Despite the cancellation of Agritechnica 2022, DLG – the German agricultural society – will for the first time award the winner of the DLG-Agrifuture concept for its pioneering achievements and visions for the future of agricultural technology at a digital ceremony in February.
The new award focuses on technical possibilities over the next five to ten years and explores realistic chances of implementation. DLG has published the list of the 10 innovations nominated for the award at www.agritechnica.com/en/agrifuture-concept-winner. Among this preselection, five concepts will be selected in a second round by the jury of independent international experts appointed by the DLG. The digital awards ceremony will take place on February 8, 2022.
Automated fruit picking system
Kubota Germany GmbH
Joint development: Tevel Aerobotics Technologies
Concept: Harvesting machines use an innovative combination of wired drones and corresponding logistics solutions. The drones are equipped with wind compensation which ensures safe and efficient operation in most weather conditions. Reaching almost any fruit and harvesting without any bruising, the drones detect and classify each fruit in real time, allowing for pre-sorting and selective harvesting. The information is transferred to the logistics system, optimizing this harvest step. Levels of automation are offered, from a simple “navigation system” for the tractor driver carrying the bins to fully autonomous transports that place empty bins and collect the full ones. The concept can be integrated into existing harvesting operations and work processes. Advantages: Less food waste and 20% increase in yield.
Bosch Off-Road Vision System
Robert Bosch GmbH
In the Bosch Off-Road Vision System, the data generated by various cameras, radars and ultrasonic sensors are brought together on a central display. The video feed of a multi-camera system is displayed and an overlay of objects detected by radar and ultrasonic sensors is added. Thus these objects are visually highlighted. The smart combination allows machine builders to perform rapid prototyping with detailed comparison of sensor systems.
Common coverage map for wireless field communication
AEF – Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation eV
For machine-to-machine communication, which is both manufacturer independent and direct wireless, the challenges of radio standards, transport layer protocols, and secure communication methods must be addressed. The Common Coverage Map represents an extension of the current “section control†functionality within the ISOBUS standard to include a multi-machine solution in mixed fleets for cooperative fieldwork. Based on this, several machines can work together in a field by exchanging guide lines and field boundaries.
Connected Protein
CNH Industrial Germany GmbH – New Holland in cooperation with YARA
The Connect Protein concept provides every part of the value chain, from producers to traders and buyers, full transparency throughout the crop growth cycle. For this, agronomic data from all the different stages of cultivation are collected centrally. After harvest, a comprehensive yield and quality report can be created covering the entire crop cycle.
Controlled row cultivation – a method of cultivation with uniform row widths promotes biodiversity
Amazonenwerke H. Dreyer SE & Co. KG in cooperation with AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG and Schmotzer Hacktechnik GmbH
The concept of “Controlled Row Farming” is a new method of field cultivation for agriculture in which each cultivation stage is carried out in relation to a fixed row, offering an optimization of the yields despite a lower use of fertilizers and pesticides. By growing crops in a fixed and uniform row spacing of 50cm (double row grain) and including a 25cm row offset for positive crop rotation effects, yield optimization and maximum efficiency agricultural inputs are obtained. The option of introducing companion plants between the rows of the main crop increases the value of the agricultural ecosystem, for example by reducing water evaporation and erosion.
H2- Agrar Project
AGCO Fendt GmbH
In the context of the climate change debate, alternative concepts of mobility are high on the agenda. The H2-Agrar project aims to identify the potential and prospects for the use of hydrogen in agriculture. Innovative solutions are underway, showing not only that decentralized production and use of hydrogen in agriculture can be economically successful, but also how hydrogen-powered agriculture with a corresponding hydrogen infrastructure can be integrated into a global hydrogen supply and “sector coupling†system. In this way, mobility issues can be addressed using hydrogen tractors and possible hydrogen mobility solutions can be demonstrated and tested. The concept also includes the transfer of local approaches and results to other agricultural areas.
Hybrid drive concept
CNH Industrial Germany GmbH – Steyr
Steyr’s hybrid powertrain concept is based on a hybrid electric transmission and is designed for modern high-performance tractors. The objective of the development is to increase the power density and load capacity of the tractor. For this, a parallel and series hybrid architecture is coupled to the existing double-clutch transmission and supported by supercapacitors. The new drive concept offers new hybrid functions that can significantly improve tractor productivity and operator comfort.
Integrated drift management
Plant Sciences Division of Bayer AG
The concept of integrated drift management is based on reading information on spray drift trend and buffer zones as well as remote control indicated on pesticide labels. When the pesticide is poured into the sprayer, the recorded information is translated into an application map. At the same time, wind direction and speed are recorded in the field in real time. If necessary, the drift reducing spray nozzles are activated and the buffer zones and distance control are maintained, all automatically. The system records and saves all activity including weather information.
Automation of agricultural processes
AGCO Fendt GmbH
The project is an intelligent automation of tractor / crop systems with self-optimization capabilities based on a machine learning approach derived from field data. This approach makes it possible to meet the agronomic quality requirements of the work, regardless of the skill of the operator. At the same time, the efficiency is increased, which means that fuel consumption and emissions are reduced, performance is increased, and more area can be cultivated in less time.
Point agriculture – for a holistic and sustainable agricultural production system
Joint development by the Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig, the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute and the Julius Kühn Institute
The concept of “Spot Farming” places the living and growing conditions of individual cultivated plants at the center of the plant, field and surrounding landscape through careful observation by the farmer. On this basis, an attempt is made to optimize four points: selecting optimum crops or varieties for the respective site conditions, improving spatial and temporal management practices, increasing the efficiency of agrochemicals and strengthening the functional structures of the plant. agricultural landscape.
