Utility tractors weren’t the only vehicles we got to ride and drive at the John Deere Drive Green product launch. We also saw the new Gators.
This one you see is a customized unit that’s got a monster sound system built in. It came out blasting a little “Thunderstruck” from ACDC (the ringer on my phone!).
It’s a good example of what you can do with one of these if you want to.
I took a ride with John Gilbeck in a Gator XUV. We went around the obstacle course with me holding the camera.
I let him explain all the new features of these great utility vehicles.
If you’d like, you can listen to my interview with John here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
You can also download it with this link: Gator Ride (mp3)
A panel of six representatives from major farm equipment manufacturers took seats on a panel at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis Thursday to discuss “The Next Generation of Ag Show” - AG CONNECT expo, scheduled for January 12-15, 2010 in Orlando.
The executives, from left to right, were Doug DeVries, Deere and Company; Doug Griffin, AGCO; John Koetz, Case IH; Rusty Fowler, Krone NA; Gary MacDonald, MacDon Industries; and Dick Brown, Krause Corp. They are all very excited and supportive of the new show which promises to be a “worldwide and world-class experience; bringing the world of agriculture together in one gathering place for the benefit of exhibitors, producers, government, media, and all key industry leaders.”
We heard some of Doug DeVries comments about AG CONNECT in an earlier post, but I also had the opportunity to visit one on one with three of the other execs on the panel who have all been involved in developing the event as part of the show committee.
John Koetz of Case IH says, “What’s different here is that it’s designed around what the producers have been asking for. They are looking for more than just seeing the machines, they are looking for what are going to be the solutions, they want to interact with each other and industry experts, both here in the United States and internationally.”
Listen to John’s interview here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Gary MacDonald of MacDon, which is a family-owned manufacturer of harvest machinery based in Winnipeg, thinks AG CONNECT will be the biggest thing to hit the industry in many years because of its global nature. “Going back 20-25 years, our market was 80 percent Canadian and 20 percent US, today the breakdown is 35 percent Canada, 35 percent US and heading toward 30 percent outside North America. So the export market has grown tremendously.”
Listen to Gary’s interview here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Dick Brown of Krause says the show is a vision that started about 15 years ago. “We realized that equipment is just one part of a farming system and we needed to bring all of the elements of the farming system together to have a world class event.” He says the show is patterned to some extent on Germany’s AgriTechnica, but even more diverse in terms of what it offers for producers.
Listen to Dick’s interview here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The other major line of utility tractor just launched by John Deere is the 6D Series. I spoke with Brett about this new tractor while we were out in the field at the media event in Sarasota, FL.
– In today’s competitive work, farm, and ranch environment, many customers are looking for an economical utility tractor with more horsepower and better performance to handle common chores and still provide a comfortable working environment for the operator. Building on the popular 6003 Series Tractors, the new 6D Series provides even more features and value for the dollar
“The top three models are powered by a 4.5L PowerTech™ E diesel engine with a high-pressure common rail (HPCR) injection system,” says Alejandro Galindo, product manager, John Deere Waterloo Tractor Works. “These efficient engines are designed to provide power when needed to handle even the toughest jobs.”
The 6100D features a field-proven, fuel-efficient 100-hp PowerTech™ engine with rotary fuel injection pump. It’s designed to deliver excellent power and lugging ability in a variety of work situations.
If you’d like, you can listen to my interview with Brett here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
One of the new utility tractors that John Deere has just launched is the 5D, 5E, 5E Limited and 5M Series. To learn more about it I spoke with Blake Barnes at one of our field stops during this week’s media event.
Utility tractors ranging from 45 – 105 engine horsepower have many uses for property owners, commercial operators, governmental maintenance fleets, and livestock and farm operations. To better serve the diverse requirements of these different type customers, John Deere introduces a new line of utility tractors: the 5D, 5E, 5E Limited and 5M Series. These new tractors are designed to perform any application, with any implement, within any budget to meet the needs of any customer in the utility tractor market.
