CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission and Case IH was spotlighting its benefits over power shift during Commodity Classic, both at their exhibit and during a WIN session.
“The advantage of having a completely variable transmission is that you can allow the computer to operate both the engine and the transmission to dial in the ’sweet spot’ for power and for fuel consumption with the tractor,” says John Bohnker, Case IH marketing manager.
The technology has been around for many years, but Case just recently narrowed it up to use in row crop applications. CVT is now available on Case IH MagnumTM 180, 190, 210 and the new 225 tractors, as well as the Puma 165 to 225 series. “If you look at North America, the row crop tractor is the area where there’s a strong demand for variable transmission,” Bohnker said. “In particular, the sugar beet and potato areas, as well as the Midwest row crops.”
Listen to or download my interview with John below.
At the request of several people lately, I’m posting what’s in my MOJO. I haven’t done this for a couple of years. You read the last post and compare what’s different. So here’s what’s in my MOJO (mobile journalism kit).
Now I don’t carry all this gear with me on all trips. I generally configure my pack according to what I’m going to need to do while on location. Having these items gives me lots of options and backups. For example, with an app like Speakeasy on my iPhone I can and do conduct high quality interviews without even having to use a special digital audio recorder. I’m sure you’re now going to ask what software I use. Okay, here’s a partial list that doesn’t include other apps I use on my iPhone:
There are times when my Big Mac is busy or I just don’t want to pull it out of my Mojo (mobile journalism kit). That’s when I’ll be using my new HP Mini 311. I figure that I can still do email and web app functions without having to get all kinds of new software since I just don’t want/need PC stuff. This box has Windows 7 but I’m using Firefox. I don’t recommend IE in any version on my worst enemy.
The photo was edited with Photoshop.com. It’s an online version of the only software currently worth using to edit photos. You can get a free account with 2GB of online storage, download the Photoshop.com Uploader and keep online folders/albums in sync with your desktop. Now how cool is that? One thing I would suggest you keep in mind regarding netbooks like this one. They don’t replace your notebook. Think of them as a convenient, small gadget that can enhance your mobile work experience.
I’ve been asked about some gadgets a number of times lately and am getting ready to do an updated version of my mobile ag journalism kit post from May of 2008. It’s going to be interesting to see the changes (and there are changes).
While I’m attending the Grains Council Conference, Cindy and Carly are covering the National Ethanol Conference. They’re broadcasting the opening general session live right now. Afterward we’ll be posting a recording of it for you you to view at your leisure.
*Post update*
Below is the recorded video of the opening general session which includes comments from Renewable Fuels Association chairman Chris Standlee, President and CEO Bob Dinneen and part of the first session on the RFS2.
The good news is that it’s not snowing now – the bad news is that Louisville got a record one day snowfall of seven inches yesterday, which delayed lots of flights coming in for the National Farm Machinery Show.
It is pretty cold here – with 28 degrees the official temperature and 16 with the wind chill. So, it is a little slow to start this morning, but I am sure things will get moving right along soon.
Stay tuned here for coverage from the entire show.
AgWired coverage of opening day at the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:
Earlier this week Ag Leader Technology added the patent-pending SureVac electric row shutoff to their lineup of planter section shutoff devices. Since I was at the Iowa Power Farming Show I stopped in and learned all about it from Chad Huedepohl. You can watch the interview or just listen to it below. Here’s the details:
SureVac provides today’s precision farming operation with an easily- installed, zero-maintenance solution to reduce seed costs and increase yield potential.
SureVac is designed for John Deere Pro-SeriesTM XP row units, but is also compatible with any John Deere vacuum seed meter manufactured in the last 20 years. In addition to John Deere corn and soybean seed disks, SureVac supports the eSet® vacuum disk from Precision Planting.
Chad says SureVac is an electric row shutoff made to shut off the seed placement per row on a row by row basis. He says this benefits the farmer user by saving on seed and avoiding “doubles” such as on point rows.
Apple just announced its newest creation – the iPad. There is an agricultural slant to this story. What is it? The continuing development of information technology that’s changing the way we market and engage our audience.
