully integrated system to fill the sprayer more accurately with chemicals and water, to spray more accurately and to dilute chemical residues in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way possible.

Based on the actual application rate and the remaining area that needs to be sprayed, the new tank fill calculator works out the amount of chemical and water required per individual fill or partial refill for the entire spray application, and can print off the details for the operator.

Using a GPS signal, Sprayer Pro automatically controls the spray boom master valve and individual section valves at the headland and on irregular shaped fields. It switches them on and off more accurately than any operator is able to do manually.

Auto Dilute manages the controlled dilution of residual liquid in the sprayer after an application. Depending on the chemicals used previously and the next crop to be sprayed, the operator can choose a preset menu programme to initiate the most efficient dilution and rinsing process.

Advanced solutions for implement steering In the satellite guidance market, John Deere already offers a wide range of steering systems to meet all customer needs. Two advanced guidance solutions are now available that go beyond the level of automatic tractor steering, to provide passive and active implement guidance. These are designed to enable implements to operate in a straight line even on difficult, hilly terrain, and to meet the very high demands of speciality crop farmers.

The John Deere iGuide system for passive implement steering automatically keeps trailed implements on track, and therefore helps to avoid gaps and overlaps. iGuide works with a highly accurate positioning signal (within +/-2cm) provided by a second StarFire RTK satellite receiver mounted on the implement itself. The tractor is then able to compensate fully for implement drift on slopes as well as in curves.

Work quality is dramatically improved and tramline or row spacing is significantly more accurate, with further benefits when using the rows or tramlines for subsequent fertiliser and crop protection applications. The iGuide system can be fitted to all trailed implements when working with John Deere AutoTrac tractors equipped with a GreenStar 2 display and a StarFire RTK signal.

John Deere well positioned for the future

John Deere’s management sees the business well positioned for the future, announced the company at the opening of its new European Technology and Innovation Centre (ETIC) in Kaiserslautern, Germany in June 2010. A promising long-term outlook for the agricultural market, a commitment to innovative technology and a series of significant investments should help John Deere benefit from the recovering economy, it said.

“Besides world population growth, improved diets and the demand for renewable energies, the need for additional infrastructure in key regions such as Russia, the CIS, Latin America and Asia are strong drivers for our industry,” said Chris Wigger, vice-president marketing and sales for Region 2 (Europe, the CIS, Northern Africa, Near and Middle East). “As arable land gradually expands in these regions, more commodities are produced and have to be brought to market.”

For John Deere, one of the great opportunities to meet future challenges lies in the development of innovative technology. Despite the weak economy, in 2009 the company invested almost US $1 billion in research and development; that is approximately US $4.5 million every working day, or more than 4 per cent of its machinery sales revenues.

One of the company’s major recent investments has been the new ETIC in Kaiserslautern, which officially opened a week ago and complements similar facilities in the United States and India. Currently, 90 engineers, computer experts and technicians at ETIC spearhead the development of advanced technologies and intelligent solutions for precision farming and other applications.

“This new environment will help John Deere to make a quantum leap as the company adapts its precision farming products to the standards of the Galileo and GLONASS satellite systems, and further expands the levels of automation between man and machine and between machine and implement,” said Professor Dr Peter Pickel, ETIC’s deputy director.

Under the economically challenging conditions of 2009, John Deere also embarked on a US $125 million investment programme in Russia. Within just nine months of the official announcement, the company established a complete assembly factory in Domodedovo near Moscow. This now produces large horsepower tractors, two lines of high-performance combines and selected construction and forestry products.

The same location accommodates John Deere’s new EurAsia Parts Distribution Centre, which supplies dealers and customers throughout the CIS region with parts, merchandise and accessories.

Other investments in the region include the expansion of the company’s parts distribution network. Approximately US $60 million are currently being invested in the expansion of John Deere’s European Parts Distribution Centre (EPDC) in Bruchsal and a new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) near Stockholm in Sweden.

In addition, John Deere continuously invests in the enhancement of its product range and dealer and distributor network, to further improve the company’s worldwide infrastructure, product support and financing solutions.

“All these investments are designed to supply our customers with the best possible products tailored to their individual needs, be they small part-time farmers, medium-sized arable or livestock farmers, large arable farmers or contractors,” added Chris Wigger.

John Deere AMS marks 10 years of precision farming success

At the opening of John Deere’s new European Technology and Innovation Centre (ETIC) in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in June 2010, Dr Thomas Engel, general manager of John Deere Agricultural Management Solutions (AMS) in Europe, took the opportunity to look back upon his division’s achievements.

