AGCO is announcing it will enter a proof of concept (PoC) collaboration agreement with Bosch, BASF Digital Farming, and Raven Industries.
The objective of the collaboration is to evaluate targeted spraying technology to make the application of crop protection products more effective and efficient, by reducing crop input costs, while driving farm and environmental sustainability, says the company.
The targeted spraying PoC will focus on real-time sensing technology, to make crop protection decisions. The technology will be able to detect weeds in growing crops as well as on fallow ground, in day or night conditions, says AGCO, and by doing so will execute precise targeted product placement, down to the individual plant level.
The initial concept is being evaluated on a Fendt Rogator sprayer in Europe, with plans to extend to North America in 2022.
“Farmers have long been searching for innovative ways to minimize chemical usage and reduce passes through the field to achieve their crop protection goals,” says Seth Crawford, senior vice president and general manager for Precision Ag and Digital for AGCO. “Combined with the potential for further regulatory pressure, we believe this collaborative spraying effort advances our farmer-first focus and is further evidence that we will work with the best-in-class partners to serve farmers’ needs. This effort is aimed at validating targeted spraying solutions, delivering a reduction in product use to achieve the same results as broadcast spraying in both pre- and post-emergence with the flexibility of spraying day or night.”
Coupled with AGCO’s application equipment expertise, Bosch brings the capabilities in hardware, machine learning, and artificial intelligence as well as digital services, with their xarvio platform. Raven Applied Technology brings sprayer efficacy and operational efficiencies to the table, that may further enable precision control of chemical applications.