I can see me using one of these to participate in AgChat for example. Or do just about anything else I want to do on the web. Will it replace my Mac? No. Do I want one? Yes. I’m on the notification list for when they become available
A large, high-resolution LED-backlit, IPS display. An incredibly responsive Multi-Touch screen. And an amazingly powerful, Apple-designed chip. All in a design that’s thin and light enough to take anywhere. iPad isn’t just the best device of its kind. It’s a whole new kind of device.
The high-resolution, 9.7 inch LED-backlit, IPS display on iPad is remarkably crisp and vivid. Which makes it perfect for web browsing, watching movies, or showing off photos. It’s also been designed to work in any orientation — portrait or landscape. And because it uses a display technology called IPS (in-plane switching), it has a wide, 178° viewing angle. So you can hold it almost any way you want, and still get a brilliant picture, with excellent color and contrast.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has released their 2010 outlook for agricultural machinery. It looks like an expectation of continued “continued weakness in U.S. and Canadian tractor sales.” This is comes from a survey they conduct of members. So although this year’s outlook is somewhat negative, future years look much better.
For all sizes of two-wheel tractors, however, the declines are expected to be less steep than 2009 losses. Double-digit decreases are expected for four-wheel-drive tractors, following relatively flat business in 2009. Combine sales are predicted to drop in the double digits for 2010 after 2009 sales growth. Sales of tractors and combines are then predicted to start rebounding through 2011 and 2012.
For other types of farm-related equipment covered in the AEM survey, overall 2010 demand for most products in the U.S. and Canada is expected to improve after 2009 business declines. All categories are predicted to be in the plus column for 2011 and 2012.
Farmers who are considering growing miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock now have a tool to make it easier. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium held at the University of Illinois (U of I). Typically, miscanthus is a labor-intensive crop requiring multiple machines, and costly manual selection and grading – but not any longer.
Timothy Mies, Deputy Director of Operations at the Energy Biosciences Institute at the U of I, said, “When this project started, the propagation of rhizomes was done with shovels and lots of manual labor. These machines will take miscanthus production to a new level.”
The new machine is the result of a three-year collaboration between U of I, Tomax Ltd and Bermuda King USA. According to a news release from U of I, this machinery can lower the cost of miscanthus rhizome production by up to 40 percent and create opportunities for miscanthus to be used more widely as a high-yield bioenergy crop.
“Bioenergy feedstock processors require security for supply and unless we dealt with regeneration and planting issues for miscanthus, we simply couldn’t make progress,” said Gavin Maxwell, Tomax Ltd Senior Bioenergy Consultant.
In recent U.S. trials, the machine has demonstrated a 200 percent increase in rhizome collection over manual systems. this allows, says the research team, the opportunity for regional nurseries to more efficiently expand to meet the demand for both solid and liquid fuel conversion.
So here is how it works. The planter demonstrates a more uniform stream of rhizomes, enabling plant placement at a rate that matches rhizome weight, quality and ground conditions. The four-row planter incorporates separate feed hoppers and placement channels enabling it to be used for both two-row nursery work and larger scale plantations.
In addition, the harvester does bulk lifting of rhizomes on a continual basis with a patented one-pass digging head and oscillating de-soiler. Rhizomes exit via bulk side discharger conveying rootstock to an adjacent trailer. The speed of extraction allows faster transfer of rhizomes to storage which is a real benefit given the seasonal weather restrictions and narrow window of time that may prevail during the rhizome winter dormancy period.
The harvester and planter package will be available beginning this year and will be available for expanded grower crops in time for the 2011 season.
I spent quite a bit of time in the Case IH booth during AG CONNECT Expo last week – AgriTalk broadcast live one day and the next AgDay TV taped its show. However, my education didn’t end there. I spent a few minutes learning about Case IH’s dedication to helping farmers gain more efficiency from John Bohnker.
“A lot of farming is based upon efficiency. We’ve got to get more efficient operations. There are fewer farmers farming more acres. So we deal a lot with efficiency. If you look at our combines, we’re getting bigger and bigger combines. Bigger heads, wider operations, so we can do more operations with less manpower and get the process done faster,” said Bohnker.
Case IH is focusing strongly on its CDT technology where they are “doing a better job of finding the sweetspot” with energy efficiency. “We’re doing a better job of getting the energy to the ground, power to the ground where we need it,” said Bohnker.