Having started in 2001 with the first generation GreenStar display and StarFire satellite receiver, along with John Deere’s yield mapping and parallel tracking system, AMS has gained an increasing share of the precision farming market over the past 10 years and is now considered to be one of the market leading system suppliers in Europe.

Explaining the success of the company’s precision farming technologies, Dr Engel highlighted two key factors: “John Deere is the only agricultural equipment manufacturer that develops and manufactures its own high-tech components in-house, such as the StarFire receivers, controllers and GreenStar displays for guidance systems. We can therefore offer fully integrated guidance and telematics solutions, with access to all other machine components.

“This level of integration helps us to achieve a high degree of automation, not only in guidance applications but also for increasing machine performance and efficiency. Another John Deere exclusive is our own StarFire correction network, which provides our satellite receiver customers with a choice of accuracy levels, depending on their needs.”

AMS Europe was officially established in summer 2000. At that time, just 15 employees started to develop satellite-based guidance systems as well as telematics applications. Subsequently, the AMS product range has been enhanced and diversified to meet changing customer requirements in the key areas of productivity, documentation and farm business management. For example, in 2002 John Deere introduced the AutoTrac fully automated guidance system, which has since become a best seller.

“Today, all large John Deere tractors and combines in Europe and the CIS are sold AutoTrac-ready, so they can be easily equipped with complete guidance systems to optimise their performance,” said Dr Engel. To date, John Deere has sold more than 100,000 StarFire receivers worldwide and a similar number of AutoTrac systems, with a significant percentage of these sales in Europe.

Another fully integrated innovation has been the HarvestLab system for self-propelled forage harvesters, which analyses and documents the crop’s dry matter content and automatically adjusts the length of cut. Future sensors could also be used to measure such ingredients as protein and fibre.

High-end precision farming

“Now that guidance systems and basic documentation are becoming more commonplace, we are widening our focus,” Dr Engel added. “We are now concentrating on the next level of RTK-based precision farming applications that can deliver even higher levels of accuracy and operator comfort.”

The latest generation of AMS guidance systems includes iTEC Pro (intelligent Total Equipment Control), for fully automated headland management, as well as iGuide and iSteer solutions for passive and active implement steering. “With iGuide, we can compensate for implement drift on slopes or hilly terrain,” said Dr Engel. “Using iSteer, the implement takes active control to keep itself on the right track, which is extremely beneficial for speciality and row crop farmers.”

Moreover, AMS helps farmers to exploit the benefits of documentation, such as lower input costs, optimum yields, reduced environmental impact and increased productivity. Using GreenStar documentation, customers are able to carry out map-based variable rate applications – the basis of site-specific farming. And with the JDLink wireless communication system, John Deere has also developed telematic solutions for fleet management, remote machine diagnostics and maintenance.

The future is open to all

When it comes to the development of new AMS solutions, compatibility and versatility become increasingly important. “Depending on the required level of integration, John Deere systems are also available for use with other makes of equipment,” said Dr Engel. ”Our first product of this kind was the AutoTrac Universal steering kit introduced in 2006, which brought the benefits of our established AutoTrac system to a customer’s complete machinery fleet. This was followed in 2008 by the GreenStar Lightbar, our entry-level manual guidance solution.”

But this open approach does not just mean being able to transfer a guidance system from one machine to another. Since 2001, AMS Europe has also been committed to the ISOBUS standard. “ISOBUS standardises data communication between tractor, implement and farm management systems,” said Dr Engel. “We are actively engaged in the implementation and further development of the ISOBUS standard, so that we can support our customers in the future all year round, across all their field and business operations – no matter what kind of implement they use.

“An important step on this road to an open future is our automatic section control system for sprayers, seeders, planters and spreaders. The new Application Pro Universal modules work with John Deere ISOBUS implements that support section control functionality, as well as with specified third-party implements. This option is unique within the precision farming market.”

And what is beyond ISOBUS? Dr Engel concluded: “With the integration of other global navigation satellite systems such as Galileo and the Russian GLONASS into our StarFire receiver network, as well as many other opportunities for further automation and electrification, there remains much more to do for our 80 AMS staff members and the several hundred AMS experts in John Deere’s sales branches and dealers across Europe – our best years are yet to come.”


C.Smart Agricultural Services Bourne Park, Piddlehinton, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7TU