CNH Industrial has lifted the curtain on the cutting-edge technology the global machinery manufacturer has in development.
Headlining this progress are two world-first alternative fuel tractor prototypes - the New Holland T7 Methane Power LNG and the New Holland T4 Electric Power.
The New Holland T7 Methane Power LNG is the first tractor to be powered by liquefied natural gas generated from fugitive methane.
It will lose none of the power of its diesel-fuelled counterpart and has a 201 kilowatt (270 horsepower) engine.
The New Holland T4 Electric Power is the industry's first all-electric light utility tractor prototype with autonomous features and has an e-motor peak of up to 89kw (120hp).
Both tractors were on display at the company's Tech Day held at the University of Arizona's Maricopa Agricultural Center last Thursday.
CNH Industrial CEO Scott Wine said driving innovation and breaking new ground was not a new concept for the company, which has been manufacturing machinery for 180 years.
"The work that we're doing with methane, to use methane as a fuel for our tractors and capture that on a farm, is unbelievable," he said.
"The extent of our reach with electrification and how we're going to bring that to bear for certain farm uses is really, really exciting."
Also making its debut at the event was the Driver Assist Harvest Solution.
The automated technology allows a farmer driving a harvester to call a driverless tractor pulling a grain bin up alongside the harvester and set the tractor's path and speed.
These two machines can then be synchronised to unload on the go.
A driverless tillage solution is also in development, where no operator needs to be in the cab and the tractor can be controlled remotely.
Mr Wine said advanced technology solutions like this could help alleviate labour shortages in the farming sector.
"The reason they [farmers] want better precision, better automation, better autonomy is they are having trouble, just like many of our dealers are, just like we are in our factories, getting enough help," he said.
"Certainly part of that is caused by inflation and we're seeing inflation in all parts of the world."
Throughout the presentations at the Tech Day it was clear CNH's acquisition of Raven is playing a vital role in the company's autonomous and automated technology journey.
"The value that business and team have brought to us, accelerating our journey with autonomy, giving us better capabilities to serve our farmers and the way that team has integrated with CNH and giving us the capability to go faster and do more is really exciting," Mr Wine said.
Read more:
CNH Industrial chief digital product officer Parag Garg said the Raven advantage was playing a major role in and enhancing CNH's tech stack capabilities.
Mr Garg said the company was driving productivity in three key areas - connected platforms, automated solutions and autonomy developments.
He said connected platforms helped seamlessly connect farmers, their machines, fields, teams and partners so they were able to manage their operations and collect data from everywhere, anywhere on any device.
"Our customers want to leverage data, they didn't sign up for a PhD in data analytics," he said.
"The goal is to ensure data and software helps them make informed decisions so they can trust and execute."
Automation was when the operator was in charge of their machine but could transfer limited control for a specific function.
"The key message here is currently we're delivering any immense amount of customer value across the segments and we're poised to deliver a lot more value in the marketplace in 2023 and beyond," Mr Garg said.
"We are taking Raven's cutting edge guidance technology and integrating it with CNH Industrial's existing modular architecture.
"We're doing this with the goal of taking this flexible and robust tech stack and making it essentially tech agnostic."
Autonomy was where the machine accomplished all of its tasks without any operator interaction.
"Our investment in Raven gives us a solid jump-start and a clear advantage as we are rapidly acceleating integration," Mr Garg said.
"We introduced the Case IH Trident 5550 applicator with Raven autonomy earlier this year.
"It is the industry's first driverless applicator, which is the number one application farmers have requested."
CNH Industrial agriculture president Derek Neilson said this year the company had reached its highest profitability ever in its agricultural business.
The company's technology revenue has consistently grown over the past decade, first through retrofit and now with more factory fit solutions.
Its full year 2022 agriculture net sales will include an estimated $1.3 billion (US$900 million) from agricultural precision technology.
This category includes factory fit components and software, Raven independent sales, aftermarket retrofit and unlocking premium features.
It does not include tractor, sprayer, harvester and implement sales.
Mr Neilson said whether it was a factory fit or aftermarket option, precision technology solutions allowed farmers to increase efficiencies and reduce waste.
"Installing precision technology before equipment leaves the factory is a strategic advantage that clearly only OEMs possess," Mr Neilson said.
"However, many farmers cannot afford to buy new equipment every year, so to grow the adoption rate of precision technology we have to continue to offer retrofit solutions.
"This in turn allows us to significantly improve the capabilities of existing machines and help farmers do more without having to always purchase new equipment."
Mr Neilson said the company would continue to deliver on its purpose, breaking new ground with technology.
- The writer travelled as a guest of CNH Industrial.
