Irish manager at Fendt Sean Gorman outlined in a presentation at the Institution of Agricultural ROI the fact that since the takeover of Lely by the AGCO Group, Fendt was now a full-line farm machinery company. He said it now operates from six manufacturing sites in Germany and employs more than 5,000 people.
He told the meeting that Fendt had invested €73m in research and development work in 2019, to further develop areas such as the MARS project on autonomous smaller tractors and electrification of tractors. He said Agritechnica will see further developments on battery power unveiled.
The development of the Fendt Ideal rotary combine range has been important. Among the targets for this project were high output harvesting, where the machine is gentle on straw, has fast unloading and is fuel efficient.
On tractor production, Sean told the meeting that factory tractor production peaked in 2013, when 17,837 were manufactured. Fendt will come close to that number this year, as the company expects to manufacture close to 17,000 tractors compared with 16,806 in 2018.
The new officers at the Institution of Agricultural Engineers ROI branch includes from left: Cian Egan, Pallaskenry College, treasurer, Niamh Foley, IT Tralee, secretary, Chris O’Donoghue, IT Tralee, chairman, Robert Shine, Samco, vice-chairman and Francis Quigley, Teagasc machinery specialist based at Kildalton College, PRO.
The Fendt 700 Vario is the most popular tractor in the range, now accounting for 32% of all sales, followed by the Fendt 300 Vario which accounts for 14% and the Fendt 500 Vario which accounts for 13% of all new tractors sold. Within that range, the Fendt Vario 724 is the top seller and was the overall best-selling tractor in Germany last year, with 2,029 of these tractors produced in 2018. The Fendt Vario 516 is the second most popular tractor sold by the company, followed by the Fendt Vario 313 model.
Outside of Germany and France, the UK and Ireland market is the third biggest for Fendt sales, said Gorman. Fendt typically sells between 1,000 and 1,100 new tractors in the UK and Ireland each year. He added that the Fendt Vario 724 is their best-selling tractor in the Irish market, where the Fendt brand has over 25% share of the over 200hp market.
Gorman told the meeting that more than half of all Fendt tractors sold this year will have auto-steer fitted as standard. Dry stock and dairy farmers are seeing the value of the technology for areas such as fertilizer and slurry spreading, to ensure accuracy and less waste. He said that the inclusion of this technology in the TAMS grant system has helped with the uptake of the technology in Ireland.
Topcon developments in Ireland
Craig England from Topcon gave an update on Topcon technology for agriculture, outlining the range of services that they can provide. He said that the Topcon X25 and x35 console controllers can now be used on older tractors such as the MF 35 tractor.
England said that ISObus systems are now taking off, as tractor manufacturers are now talking to machinery manufacturers. These systems result in less cab clutter and provide easier machine control. The fact that they are getting less and less brand sensitive helps in encouraging more usage, he added.
He outlined the value of the new Topcon Athene system for muck spreaders, which is being supplied by a number of Irish manufacturers, with a special application for spreading chicken litter. The system allows the creation of accurate maps, that can lead to section machine control so that environmentally sensitive areas are avoided, as the spreading mechanism will automatically recognise the no-spread areas near rivers and streams.
He said that Topcon and Yara, the fertilizer company, were working together to provide enhanced camera systems to identify crop nutrient demands and then give automatic control of the fertilizer spreader or sprayer in the field. These systems will result in reduced fertilizer use and less crop lodging into the future.
England said that Topcon have developed a new Digital AG Ecosystem, so fertilizer spreading contractors can ensure that the correct applications are used in the correct fields. The customer gets a print out of the area spread and the volumes, so that there is less chance of mistakes.
He added that new tracking systems using NTRIP in conjunction with a SIM card to reference base stations, are proving more accurate, but he warned to make sure your mobile phone supplier does not turn down the power needed at the weekends. The systems are now using 2G mobile phone power, which is very stable and also ensures good machine accuracy across Ireland.
England said that Topcon Ireland is investing more in the agricultural sector and compared with Holland, where 95% of tractors have auto-steer systems, Ireland has some catching up to do. He added that the TAMS system, coupled with the new ISObus plug and play systems, have made uptake easier and has helped with labour shortages in farming, due to less mistakes with less qualified machine operators spraying and fertilizer spreading applications.
Topcon has been focusing more on systems for cereals and vegetable growers and has recently developed a new yield track system for conveyors used by potato and carrot harvesters. There are problems with grass yield measurement on machines, he said, as there is a lot of variation in the crop and it is often difficult to get consistently accurate readings. Fertilizer company Yara is currently looking at new algorithms for grass measurement, as is Topcon Ireland. Topcon is also looking at drone research in Ireland, and if measurement systems are easier with cereal crops than with grass.
The new officers at the Institution of Agricultural Engineers ROI branch includes from left: Cian Egan, Pallaskenry College, treasurer, Niamh Foley, IT Tralee, secretary, Chris O’Donoghue, IT Tralee, chairman, Robert Shine, Samco, vice-chairman and Francis Quigley, Teagasc machinery specialist based at Kildalton College, PRO.
Institution of Ag Engineers new officers
The annual general meeting of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers ROI branch has elected a new panel of officers. Chris O’Donoghue of IT Tralee takes over as chairman from Michael Moroney, with Robert Shine of Samco the new vice-chairman. Niamh Foley, also from IT Tralee, takes on the role of secretary from Michael Ryan, formerly of Pallaskenry College, while Cian Egan of Pallaskenry College takes over the treasurer role from Dave Frizelle, formerly of IT Tralee. The new PRO for the branch is Francis Quigley, a Teagasc machinery specialist based at Kildalton College.
