Recently, John Deere received eight 2022 AE50 Awards for innovations that improve production agriculture. Each year the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) recognizes the 50 most innovative product-engineering designs in the food and agriculture industry with AE50 Awards, as chosen by international engineering experts.
Winning products are recognized for their role in bringing advanced technology to the marketplace. These engineering developments help farmers, and food processors, increase efficiency, enhance quality, improve safety, and increase profitability.
“AE50 Awards reaffirm the innovative spirit of John Deere employees around the world. Innovation is in our DNA and one of our most important core values. No other company in agriculture invests more time, money and energy into research and development than John Deere,” said Joel Dawson, manager, production and precision ag for John Deere. “Our engineers take great pride in creating amazing new technology and products that benefit our customers and help them meet the world’s growing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure in the most productive and sustainable ways possible.”
See & Spray Select
In March 2021, John Deere hosted one of its largest product launches. One of the award-winning innovations introduced was See & Spray Select, a factory-installed and machine-integrated solution that enables farmers to spot spray of weeds on fallow ground. See & Spray Select uses advanced camera and control technology to differentiate color on fallow ground, detects weeds, and spot sprays them. “This targeted spray application has similar hit rates to broadcast spraying while applying 77% less herbicide on average, providing a tremendous savings on inputs for farmers,” Dawson said.
MY22 9 Series Tractors
Also receiving a 2022 AE50 Award were MY22 John Deere 9 Series Tractors. The tractors help large-acre grain produces start earlier and run later to complete their spring seeding and planting work during tight, optimal seeding and planting windows. Powered by an all-new John Deere PowerTech 13.6L engine, 9 Series Tractors can pull wider implements faster and more precisely than ever before. When paired with integrated John Deere precision ag technology, farmers can drive important management changes to improve crop yields, lower input costs and farm more acres in less time.
Integrated ExactRate Liquid Fertilizer
Last March, John Deere was the first agricultural company to bring to market a factory-installed, integrated liquid-fertilizer-delivery system on a tractor and planter together. The ExactRate liquid fertilizer system includes integrated ExactRate tanks on an 8RX Four-track Tractor, integrated plumbing, and integrated factory-installed fluid tanks on the planter. When full, customers can use ExactRate to cover up to 80 acres per fill when applying at 20 gallons per acre. In addition, tracks on the tractor and planter reduce ground pressure and minimize soil compaction while seed and fertilizer are precisely placed.
1775NT Planter
John Deere also received an AE50 Award for its MY22 1775NT 24-Row Planter with features that increase onboard seed and fertilizer capacity and reduce soil compaction. New commodity tanks provide a 30-bushel increase in onboard seed capacity and 150-gallon increase in liquid-fertilizer capacity compared to previous models, with a mainframe tracks option that reduces ground pressure under the center section by 70% compared to tires. “The reduction in ground pressure helps increase crop yield by reducing soil compaction in rows under the center frame, and increases the productivity of existing farmland,” Dawson said. “The additional onboard commodity capacity reduces the number of seed and fertilizer tender stops, saving customers time and fuel.”
HDF Hinged Frame Flexible Cutterbar Draper
John Deere HDF Drapers were another AE50 award winner. These drapers provide superior ground-following capability for on-and-off-ground harvesting, so customers can recover more crop while meeting the high-capacity needs of today’s combines. The HDF combines a flexible cutterbar with a hinged frame and hydraulic suspension and is the industry’s first combine header that merges a flexible cutterbar; hydraulic suspension between combine and head and between center frame and wings; a hinged frame with vertically articulating wings; and in-cab, on-the-fly float pressure and cut-height adjustment. This combination offers the best terrain-following performance in the industry.
Quick Change Blades for ProSeries Openers
Another AE50 award was presented to John Deere for its Quick Change Blades for its ProSeries Openers that help farmers save time and reduce labor costs required to change them on no-till air seeding tools. Using Quick Change Blades significantly reduces dealer maintenance costs and the time a customer may spend under the drill performing this routine maintenance.
W200 Series Self-Propelled Windrowers and Platforms
John Deere W200 Series Self-Propelled Windrowers received an AE50 award and are available with optional new features that include TouchSet in-cab push-button controls operators can use to adjust swath flap and forming shields from the cab. This technology helps them maximize their windrowing efficiency with every pass through the field.
C770 Cotton Harvesters
Last August, John Deere introduced the new CP770 Cotton Picker and new CS770 Cotton Stripper. Each machine provides unmatched levels of productivity, technology, and efficiency for cotton growers. The CP770 Cotton Picker can harvest more than 10 acres per hour while reducing cotton losses. The CS770 Cotton Stripper can harvest up to an extra 100 acres per day in dryland cotton. “Both machines feature a new cotton handling system that reduces wrap and hauling costs up to 8% on the picker and 12% on the stripper,” Dawson said. “Customers and the environment benefit through less wrap and fuel being used through the life of these harvesters.”
