Near the start of our coverage from this year’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, Cindy talked to President and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board, Harold Workman, to get a preview of what was to come. After four big days with more than 800 exhibitors showing their latest and greatest for the ag industry, it only seemed fitting to go back to where we started and talk with Workman again to get his take on how things went. He says after a snowy start, the show has been a great success.
“We thought early on it would [be successful] because all of our exhibit space sold out very early.”
Of course, after a record one day snowfall for Louisville the night before the opening, Wednesday was a bit light. But Workman says every day since then has been great, and people really turned out. While he says they don’t have attendance numbers for this year’s show put together quite yet, his feel is that it will be pretty close to last year’s numbers when it was the second biggest on record. Workman says the good year grain farmers had last year could be a real economic stimulus for this country, as producers look to invest some of those profits in their operations in the coming year.
Workman adds that a show like this one also helps producers find the best deals on equipment and technology that will help them continue to be successful … and keep their economic stimulus going.
He says they’re already planning next year’s show … even already selling tickets to next year’s Championship Tractor Pull. But he says he would be remiss if he didn’t thank all the folks, including his staff and the show’s staff, for all their hard work.
It’s a great conversation, and you can hear more of it below.
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
One of the best parts of the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. is the cutting-edge technology you see in just about every booth along the way. Companies obviously know this gathering is the perfect place to show off what they’ve got and time the release of many products to coincide with the show. So when we got this press release from TeeJet Technologies about its new New ISOBUS Sprayer Control Solutions, it made a bee line to the TeeJet booth where I met Jon Reinecker, one of the company’s technology specialists.
He told me that ISOBUS gives farmers the ability to communicate with other virtual terminals already in the cabs of their tractors.
“A lot of farmers are buying these newer implements that have these newer displays, and they say ‘Why can’t I hook my implement up to that new display?’ Think of ISOBUS as a universal language everybody can understand.”
Reinecker says the display in the cab can communicate with, say, a sprayer or spreader hooked up to the back of the tractor. That lets farmers make adjustments right there in the cab without having to have different boxes that clutter the area.
“Manufacturers like the idea of being able to work together, and it keeps the farmer happy [because] he can mix and match implements with the different tractors using this universal language,” says Reinecker.
One black box in the cab serves as the brains of the operation and connects with the universal connector on the back of most new farm machines, making it compatible with many makes and models without having to add more consoles to the cabs.
There’s another innovation from Trimble making its debut at the National Farm Machinery Show here in Louisville, Ky.
Trimble has sent out this press release introducing its EZ-Sync™ solution, a wireless data transfer capability that provides enhanced information management for growers and agribusinesses. While I was at the Trimble booth checking out the newly announced EZ Surface Software that provides surface drainage analysis and design for farmers and drainage contractors, I also caught up with Brian Stark, who does information management for Trimble and is the company’s EZ-Sync expert.
“EZ-Sync allows you to take data wirelessly from a mobile computer or from the Trimble FMX display and send that data from the field to the office. Or, if I’m in the office, I can send my data from the office, [such as] prescription maps or target points, to the field.”
Stark says the software is compatible with several different computers Trimble offers, and it lets producers and managers exchange information in real time. Plus, it decreases the amount of data that is lost simply because workers don’t have time to manually enter information gained in the field when they come back to the office. And, managers are able to better communicate with their workers still in the field.
“Just think about the possibilities here. If you have someone out there soil-sampling, they could be out there collecting sample points, finish the job, hit a button, [and download that information directly to the office],” says Stark.
Stark says you can’t really put a price on how valuable that fresh data will be for those in the field and at the office.
For more information, check with your local Trimble dealer or go to www.Trimble.com.
You can hear more of my conversation with Brian below.
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
California-based Trimble, a technology company specializing in software that has, among others, applications for agriculture, construction and mapping, has introduced its EZ Surface Software to provide surface drainage analysis and design, especially for farmers and drainage contractors. This marks the first time in the industry where the complete survey, design, layout, machine control, install and map capabilities in one system like this comes from one company.
I stopped by the Trimble booth here at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. and talked to Joey Schlatter of Schlatter Inc. of Francesville, Indiana, who sells Trimble products.
“This software helps contractors define watersheds and flow patterns so they know how to properly drain their fields, whether using surface or sub-surface drainage methods.”
Schlatter says studies indicate that crop yields can be affected by 20 percent or more, well above most producers margins. With this system, elevation data is gathered through using some GPS-based tools from Trimble.
“Once we’ve collected all that elevation data, we bring that data into the office, into our EZ Surface program and generate a 3-D elevation map. Then, with a click of a few buttons, we can see the flow lines, watesheds and all the tools we need to properly design that [drainage] system.”