“This is the most complete line of utility tractors we’ve ever offered,” says Rex Edmunds, division marketing manager, John Deere Augusta. “We’ve designed these tractors to meet the requirements of many different customers with many different applications, and we’re providing a wide array of options to bring the optimal configuration and horsepower to their operation.”
If you’d like, you can listen to my interview with Blake here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The first stop on our John Deere, Drive Green, media event was an introduction to the new utility tractors. Dan Pashke (in video, not this picture) gave us the rundown with the who/what/where/when and why. In this video clip you’ll also see some demonstrations of the machines. All the new utility tractors use the new John Deere name/numbering system.
What’s in a name? Quite a bit actually – especially when it comes to tractors. John Deere announces it’s currently transitioning to a new name and number system for its full line of tractors with the introduction of the new 5D, 5E, 5M, and 6D Series Tractors.
“The updated name and numbering system is unique to John Deere and allows for a more consistent approach to naming our equipment around the world,” says Steve Robisky, John Deere marketing administration manager. “This new system allows customers to more quickly and easily identify the engine horsepower of a tractor, its capability, and its size by looking at the hood decal,” Robisky adds.
Each new tractor model number has six available positions. The first position is a number and represents its size. The second, third, and fourth positions are numbers and denote its approximate engine horsepower according to 97/68/EC Standards. The fifth position is a letter and indicates its capability and/or price level within its family.
A preview of the new generation of ag show - AG CONNECT 2010 - was offered to ag executives meeting Thursday in St. Louis.
Sara Truesdale Mooney has the job of show manager for this ambitious new ag show being organized by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and she says they have taken a very deliberate approach in developing AG CONNECT.
“We conducted a lot of research with producers,” Sara told me. “And from that research we developed a number of event features that would be unique to AG CONNECT.”
Some of those features include networking, the ability to interact with product specialists and engineers about equipment and new products, more information about precision farming and new technology. Sara says they are really developing a one-stop shop ag show. “We’re going to be putting on a world class agribusiness event that is not just exhibits, not just an equipment show - it’s new products, innovations, technologies, services, inputs - everything you need for your business.”
All of the information about AG CONNECT is available on-line at agconnect.com.
Listen to an interview with Sara here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer discussed some of the big issues facing agriculture today and in the future during an address to agribusiness company executives meeting in St. Louis Thursday for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers AgExecutive Forum.
Two primary issues he addressed were trade and renewable energy, as well as the importance of the financial rescue plan passed by Congress last week, which he said was absolutely necessary although he expects it will take some time for it to work. “It’s sort of like reining in a team of runaway horses,” Schafer said. “You gotta really haul back on those reins hard for a long period of time before they start calming down.”
Schafer says the agriculture sector is in strong financial shape, with high commodity prices helping farmers to pay down debt and the competitive dollar boosting ag exports to record levels. “Despite increases we have seen in the cost of fuel and fertilizer and other inputs, we expect net farm income to post an all time high again this year at a little over $100 billion,” Schafer said.
Listen to Schafer’s address here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
One of our field stops at the John Deere Drive Green event was focused on the Frontier line of tractor attachments.
In this video clip you’ll see our presenter tell us about Frontier and how John Deere acquired the line to allow them to provide more options to their customers.
He also points out some of the new items they have out this year, including some that target the equine market.
I hope you enjoyed Cindy’s live webcast this morning from the AEM AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis. I’ve held off some posts from my location for that. She’s got recordings of Sec. Schafer’s speech and the panel discussion that followed on AGCONNECT 2010.
So, let’s get on with stories from the John Deere, Drive Green event. The Director of Tactical Marketing for John Deere is Larry Christenson, seen here being interviewed by Ron Hayes, Oklahoma Farm Report, during our day in the field with the new utility tractors.
I interviewed Larry after Ron and got an overview of what’s new from John Deere. As you’ll hear Larry say, it’s “The Year of The Utility Tractor.” He says they have about 2,400 dealers come here to participate in riding and driving their new equipment. He says this rural lifestyle customer is very important to their company and that’s why they’ve placed so much focus on it this year. When it comes to communicating with this market, he says their dealer network is a key component in their plan.
