Templetuohy Farm Machinery (TFM) held a hugely impressive showcase of the latest in technology from John Deere on Wednesday 7 November at The Hub, Cillin Hill, Co Kilkenny.

The new 9000 series forage harvester, the new 900 series sprayer, the T660 combine and the latest from its tractor ranges were on show. In addition, TFM exhibited offerings from Kramer, Lemken and Schuitemaker.

Here, we take a look at some of the stand out tech products.

Harvest lab 3000

The Harvest lab 3000 is a portable unit that uses near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to analyse the various constituents within harvested crops. This same unit can be used in a John Deere forager, it can be on a slurry tanker or it can be used as a mobile forage testing unit.

The unit is positioned in the chute of the forage harvester and takes real-time forage information as the harvested grass passes through. The unit takes over 4,000 measurements per second. This information is then compared with algorithms that are based on millions of hours of in-field experience.

The unit will provide the contractor or farmer with real-time readings on dry matter content, crude protein, starch, crude fibre, NDF, ADF, sugar and crude ash. This information can be taken one step further through the John Deere Operations Centre where yield mapping and an analysis of what areas of the field produced varying levels of crop constituents can be assessed. Variable-rate fertiliser spreading can be used based on the yield maps.

When using the unit on a slurry tanker, it has the capability of measuring N, P, K and dry matter. Before application, you can set a target rate for any one nutrient in kg/ha, a limit rate for a second nutrient and even a site-specific prescription map for any field. While spreading the slurry, the unit is constantly analysing nutrient levels. It will then automatically control the machine’s speed and/or flow rate to meet the desired target.

John Deere experts at the event informed the Irish Farmers Journal that 70% of new John Deere harvesters sold in 2017 were equipped with the Harvest lab technology. It is inevitable that this NIR technology has the potential to be hugely popular in Ireland, especially with the huge focus the Irish agricultural industry is placing on grass-based systems.

Expert alerts

John Deere’s expert alerts system has the ability to predict certain upcoming issues before they have a negative impact or cause damage to the machine.

So how does it work? With the consent of the machine owner, the machine telematics data is continuously being sent to a central location.

Based on real-time data analytics, component failures that are going to cause downtime can be identified.

If a trend is identified, such as a regular occurring issue with an engine or transmission sensor, a proven and tested algorithm will be developed. John Deere’s system software will continuously monitor incoming machine telematics data. If any of this incoming data matches an algorithm, the responsible dealer is immediately notified. The dealer is informed on how to best solve the issue. All of this occurs while the farmer or contractor is working away.

Some of the tractors on display at the TFM John Deere technology event in the Hub, Co Kilkenny.

Across Europe, there are thousands of John Deere machines set up for this pro-active support. In addition, there are already 10 dealers in Ireland and the UK using this software and it will be with all John Deere dealers by spring 2019.

Lemken weather station

The Lemken weather station measures the air temperature and humidity at 75cm, the plant canopy temperature and humidity at 25cm, soil temperature at 5cm and the soil temperature at 20cm. The app retrieves data about wind speed, wind direction and rainfall from the nearest Met Éireann meteorological station.

The Lemken weather station measures the air and soil temperatures and humidity.

This collected data is then transferred through a low-frequency network to the SmartFarming app on your smartphone or tablet etc. The app will then help guide the grower as to the best time to spray your crop and the perceived disease pressure on the crop at any given time.

The crop protection feature offers a 14-day weather forecast or a five-day disease pressure forecast. The disease pressure of your fields is analysed by approved models based on your weather station data. The weather station is set up for 40 different crops and more than 100 diseases.

The weather station has a five-year lifespan, which is based on the life of the battery. The battery is a completely sealed unit and will expire after five years.