Schlatter says you can find out more information from your local Trimble dealer and at the company Web site: www.Trimble.com.
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
You can hear all of my conversation with Joey here:
One of the great things about the National Farm Machinery Show here in Louisville, Kentucky is that it is held in conjunction with the Championship Tractor Pull … the largest, oldest and most prestigious indoor tractor pull, according to Corinne Fetter, Director of Expositions for the Kentucky State Fair Board.
I sat down with Corinne to talk a bit about the tractor pull and its association with NFMS.
“This is the 42nd year for the tractor pull and the 45th year for the National Farm Machinery Show, and so the two have worked together for quite a while now. And we feel they complement each other rather well.”
She says for the men and women who compete in the tractor pull that it is truly a labor of love, that takes a lot of time, effort and money to get the kind of performance and down-to-your-toes rumble and roar that these machines produce.
But she also credits the crews who get the track ready to give the pullers a world class area to put their machines through their paces. And she says none of this would be possible without the fans.
“For some of them, this is their vacation every year. And I can tell you, there are plenty of red fans, and there are plenty of green fans.”
You can see a short clip of a few of the pulls below:
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
You can also here more of my interview with Corinne here:
Chalk up another innovation for our friends at New Holland!
The company that is bringing you AgWired’s coverage of the 2010 National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. is being recognized with Farm Industry News’ FinOvation Award for New Holland’s BB9000 Series large square balers at this year’s show.
I caught up with New Holland’s Platform Marketing Manager for Crop Packaging (which includes balers), Colin Skoronski, to get some of his thoughts about the award and the baler.
“The BB9000 is continuing to bring innovation … integrated density systems, on-the-go changes, the ability to adjust itself for what the customer has for desired inputs.”
He adds that New Holland is the first company to bring an true integrated bale weight system, an on-the-go weighing system that lets the customer know exactly what he’s making for bale weights. Skoronski says that’s especially important for producers who are custom baling and want to make sure they have just the right amount of weight in that bale. And for the customers on the receiving end, they know exactly what they are getting as well.
Skoronski says it’s a culture of innovation at New Holland.
“That’s how New Holland started way back when … [what New Holland was known for was] talking to the customers and listening to the customers and understanding what their true needs were and figuring out a better way for them to do it.”
And that innovation continues today.
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
You can hear more of my interview with Colin here:
Hello from the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky! Cindy is off to Florida, and I’m going to be here at NFMS for a couple of days covering events.
Just a few minutes after I got into the airport, I was able to find my way to the Louisville Convention and Expo Center just in time for a seminar officially entitled “High-horsepower, Row-crop Tractors.” But it might be more accurately called “What’s New at NFMS.”
Among those presenting from some of the major manufacturers of farm equipment was our friend Tom Lano from New Holland. I videotaped his presentation with Chuck’s Flip video camera:
I apologize for the shaky video (not quite like the good ol’ days of betacams) and shaky editing (Windows Movie Maker is a little different than what I used to use), but I think you get a sense of what he presented. For time purposes, I had to edit out part of the promotional video Tom presented, but I was able to keep the video of the T-7000 line of tractors’ new anti-lock braking system (ABS).
“The tractors are getting bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier, and we’re carrying huge loads behind them down the road … so they need to be safe.”
Tom went on to say that New Holland does farm machinery shows all over the world, and these events gives New Holland not only the opportunity to show off what they have, but they can also get a lot of good feedback from the farmers who have to use this equipment every day.
Tom also talked about how New Holland was the first company to OK a 100 percent biodiesel blend in all their tractors … pretty darn important when you consider many of the folks who use their tractors are using them to plant and harvest the feedstocks, such as soybeans and canola, that make that same biodiesel they put in their tanks.
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
You can here more of my conversation with Tom here:
First up, this cute little pup (I think his name was Mitchell) hopped up on the New Holland Boomer 8N for a great photo op. He did get tired of the attention pretty quickly, but not before his owners and several by-standers snapped him sitting in the seat of the revised classic tractor.
Then we have the “Greenberry,” Barry Nelson’s John Deere green-skinned Blackberry. Not a custom skin – Barry says he bought it at an airport.
Of course we have the obligatory AgriTalk photo, which I also took but neglected to post from the National Biodiesel Conference. Between AgriTalk and AgWired, we covered pretty much every color tractor in the rainbow at NFMS. They did the show from the Case exhibit Wednesday and the AGCO exhibit on Thursday.
Finally, Agri-Talk host Mike Adams’ new iPhone, which he went out and bought in Louisville after seeing our friend Gene Hemphill of New Holland use his. Mike said that if Gene could do it, he certainly could! He bought it Thursday evening and said Friday that he already loved it. Chuck will be very proud to see another iPhone convert!