If you’d like, you can listen to my interview with Larry here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Joining in progress - I joined the panel a few minutes late, but here are the people you are hearing and seeing - left to right.
Doug DeVries, Deere and Company; Doug Griffin, AGCO; John Koetz, Case IH; Rusty Fowler, Krone NA; Gary MacDonald, MacDon Industries; Dick Brown, Krause Corp.
The topic of this discussion is the AGCONNECT 2010 trade show. Here’s the recording of the presentation:
Okay - here we are set up at the AEM AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis for a live webcast on Ustream - AgWired Live TV.
This is the first time I have used this tool - free live webcasting. I have a great internet connection here in the Renaissance Grand hotel and a really great set up in front of the podium. I must give credit to the hotel AV technician who has been the best I have ever dealt with. Too often we have two or three AV techs who are either incompetent or just don’t care. This guy - and I will get his name and post a photo later - has been amazing.
I do have photos started from last night’s reception, but I am not real pleased with them. I am using Chuck’s D200 because we have three events next week and John Davis will be using the camera I normally use. So, I am still getting used to the “big boy” camera.
The plan now is to webcast Ed Schafer live at 8:00 central - I will then upload the recording of his address during the break and live webcast the panel on The Next Generation of Ag Show starting at 9:15. That’s the plan - stay tuned.
Here is the recorded video of the Secretary’s address:
The host for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis this week is Doug DeVries, Senior Vice President of Ag Equipment Marketing for Deere & Company - shown here doing a little pre-event prep work on Wednesday night. Doug heads up AEM’s Ag Executive Council which represents the farm machinery segment of the equipment manufacturers organization. He passed up being in Sarasota this week for the big Deere event that Chuck is covering to be at this event because of it’s importance to the industry.
“We’re going to have a broad range of discussions about a number of issues around what’s happening in the industry today,” Doug told me. That includes economic issues, renewable energy, commodity prices and more.
Doug says he is really looking forward to introducing plans for the new AG CONNECT 2010 expo. “We’re really excited about AG CONNECT as the first AEM-sponsored, agricultural equipment show that is brought to our customers by the industry and for the industry,” he said. “We believe it will be a different type of experience for people.” He is most excited about the global focus of the expo and the educational opportunities they plan to offer.
Listen to an interview with Doug here - and tune in for AgWired Live TV from the AgExecutive Forum Thursday starting at 8:00 am central with Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer followed by a discussion about AG CONNECT with Doug and several of his industry colleagues who are helping to plan and support the new show.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
At today’s John Deere product launch we went to classes on utility tractors. I think we had about 6 different stations where we could listen to presentations and then get to ride and drive on our own.
One item that got a lot of attention today was the new easily detachable underbelly mowers for these utility tractors. After you drop them on the ground there are just 2 latches to undo and then you can back off over top of the mower. There’s no need to pull the heavy mower out from under the tractor. Then you just drive back on top of the mower and it automatically latches itself back on to the tractor.
I shot a short video clip at the demonstration station where this new product was being showcased.
I’ll have a lot more content from today’s event but it’s late and Cindy will be on live blogging the AEM AgExecutive Forum in the morning while we’re in presentations from John Deere representatives here at the hotel.
Tomorrow this room will be filled with executives from agricultural equipment companies and associated industries, here in St. Louis for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers AgExecutive Forum. And AgWired is set up to webcast some of the proceedings live starting at 8 am central time with an address by Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer.
AEM Vice President of Ag Services Charlie O’Brien says the purpose of the forum is to bring leaders in the industry together and provide them with the latest information about factors that are impacting the business.
AEM hold the forum every year but one of the main differences about this year is the focus on plans for AG CONNECT 2010, a new ag trade show that has been developed by many leaders in the farm equipment industry who are members of AEM. “It’s a concept that has been talked about for awhile and now it’s actually coming to be,” Charlie told me. Some of those who have helped in the development of AG CONNECT are among the largest ag equipment manufacturers in the world.
