Farming smarter with technology
The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry professionals from across the country.
Väderstad’s TopDown with E-services was the winner of the Farm Machine 2024 award in the tillage category. The introduction of E-Services on TopDown 400-700 and Opus 400-700 allows the machines to use prescription maps to control the machine settings automatically and on the go.
This means operators can program how the individual working elements behave for each specific paddock’s characteristics. The discs, tines, leveller and packer can be programmed to achieve the best results considering the soil type or other characteristics in different areas of each field.
With the TopDown with E-services, Väderstad claims to be applying the same thinking used in its variable rate seed application and fertiliser application technology to cultivate – using the ‘as much as necessary, as little as possible’ approach. This is said to deliver benefits including reduced diesel consumption and wear and tear, alongside improved soil health and increased working speeds.
TopDown and Opus with E-services are available to order now, with the first machines expected in New Zealand in late 2024.
Meanwhile, the Kuhn FC 13460 RA mower-conditioner with grouper was awarded Farm Machine 2024 in the forage harvesting category.
It is said to offer a significantly higher work output than conventional mowing combinations with a variable working width of 12.4 to 13.4 metres. Operators benefit from substantial savings on pulling power, fuel and labour costs when mowing large areas with a single machine.
In a single pass, the machine’s belt grouper forms a swath from 1.8m to 3m wide, with the forage collected over a cutting width of more than 13m. This allows the user to exploit the full potential of forage harvesters and large square balers.
Design detail sees the inclusion of a telescopic axle to increase clearance, making it easier to form a wider and evenly shaped swath for even drying and improved pick-up. It also gives improved stability of the machine during U-turns and working on slopes.
This machine also lends itself to Controlled Traffic Farming strategy on a 12m track. This reduces the impact of machine passage on the ground, while machine controls – including the front mower – are easily operated by an ISOBUS compatible on-board terminal or either the CCI 800 or 1200 terminals and the CCI A3 joystick.