It was great to see everyone at the NFMS – we’ll see you again in just a week or so at either the National Ethanol Conference, Commodity Classic – or both! NFMS 09 Photo Album
Katie Sheets is a John Deere marketing representative out of the Waterloo, IA factory and she has been at the National Farm Machinery Show this week introducing a brand new tractor name and numbering system.
“We have extended this tractor line up from two tractors to four tractors,” Katie told me. “The one we are standing in front of a 6100D, a 6 series tractor, 100 engine horsepower and the D stands for the specification level – this is a lower, mid-spec tractor.”
Katie says this tractor is perfect for those small ag customer using it for loader work or light hay or cattle operations.
Listen to an interview with Katie here
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You can also download the interview here: Katie Sheets (mp3).
Several Twitter-heads met up in the media room at the National Farm Machinery Show on Thursday for a Tweet Up.
Among those in the photo – the folks from ABN, John Blue with Truffle, Susan Crowell with Farm and Dairy, Julie from Purdue and Dave Russell with Brownfield Network.
I know that sooner or later I will become Twitter savvy myself, but for now Chuck is the official ZimmComm Twit. As I write this, he is at Southeast Agnet introducing Gary Cooper to the ways of Twitter.
Farm Industry News presented their 2008 FinOvation Awards Thursday night at the National Farm Machinery Show. The awards went to the 16 most innovative products coming to the market, based on reader interest.
Two of this year’s awards went to the two company partners who sponsored coverage of the NFMS on Agwired this week.
Katie Sheets with John Deere picked up their award for the 7030 Premium and 7030 Mid-Spec tractors. They range from 100 to 140 PTO hp and are loaded with new features that include a glass hatch roof for increased visibility, a higher transport speed of 25 mph, and cab suspension on the premium model.
Ed Barry with New Holland received the Finovation award for combines. Both Case and New Holland are claiming to have the largest combines in North America, so rather than argue the point, they both got the award. You can read more about the New Holland big boy in yesterday’s post where Ed tells us all about how size matters!
The lovely and talented FIN senior editor Jodie Wehrspann was the award presenter. Thanks to editor-in-chief Karen McMahon for a great awards dinner and ceremony honoring the best of the best! Read about the other FinOvation award winners here.
This ain’t your great-grandaddy’s tractor – even if it might look like it!
This is the New Holland Boomer 8N, a new and improved version of the classic Ford 8N tractor originally made in the late 1940s. New Holland’s Rory Chisholm says the tractor features a modern drive line with the latest innovations. “So its a marriage of two things that results in quite a stunning looking tractor,” Rory said. “We realized that we had this tractor in our history that’s a link to our past so we decided to put a little of the new and a little of the old together and the end result was the Boomer 8N.”
Comfort and safety are features in the new tractor, with a shiny rollover bar and a cushioned seat modeled after the much less comfortable steel pan seats of the original.
Over 500,000 of the original Ford 8N tractors went into production and many of them are still in existence and hold a sense of nostalgia for lots of people who grew up on farms. The Boomer 8N will be going into production later this spring. The tractors will not necessarily be a limited run, but they will be numbered, and our friend Gene Hemphill is in negotiations right now with a certain celebrity vehicle buff to get serial number one in his garage.
Listen to an interview with Rory here
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Size definitely matters at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and New Holland is proud to be showing off the largest combine in North America – the new CR9080 with 523 maximum horsepower.
I spoke with Ed Barry, cash crop marketing manager for New Holland, and he told me that it’s not just horsepower that makes it the biggest. “It’s the largest cab, largest threshing area and largest cleaning area,” Ed said.
“We have a strong history in combines,” he said. “Model year 2010 will be our 35th year in the rotary combine business and our heritage has led us to the future.”
This evening, Farm Industry News will officially present a FinOvation award to New Holland’s CR9080 as one of the best innovations of 2008 designed to help producers farm more efficiently and more profitably.
Listen to an interview with Ed here
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Ever wonder what it would be like if the electricity went out at a major trade show in a huge expo center? I never did, but we found out yesterday evening and this morning here at the National Farm Machinery Show. Here are a couple of little videos I shot when the lights went out.
Went to my first-ever tractor pull last night here at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, which left me wondering who ever came up with this idea and how much had they been drinking?
I witnessed the 8,200 lb super stock tractor division competition, where the Renegade Deere driven by David Siefert of Ohio placed third. Watch my video of his pull here:
The John Deere 5 Series utility tractors take up a significant portion of the booth space at the National Farm Machinery show and served yet another purpose – as seating for many at the show taking a break from walking around the 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space!