I asked Bohnker about the growing concerns over sustainability and profitability and he stressed that they have to go together. “Farmers are really the truest green people on the earth. They have to earn a living on the land, and long-term they have to keep the farm economical but they understand the environment is the right place.”
The company is developing some new equipment that pares sustainability and profitability together, in particular, a prototype baler that is being designed to pick up corn cobs and stover for cellulosic ethanol production. By enabling the farmer to harvest this biomass, he can get more revenue off the same amount of land. The equipment is not quite ready for production yet, but it’s close; however, their other equipment is in the pipeline and ready to go for the upcoming planting season.
There were several international manufacturing equipment associations on hand at the AG CONNECT Expo including the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA), one of the show sponsors. I sat down with Michael Williams, the Vice President of Government Relations, to learn more about what his association does. This 110 year-old association has more than 5,000 members in the U.S. as well as several affiliates in Canada. Since its inception, they have been providing its members manufacturing relations and government relations as well as member relations services including freight programs, telephone programs and credit card programs.
During the show, NAEDA was approached by some of the international manufacturers to set up some dealer networks in the U.S. Williams said that there are two secenaries these manufacturers have. One is they have a patent pending and two an existing company wants a presence in the States. In order for NAEDA to help them, Williams said the patent must be approved first and then he needs to know if they are wanting to sell through a distributor or dealers. “We’re giving them suggestions about dealer agreements and tools that dealers need to take a new product international.”
In addition to these services, NAEDA also has a foundation that is almost as old as the association. The foundation is to aid members who have experienced a hardship like a hurricane or flood. They were very involved in Iowa last year during the flooding. “The best part of the foundation is that we’re very quick to react,”said Williams. A dealer in need can have a check in 48-60 hours.
There were many tractors and loaders filling the McCormick booth during AG CONNECT Expo, and each year about 80 percent of the company’s sales are international. Yet the success of the company wasn’t what was really exciting for Rodney Miller, the CEO. It was the success of the first AG CONNECT Expo. Miller was involved in the 18 months of planning this first American international agricultural show.
“I think we really needed an international show in America for a long time. It’s way overdue,” said Miller. “I think this is definitely a different type of show. It’s on a another level. Education and training seminars are far superior. There’s a lot of connecting points from dealers of the show and exhibit space is much higher caliber. There are a lot of executives here unlike the other shows so I really think this takes it to another level.”
Many people came to McCormick’s booth to encourage them, along with other American-based companies, to invest more overseas in investment and education. While Miller agreed that this should happen, he also said that more international ag companies should consider investing in America’s agricultural industry.
Miller noted that they looked at the show as an investment in the company’s future. While there are other ag shows in the country, he suggested that putting them on a rotating schedule would be more effective since there are so many shows each year. The next AG CONNECT will be held in Atlanta in 2011 but after that the show will only be held every two years.
In closing, Miller said that he’s really excited about where this show will take the industry. “I think this is going to be a good thing for the industry and that is ultimately what we want. What’s good for the industry.”
For the sixth year in a row, Claas of America, based in Omaha, Neb. has won several AE50 awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) that honors ground breaking industry innovation. The company’s new technology, the Orbis 900, mounts in front of the forage harvester. The advantage is capacity – the width of the head now matches better with the horsepower of the Jaquar 860, explained Bob Armstrong, with Claas. “So you can really get the maximum capacity of that machine.”
Chop quality is also an important feature. “Chop quality is a key thing. That is what dairy men and cattlemen are looking for when they feed their animals – what kind of high quality feed, consistency of feed and how well the corn cracked. The cross Jaquar delivers all that.”
In addition, Claas showcased its Crop Tiger which is a small combine which has drawn a lot of attention. It was originally designed for rice harvesting but can also tackle grain. The Crop Tiger is not available in the U.S. but was featured during the show due to it’s international audience.
The Lexion Combine 585 was also on display. The most unique feature of this combine is that instead of tires the combine has tracks, “which became quite valuable this past year with the wet harvest we had,” said Armstrong.
The exhibitors at AG CONNECT Expo really invested a lot in their presentations and none more than Case IH in my opinion. I watched a couple of their floor shows and thought you might enjoy a look at one of them.
