Automation unlocks sustainable growth for farmers
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Left: Raven Cart Automation™ on New Holland machinery. Right: The Case IH tractor and tillage platform with Raven technology offers fully-autonomous farming.
Ever since its first hand-powered threshing machine was manufactured in 1842, CNH, together with its brands, has focused on unlocking value for farmers by providing them with the tools to do their jobs better
More than ever, farmers are under pressure to maximize yields to feed a growing global population while using fewer resources. Our cutting-edge technology helps any farm, whether big or small, to thrive with precision agriculture tools.
“Our motto is to meet the customer wherever they are on their path to autonomy,” says John Preheim, Vice President of Product Development at Raven.
For farmers, the path to autonomy ranges from automation to full autonomy. Automation improves the day-to-day work of farmers by increasing efficiency (e.g., an automated grain cart that syncs up with a harvester when the driver activates the technology). In contrast, full autonomy takes on entire tasks to create a “smart farm” where routine operations are fully autonomous. Autonomy takes the farmer out of the cab and allows them to focus on more complex tasks.
Collaborating to develop effective digital farming
Our acquisition of Raven in 2021 demonstrates our commitment to improving agriculture through the best technology available. Prior to their acquisition, the Sioux Falls-based farm tech expert had been a long-time partner of the Company, providing strong innovation capabilities. Since its acquisition, it continues to make its mark, both as its own brand and as part of a host of New Holland and Case IH machines.
Preheim says that the integration of Raven went smoothly, and unleashed a level of cooperation and innovation that previously wasn’t possible.
“We can develop code together, we can do training together, we can leverage the mass of CNH infrastructure that exists,” he says. “We can support our products better and, on the flip side, CNH has been able to integrate Raven technology better and more deeply.”
Take the Raven Cart Automation™, which empowers Case IH and New Holland harvest know-how with Raven automation technology. The automated grain cart syncs guidance and propulsion of the tractor with a combine harvester upon driver activation, thereby reducing spillage and simplifying the task. The solution, available through Case IH and New Holland brands, is particularly useful for new or less-skilled operators.
Added to that is the completely redesigned Case IH Patriot 50 series sprayer, which has integrated Raven technology. The Raven Slingshot suite of services syncs farm operations from the field to the office, helping operators get the connectivity, guidance and monitoring solutions they need.
OMNiDRIVE™ offers supervised autonomy, essentially enabling the driverless collection of harvested grain from the combine into the grain cart, and then transporting it to the unloading point. That frees up an operator for an entirely different task while virtually eliminating grain spillage. This maximizes efficiency while protecting farmers’ profits, ultimately providing more output to feed and fuel the world.
In the future, when farmers add on the Raven Autonomy™ Driverless Tillage Solution, which is still under development, they will be advancing their path to autonomy. This supervised autonomy system offers precision agriculture by combining a Case IH or New Holland tractor and tillage platform with Raven Autonomy technology, helping farmers to create the best conditions for plants to grow. Tillage operations are tailored to specific field and soil conditions, supporting optimal seedbed preparation and improved crop yields. Automation not only reduces labor and input costs and improves safety, but also typically enables tilling up to 20 percent more acres a day and harvesting up to 25 percent more.
Left: In March 2023, further development of intuitive “Sense & Act” capabilities was accelerated through CNH’s acquisition of precision agriculture company Augmenta. Right: New Holland tractors using Augmenta’s multispectral cameras and AI to boost yields and reduce pesticides and fertilizers.
Intuitive capabilities improve yields
As the customer is central to the application of Raven’s technology, it is designed to be easy to use and test. Today, operators can use intuitive sprayer technologies that keep the boom at the right height automatically (AutoBoom® XRT) and spray precisely within the target rate with minimal application drift (Hawkeye® 2). In March 2023, further development of intuitive “Sense & Act” capabilities was accelerated through CNH’s acquisition of precision agriculture company Augmenta, which brings additional capabilities in real-time data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), and now operates within the Raven brand.
Augmenta’s variable-rate application (VRA) solution uses multispectral cameras and AI to automatically control precise application rates, based on factors such as canopy health.
Its software monitors a machine’s operating environment and directs it accordingly, boosting yields and helping farmers to work more sustainably by using fewer pesticides and reducing fertilizer usage by an average of 5 to 8 percent.
“Year over year, the acreage covered with Augmenta systems has increased by 100 percent,” says Preheim. “And more applications to leverage other technologies will follow.”
Following the successful launch of this wave of new products, CNH will now focus on improving and fine-tuning them further.
“Autonomy changes customers’ workflows and it takes them time to work through that,” says Preheim. “We have some platforms out and we’re getting good results. We are continuing to collect feedback that will help Case IH and New Holland lead farms to the future.”
CNH is a world-class equipment and services company that sustainably advances the noble work of agriculture and construction workers.
CNH Industrial N.V.
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