Farms & Farm Machinery #397

COMPANY NEWS
Left: The See and Spray is available on new John
Deere 400 and 600 series sprayers
right on target
See & Spray spraying
technology could lead to a
reduction in input costs and
decrease environmental
impacts of farming
See & Spray, a collaboration between John Deere and the
University of Southern Queensland (USQ), is a vision-based
precision spray technology that aims at detecting and removing
weeds in fallowed ground.
The system was first developed as an experimental technology
by USQ three years ago and subsequently tested by John Deere
across farms in the United States, Australia and Canada.
The technology works through integrated cameras to detect
green plants, which then automatically triggers a concentrated
spray of herbicide on the weed.
The targeted-spray solution also has an ability to switch to a
traditional, high broadcast sprayer should the number of weeds
in a field increase. The See & Spray can be switched between the
two from within the sprayer cab, making it effectively a two-inone
sprayer.
The See & Spray is available on new John Deere 400 and 600
series sprayers and can save up to 77 per cent of herbicide input
costs, it says.
USQ Centre of Agricultural Engineering director, professor
Craig Baillie, says the technology is yet another example of how
Australians can be at the forefront of new innovations in the
AgTech space.
“The University of Southern Queensland has a long history of
focusing research on local farming issues that have relevance
to Australian farmers and connecting this with large overseas
markets,” Baillie says.
“We work with industry and focus on solving problems
through engineering solutions that will change farming practices.
Our research is outcome-driven. This is the heart of what our
team does.
“Industry collaborations such as this assist to sustain the
development of future technologies and products which will
transform agricultural industries over the years to come.”
John Deere Australia/New Zealand managing director, Luke
Chandler, echoes Baillie’s assertions, saying that: “The path
to greater efficiency, profitability and sustainability begins in
the paddock.
“It is through these types of collaborations that we can create
practical, simple-to-use tools and technologies that save time
and input costs, and reduce impact on the natural environment,
for a higher performing farm sector.”
See & Spray will be available to purchase from mid-2021.
Left: Augmenta products can be purchased from OzValue
Ag Australia-wide from its base in Ballarat, Victoria
tech
boost
CNH Industrial has
taken a stake in ag tech
company Augmenta, and
its Australian partner has
welcomed the change
C
NH Industrial will become a strategic partner to agricultural
technology companies Augmenta and Bennamann after
taking minority stakes in both.
Based in France, Augmenta uses a roof-mounted system with
multispectral 4K cameras to scan paddocks during farming
operations and uses artificial intelligence to calculate what the
crop needs in terms of fertiliser or other protective products.
The Augmenta real-time technology not only analyses crop
conditions but also compensates for factors such as light levels,
which may impact its analysis.
CNH Industrial’s minority stake acquisition in Augmenta
follows an announcement on the same by the latter of an
$8 million funding round that was led by CNH Industrial.
Augmenta chief executive and founder, George Varvarelis, says
the company is excited to collaborate with CNH Industrial.
“They share our vision of ‘Green Technology without Silos’ and
are determined to help us provide solutions to empower all
farmers, regardless of the size of their land or their preferred
tractor brand,” he says.
Augmenta’s technology will be available globally through the
AgXtend portfolio – which can be integrated into the precision
agriculture platforms of Case IH and New Holland.
In Australia, Augmenta will still be distributed through its
Australian supplier, OzValue Ag Machinery, with sales head
Mitch Blackmore saying he is optimistic about the future of the
partnership.
“[The acquisition] doesn’t change too much with us and
Augmenta,” he says.
“If anything, it probably strengthens the relationship we have
with them and how we will be able to do our business.
“We’ve been dealing with these guys for two or three years
now and we’ve got a really good relationship with them so I look
forward to what could come ahead,” he says.
CNH Industrial has also acquired a minority stake in
Bennamann, a developer of technologies to capture and
repurpose fugitive methane emissions from agricultural and
other sectors.
Based in Newquay, UK, Bennamann uses its technology to
process greenhouse gases into liquid fugitive methane for
distribution and use as a renewable biofuel.
The minority stake acquisition will see CNH Industrial become
Bennamann’s exclusive strategic agricultural technology partner
worldwide.
Bennamann chief executive Matt Hague says his company is
very excited to be working with CNH Industrial.
“The synergies between our two companies in terms of our
commitment to clean energy and helping farmers drive down
emissions and become more sustainable are clear,” he says.
“CNH Industrial’s investment is going to help Bennamann
accelerate growth and also brings to the company a wide range
of manufacturing, supply chain and operational expertise.
“We have big plans for the future and this backing, from one of
the world’s pre-eminent agriculture technology providers, is a
key moment for us,” he says.
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