Centered in the exhibit is a whole command console to control lights and sound. It really is well done and attendees loved it. I heard that the whole thing was put together in 90 days. If that’s so, then whoever did it should get some real kudos.
One of the co-located events taking place with AG CONNECT EXPO is Agrievolution. Opening up the program this morning is Doug DeVries, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Services – Agriculture and Turf Division, John Deere. I spoke with him just prior to the start of the program. Doug is pictured on the right with Rusty Fowler, Krone NA and Martin Richenhagen, AGCO.
Doug says that over the years ag equipment companies have seen an opportunity to work more closely together so two years ago there was a first meeting of a broad range of equipment manufacturing groups from around the world who met in Rome to seek ways to work together for the benefit of the industry. He says it’s no coincidence that this second meeting in taking place in conjunction with AG CONNECT Expo. The show is a global showcase for agricultural technology and it made sense to co-locate Agrievolution. Participants are here from all over the world representing a high percentage of the industry. They’ll talk about the state of the industry today and then tomorrow meet in groups to determine areas of opportunity to come together as a broader set of organizations. And that leads them right into AG CONNECT Expo.
The first person I spoke with on the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo was Russell Fowler, President/CEO, Krone NA. Of course it’s still setup time so there was a lot of construction going on.
However, Russ took a few moments to talk about the company’s decision to become involved in the first ever show and share some of the new things visitors will see in their exhibit. He says the idea for this show goes back many years stemming from a desire “to have a show that was put together by the ag industry, for the ag industry.” That’s what he says AG CONNECT is all about. He says AEM has done so much work to put the show together that it “makes me tired.” Russ says Krone is taking the opportunity to put their best foot forward and will be showcasing among other things their new folding 12 row corn head for the Krone Big X self propelled forage harvester.
To tell us what’s new with John Deere I spoke to Matthew Arnold, Sr. Marketing Representative. Matthew was attending the NAFB Trade Talk to discuss the new 8R and 8RT tractors. These tractors range in horsepower from 225 to 345 with larger cabs and more fuel efficient engines. They also have a new suspension system on the 8RT Track models.
The new tractors were introduced to dealers in August and Matthew says the response has been great. The new cab is a feature that has really caught people’s attention since with the redesign the operator can swivel in the seat and have all the tractor’s command controls move with him.
You can listen to my interview with Matthew below:
Heads up farm podcasters and agribloggers. The new media game just ramped up a notch.
So you’ve got your iPhone and have mastered tweeting photos right? How about streaming live audio/video from it? Now you can thanks to the new Ustream.tv app.
I’ve already tried it and it works great. It uses either your 3G signal or wifi. It also integrates with your Twitter account to notify your followers that you’re now live.
Ustream.tv is the power behind Agwired Live TV. I’m thinking we may be doing even more of this in 2010.
I recently had the opportunity to go to Brazil to learn more about the sugarcane ethanol industry. While there, I also learned about several agricultural initiatives, including the country’s move to mechanized sugarcane harvesting. In the past, the sugarcane was harvested through what is widely known as slash and burn. Not only is this harmful to the environment, but not an economically sound approach.
In Brazil, sugarcane accounts for 8.14 million hectares of land or 2.5 percent of the arable land. Of that 2.5 percent, 1.5 percent is sugarcane for ethanol, while 48.1 percent of the country’s arable land is used for pasture for cattle. It is interesting to note that 87 percent of sugarcane production is in the state of Sao Paulo – no where near the Amazon Rain Forest.
This year the industry harvested 471.5 million tons, an increase of 7.5 percent from last year, even accounting for excessive rains that left a significant amount of sugarcane in the fields. So how many people does it take to harvest that much cane? The industry employs 850,000, of that 550,000 are cane cutters.
However, this is rapidly changing with the new mechanized harvest, spurred in part by the Green Protocol in Sao Paulo State. This protocol is an agreement between UNICA, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, and the Sao Paulo state government, to end sugarcane straw burning by 2014. By the 2008/09 harvest year, 49 percent of the harvest was mechanized.