Listen to an interview with Charlie here - and tune in for AgWired Live TV from the AgExecutive Forum starting at 8:00 am central.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
We’re getting ready to “Drive Green” here in Sarasota, FL. Dozens of media representatives are gathered here to ride and drive some new John Deere tractors. The company announced their new line of utility tractors in the 5 and 6 Series. I’ll have pictures and video after we go out there later today.
This morning at the registration table I spoke with Barry Nelson, Public Relations Manager, about what’s new from John Deere. He said, “We introduced a new series of utility tractor. In fact, this is so significant for us this year, we’re calling it the “Year of the Utility Tractor.” The new tractors will display the new John Deere numbering system and come in sizes from 40 to 140HP. Barry says they bring their dealers here every year for training and thought that with all the equipment on hand, it provided a good opportunity for the media to get on them as well.
Barry says this event kicks off their “Drive Green” project which includes having these tractors driven by truck to various locations around the southeast and set up for their customers to test drive.
You can listen to my interview with Barry here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Schafer will be addressing concerns related to the future of agriculture in our global economy and how agribusiness and renewable energies may impact agribusiness. Other highlights of the forum include Going Global in the Ag Industry: Trade Barriers, Obstacles and Partnerships, presented by economist and futurist Dr. Jay Lehr, science director with The Heartland Institute; an AEM Public Policy Update from Nick Yaksich, Vice President, Global Public Policy of AEM; Renewable Energy: What are the Real Costs and Benefits? by Terry Francl of the American Farm Bureau Federation, and much more.
A major feature of the event will be a look ahead to “The Next Generation of Ag Show” - AG CONNECT 2010. AEM members from Krause Corporation, Deere & Company, Krone NA, AGCO, Case IH and MacDon Industries will all be discussing what is ahead for this major new show scheduled for January 12-15, 2010, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
A panel discussion on commodity trends will feature Fred Stemme, vice president of marketing, National Corn Growers Association, Steve Censky, chief executive officer, American Soybean Association, and Alan Tracy, president, U.S. Wheat Associates.
AgWired will be covering the forum from start to finish this week, so stay tuned for live updates - including streaming video of the Secretary’s address at 8:15 am central time on Thursday, assuming the internet allows. Both audio interviews and photos will be available for media to download here on the site.
If you like pictures and especially if you like taking them then you’re probably wondering what to do with all of them in this digital world. So I thought I’d give you a few ideas. Of course you can print them but if you travel around a lot then what? Well, you can keep them on your computer’s hard drive and display them on the monitor. That works. You can get a nice digital picture frame for a shelf.
But what if you’re like me and have 133 GB of photos (over 40,000 and counting)? Kind of fills up your hard drive. So, I’ve been looking into options and decided I wanted some kind of gadget to carry them around with so I can show them to people wherever I am. With all the event photography we do here at ZimmComm, this is really helpful.
I took a picture of 3 different viewer options we have. The top one is my iPod Touch (16GB), the middle one is Cindy’s HP df300a3 digital picture frame (sd card) and the bottom one is my new Archos 5 (250GB) Internet Media Tablet.
I opted to carry my whole photo library around with me. It serves as an extra backup since I’ve got the full files on the device and I can view any photo, anytime. Additionally, this gadget connects to wifi so I can go online with a full brower and it plays video and audio. I’m mainly looking at it as a glorified picture viewer with a lot of other capabilities. With a 250 GB hard drive in it, I won’t be filling up the memory any time soon! It is larger and heavier than the others but still fits in my pocket.
Cindy’s picture frame has a very tiny internal memory but will accept an sd card filled with photos. It’s the smallest and lightest of all of these and very easy to use.
My iPod Touch is also a functional media “tablet” but with 16 GB of memory I can’t fit all my photos on it, even if I scale them down. At least I haven’t tried to. If they would all fit, it would be nice but then I wouldn’t have the originals with me, which is a bonus of the Archos 5.