John Deere has introduced a large volume of new tractors this year, ranging from 45 to 105 hp, to fit just about any need. I talked with Keith Hendrix with Deere who told me all about the new tractors that are part of the Drive Green caravan that Chuck has been busy following around the country.
“That ranges from our new 5D series, moving up to the 5E series, and the premium line of the new 5M,” Keith explains. “We have a tractor for every application for any specific need if you’re looking for 105 down to a 45 engine horsepower tractor.”
Listen to an interview with Keith here
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Vice president of public relations and media for the Kentucky State Fair Board Vicki Glass says the 44th annual show was sold out two months ago. “With the economy as it is, you might not expect that, but that’s the case and we are very pleased to have that much interest continue year after year,” Vicki says.
The show has an economic impact for the city of Louisville of more than $15 million and also includes the Championship Tractor Pull, sponsored by Syngenta.
Listen to an interview with Vicki here
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You can also download the interview here: NFMS Vicki Glass (mp3).
Watch a brief video that I shot with Vicki while walking around the show and recording audio at the same time – which was a little challenging, to say the least!
John Deere is generating buzz at the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show with the new DB120 – the largest planter in the industry.
Rob Rippchen, division marketing manager at John Deere seed in Moline, IL says this 120 foot planter is the next generation planter building off the DB90 introduced five years ago. “This planter will plant somewhere between 90 and 100 acres an hour,” Rob says. “Most growers will remember last spring when it was so wet and one of the easiest ways to improve productivity is to increase your working width.”
The huge machine was gathering a crowd early at the show on Wednesday. “There’s kind of a ‘wow’ factor,” said Rob. “It’s so wide it can’t even unfold all the way in our booth.” But he says the outer four row units fold over on each end so it is still the same transport width as the DB90 and just about six foot longer in transport length.
Rob says John Deere will have a limited number of the new planters running in the fields this spring and will start taking orders for the big boy this summer.
Listen to an interview with Rob here
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The weather is threatening here in Louisville, but that is not deterring people from arriving to the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show, which just opened its doors.
If the economy is bad, you wouldn’t know it here. More than 800 exhibitors are expected in the 27 acres of exhibit space here. I am a “newbie” to the show, so I am looking forward to getting out there and seeing all the new stuff on the floor.
Stay tuned here and at Precision Pays.com for complete coverage of the show this week – while Chuck is in Orlando for the Weed Science Society convention.
Photo album is started here – check back regularly for new sights from the show! NFMS 09 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show
is being sponsored by:
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
Near the start of our coverage from this year’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky, Cindy talked to President and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board, Harold Workman, to get a preview of what was to come. After four big days with more than 800 exhibitors showing their latest and greatest for the ag industry, it only seemed fitting to go back to where we started and talk with Workman again to get his take on how things went. He says after a snowy start, the show has been a great success.
Here are a few parting shots and thoughts from the 
Then we have the “Greenberry,” Barry Nelson’s John Deere green-skinned Blackberry. Not a custom skin – Barry says he bought it at an airport.
Of course we have the obligatory 
Finally, Agri-Talk host Mike Adams’ new iPhone, which he went out and bought in Louisville after seeing our friend Gene Hemphill of New Holland use his. Mike said that if Gene could do it, he certainly could! He bought it Thursday evening and said Friday that he already loved it. Chuck will be very proud to see another iPhone convert!
Katie Sheets is a 
Several Twitter-heads met up in the media room at the National Farm Machinery Show on Thursday for a Tweet Up. 
Katie Sheets with 
Ed Barry with 
This ain’t your great-grandaddy’s tractor – even if it might look like it!
Comfort and safety are features in the new tractor, with a shiny rollover bar and a cushioned seat modeled after the much less comfortable steel pan seats of the original.
Size definitely matters at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville and 
“We have a strong history in combines,” he said. “Model year 2010 will be our 35th year in the rotary combine business and our heritage has led us to the future.”
Went to my first-ever tractor pull last night here at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, which left me wondering who ever came up with this idea and how much had they been drinking?
The 
John Deere has introduced a large volume of new tractors this year, ranging from 45 to 105 hp, to fit just about any need. I talked with Keith Hendrix with Deere who told me all about the new tractors that are part of the Drive Green caravan that Chuck has been busy following around the country.
The 
Rob Rippchen, division marketing manager at John Deere seed in Moline, IL says this 120 foot planter is the next generation planter building off the DB90 introduced five years ago. “This planter will plant somewhere between 90 and 100 acres an hour,” Rob says. “Most growers will remember last spring when it was so wet and one of the easiest ways to improve productivity is to increase your working width.”
The weather is threatening here in Louisville, but that is not deterring people from arriving to the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show, which just opened its doors.
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