I was able to see a mechanized harvest when I visited, along with 19 other international journalists, a sugarcane field in Ribeirao Preto. The fields were being harvested for sugarcane delivery to Pedra Agroindustrial sugar/ethanol mill. While the state average of mechanized harvesting is 48 percent, 77 percent of Pedra Agroindustrial’s fields were mechanically harvested. Unlike the corn ethanol industry, a large portion of land is owned by the sugar mill and the remainder of the sugarcane is purchased from farmers and suppliers. Here is a brief harvest video.
While mechanized harvesting is good news for the economic vitality of a mill as well as the environment, it is not good news for cane cutters. Therefore, to address the loss of jobs issue, the renovAcao program was developed to retrain 7,000 cane cutters to work in the sugar mills and ethnol plants as well as to work in other industries. The coordinators of the program are UNICA and Feraesp; Syngenta, John Deere and Case IH are sponsors; and funding comes from the Inter American Development Bank.
Tom Dean is the Marketing Manager for high horsepower tractors at Case IH (seen here in his NAFB Trade Talk booth). He says those are classified as 100+ horsepower. He says what’s new is the Magnum CVT Line. CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. He says the tractors are just now shipping this month.
They’re very simple to operate for any hired hand and very efficient. He says there are several models available in time for spring planting.
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Exposing HSUS
If you're involved in agriculture then you should become familiar with HumaneWatch.org.
HumaneWatch.org is the work of David Martosko and in this week's program you get to meet him via my phone conversation with him. He's compiling a great online library of information on this group.
CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission and Case IH was spotlighting its benefits over power shift during Commodity Classic, both at their exhibit and during a WIN session.
and 
The good news is that it’s not snowing now – the bad news is that Louisville got a record one day snowfall of seven inches yesterday, which delayed lots of flights coming in for the 
Apple just announced its newest creation – 
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has released their 
Farmers who are considering growing miscanthus as a bioenergy feedstock now have a tool to make it easier. After years of collaboration and research, a miscanthus rhizome regeneration harvester and planter system has been developed. The unveiling took place during the 
“Bioenergy feedstock processors require security for supply and unless we dealt with regeneration and planting issues for miscanthus, we simply couldn’t make progress,” said Gavin Maxwell, Tomax Ltd Senior Bioenergy Consultant.
I spent quite a bit of time in the 
Case IH is focusing strongly on its CDT technology where they are “doing a better job of finding the sweetspot” with energy efficiency. “We’re doing a better job of getting the energy to the ground, power to the ground where we need it,” said Bohnker.
During the show, NAEDA was approached by some of the international manufacturers to set up some dealer networks in the U.S. Williams said that there are two secenaries these manufacturers have. One is they have a patent pending and two an existing company wants a presence in the States. In order for NAEDA to help them, Williams said the patent must be approved first and then he needs to know if they are wanting to sell through a distributor or dealers. “We’re giving them suggestions about dealer agreements and tools that dealers need to take a new product international.”
There were many tractors and loaders filling the McCormick booth during 
Many people came to McCormick’s booth to encourage them, along with other American-based companies, to invest more overseas in investment and education. While Miller agreed that this should happen, he also said that more international ag companies should consider investing in America’s agricultural industry.
For the sixth year in a row, 
high quality feed, consistency of feed and how well the corn cracked. The cross Jaquar delivers all that.”
The exhibitors at AG CONNECT Expo really invested a lot in their presentations and none more than Case IH in my opinion. I watched a couple of their floor shows and thought you might enjoy a look at one of them.
One of the co-located events taking place with AG CONNECT EXPO is Agrievolution. Opening up the program this morning is Doug DeVries, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing Services – Agriculture and Turf Division, John Deere. I spoke with him just prior to the start of the program. Doug is pictured on the right with Rusty Fowler, Krone NA and Martin Richenhagen, AGCO.
The first person I spoke with on the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo was Russell Fowler, President/CEO, 
To tell us what’s new with John Deere I spoke to Matthew Arnold, Sr. Marketing Representative. Matthew was attending the NAFB Trade Talk to discuss the 
Tom Dean is the Marketing Manager for high horsepower tractors at Case IH (seen here in his NAFB Trade Talk booth). He says those are classified as 100+ horsepower. He says what’s new is the 
If you're involved in agriculture then you should become familiar with HumaneWatch.org.