What are your favorite ways to deal with digital photos?
At last week’s Farm Progress Show (yes, I know, but I’m getting caught up) I met Jim Moellenberndt, New Holland Business Manager, Cash Crops. He was proudly displaying the “largest combine in North America” because “Size Matters.”
He’s standing next to a 9080 CR Combine. He says, “It’s the largest combine in North America, 523 Max HP. It’s just a real awesome machine.” He says they’ve had one running on a wheat harvest job and that it has done a fantastic job. A lot of people have been approaching him and commenting on the horse power, saying they remember using one with 90 HP.
I asked him if they gave quantity discounts for these monsters. He says they’ll gladly “work with you” all the way up to a half dozen! They were taking orders at the show for a July 2009 delivery. Get your name on the list today!
You can listen to my interview with Jim here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
All it takes to find out what kind of soils and elements are found in a plot of land is just a bit of electric charge. Veris Technologies has developed a method for determining soil ratios using electricity:
“What we’re looking at here is using AC voltage or very low voltage injecting it into the soil with two electrodes,” Paul Drummond said. “Then, we’re actually measuring the voltage with another pair and the conductivity is actually driven by the sand, silt, clay content of the soil. So the heavy clays are highly conductive, silts are in the mid-range and sands are very poor conductors.”
Paul says the electric-shocking instrument will take readings every second and will read the conductivity of each particular location. This, he says, offers the farmer information on the relative sand, silt or clay differential or texture within the particular area of the field. Paul says farmers can then use this information to “generate a yield potential map and ultimately an input map based on those soil differential zones.”
Paul says soil conductivity is an old technology that dates back to mining exploration in the 1920s, but Veris is the first to use the technology for agricultural applications. Paul adds that the agricultural climate today is ripe for the development and adaption of such precision ag technologies:
“In the last few months we’ve seen inputs just rise dramatically, and if you’re going to stay competitive in this environment you’re really going to have to pinpoint your inputs and really minimize your expense on areas that aren’t very productive,” Paul said. “It’s really the time for precision ag to really become a reality.”
I interviewed Paul about Veris’ electric soil mapping technology. You can listen to my interview with Paul here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
There are two kinds of information that are important for Pessl Instruments: “ground truth” and expected forecasts. The Austria-based company claims that it offers a one-of-a-kind tool for farmers:
“What we do is we measure the ground truth,” Gottfried Pessl, President of Pessl Instruments said. “That means what’s going on actually on the field of the farmers but we now also bring in the weather forecast. The weather forecast comes from a Swiss company we have teamed up with and this Swiss company delivers us a five day weather forecast in real-time for that particular farm.”
Gottfried adds that the technology is based entirely on the internet giving farmers the option of accessing the “ground truth” and weather forecast information on any internet capable electronic device, such as a cell phone.
“We have a wireless system which brings the data in a centralized server and through that centralized server our clients can worldwide have real time access to the data,” Gottfried said.
The information collected from Pessl Instruments, Gottfried explained, is valuable for irrigation management for plant protection requirements. He says the collected data can help farmers “optimize the use of the chemicals, to prevent the diseases to prevent insect pest outbreaks and also to have a full traceability of their crop.” Plus, he says using weather forecast data together with real-time weather helps farmers schedule their farm operations associated with the weather, such as harvest sprays.
“Most of the activities on the farm are very much dependent on if the weather is good or the weather is bad,” Gottfried said.
The company now exports tools and technology to about 70 countries.
I interviewed Gottfried about his products and technology. You can listen to my interview with Gottfried here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 6 or above) is required to play this audio clip. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Cindy attended the AEM AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis and captured it in photos.
Dairy Expo Talk
This week's program features a couple of interviews from World Dairy Expo.
First up is Stephanie Gable, who talks about her new job with Novus International, then it's Lindsay Hill, who talks about the new website and brand decisions at ABN Radio.