Irish manager at Fendt Sean Gorman outlined in a presentation at the Institution of Agricultural ROI the fact that since the takeover of Lely by the AGCO Group, Fendt was now a full-line farm machinery company. He said it now operates from six manufacturing sites in Germany and employs more than 5,000 people.
He told the meeting that Fendt had invested €73m in research and development work in 2019, to further develop areas such as the MARS project on autonomous smaller tractors and electrification of tractors. He said Agritechnica will see further developments on battery power unveiled.
The development of the Fendt Ideal rotary combine range has been important. Among the targets for this project were high output harvesting, where the machine is gentle on straw, has fast unloading and is fuel efficient.
On tractor production, Sean told the meeting that factory tractor production peaked in 2013, when 17,837 were manufactured. Fendt will come close to that number this year, as the company expects to manufacture close to 17,000 tractors compared with 16,806 in 2018.
The new officers at the Institution of Agricultural Engineers ROI branch includes from left: Cian Egan, Pallaskenry College, treasurer, Niamh Foley, IT Tralee, secretary, Chris O’Donoghue, IT Tralee, chairman, Robert Shine, Samco, vice-chairman and Francis Quigley, Teagasc machinery specialist based at Kildalton College, PRO.
The Fendt 700 Vario is the most popular tractor in the range, now accounting for 32% of all sales, followed by the Fendt 300 Vario which accounts for 14% and the Fendt 500 Vario which accounts for 13% of all new tractors sold. Within that range, the Fendt Vario 724 is the top seller and was the overall best-selling tractor in Germany last year, with 2,029 of these tractors produced in 2018. The Fendt Vario 516 is the second most popular tractor sold by the company, followed by the Fendt Vario 313 model.
Outside of Germany and France, the UK and Ireland market is the third biggest for Fendt sales, said Gorman. Fendt typically sells between 1,000 and 1,100 new tractors in the UK and Ireland each year. He added that the Fendt Vario 724 is their best-selling tractor in the Irish market, where the Fendt brand has over 25% share of the over 200hp market.
Gorman told the meeting that more than half of all Fendt tractors sold this year will have auto-steer fitted as standard. Dry stock and dairy farmers are seeing the value of the technology for areas such as fertilizer and slurry spreading, to ensure accuracy and less waste. He said that the inclusion of this technology in the TAMS grant system has helped with the uptake of the technology in Ireland.
Topcon developments in Ireland
Craig England from Topcon gave an update on Topcon technology for agriculture, outlining the range of services that they can provide. He said that the Topcon X25 and x35 console controllers can now be used on older tractors such as the MF 35 tractor.
England said that ISObus systems are now taking off, as tractor manufacturers are now talking to machinery manufacturers. These systems result in less cab clutter and provide easier machine control. The fact that they are getting less and less brand sensitive helps in encouraging more usage, he added.
He outlined the value of the new Topcon Athene system for muck spreaders, which is being supplied by a number of Irish manufacturers, with a special application for spreading chicken litter. The system allows the creation of accurate maps, that can lead to section machine control so that environmentally sensitive areas are avoided, as the spreading mechanism will automatically recognise the no-spread areas near rivers and streams.
He said that Topcon and Yara, the fertilizer company, were working together to provide enhanced camera systems to identify crop nutrient demands and then give automatic control of the fertilizer spreader or sprayer in the field. These systems will result in reduced fertilizer use and less crop lodging into the future.
England said that Topcon have developed a new Digital AG Ecosystem, so fertilizer spreading contractors can ensure that the correct applications are used in the correct fields. The customer gets a print out of the area spread and the volumes, so that there is less chance of mistakes.
He added that new tracking systems using NTRIP in conjunction with a SIM card to reference base stations, are proving more accurate, but he warned to make sure your mobile phone supplier does not turn down the power needed at the weekends. The systems are now using 2G mobile phone power, which is very stable and also ensures good machine accuracy across Ireland.
England said that Topcon Ireland is investing more in the agricultural sector and compared with Holland, where 95% of tractors have auto-steer systems, Ireland has some catching up to do. He added that the TAMS system, coupled with the new ISObus plug and play systems, have made uptake easier and has helped with labour shortages in farming, due to less mistakes with less qualified machine operators spraying and fertilizer spreading applications.
Topcon has been focusing more on systems for cereals and vegetable growers and has recently developed a new yield track system for conveyors used by potato and carrot harvesters. There are problems with grass yield measurement on machines, he said, as there is a lot of variation in the crop and it is often difficult to get consistently accurate readings. Fertilizer company Yara is currently looking at new algorithms for grass measurement, as is Topcon Ireland. Topcon is also looking at drone research in Ireland, and if measurement systems are easier with cereal crops than with grass.
The new officers at the Institution of Agricultural Engineers ROI branch includes from left: Cian Egan, Pallaskenry College, treasurer, Niamh Foley, IT Tralee, secretary, Chris O’Donoghue, IT Tralee, chairman, Robert Shine, Samco, vice-chairman and Francis Quigley, Teagasc machinery specialist based at Kildalton College, PRO.
Institution of Ag Engineers new officers
The annual general meeting of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers ROI branch has elected a new panel of officers. Chris O’Donoghue of IT Tralee takes over as chairman from Michael Moroney, with Robert Shine of Samco the new vice-chairman. Niamh Foley, also from IT Tralee, takes on the role of secretary from Michael Ryan, formerly of Pallaskenry College, while Cian Egan of Pallaskenry College takes over the treasurer role from Dave Frizelle, formerly of IT Tralee. The new PRO for the branch is Francis Quigley, a Teagasc machinery specialist based at Kildalton College.
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