Today, precision ag technology and computer vision have reached a point where advanced farm equipment automation is a practical reality for every grower. These systems act like a partner in the cab, handling the tough, repetitive parts of the job with the skill of a seasoned operator. To help you navigate these advancements, this article explores our framework for automation and how these integrated solutions can be applied to your specific operation.
Through extensive Customer Driven Product Design research, we’ve found that current and future technology needs to fall into categories of automation for agricultural field applications. These help you identify the right farm automation solutions to reduce labor and fuel costs by optimizing every pass for maximum efficiency. The categories and types of activities associated with each include:
Modern farming begins with core technology that comes standard on your equipment. Connectivity Included, our subscription-free telematics, is the gateway to our data management solutions, like FieldOps, providing the digital backbone for your operation. Here’s a brief overview of each:
These tools deliver immediate value by allowing you to monitor machine health and field progress in real time, ensuring that your fleet is always ready for the next level of agriculture automation.
A high-quality tractor guidance system is the first step toward a more efficient season. Solutions like AccuGuide and AccuTurn Pro deliver sub-inch accuracy using RTK+ and NTRIP technology to provide the most reliable correction signals available, as well as hands-free steering. By automating your path, you eliminate the overlaps and skips that waste expensive inputs. This precision not only protects your crops from accidental damage but also reduces operator fatigue, allowing for longer, more productive days in the field.
AccuGuide provides the repeatable accuracy needed to ensure every seed and nutrient is placed exactly where it belongs. With a variety of guidance patterns — from straight lines to complex curves and spirals — this system adapts to the unique shape of your fields. This flexibility ensures that your machine stays on the right path regardless of terrain, maximizing your agronomic performance across every acre.
AccuTurn Pro takes this efficiency to the next level by automating the most demanding part of the job: the end-of-row turn. This technology uses smart path planning to calculate the most efficient turn for your specific implement, ensuring you enter the next pass perfectly square. It can even be programmed to automatically raise tools and change gears during the turn, allowing you to focus on the work behind you while the machine handles the maneuvers ahead.
True efficiency happens when your machines work together. By utilizing ISOBUS Class 3 technology, your implements can "talk" to your tractor, automatically adjusting functions like ground speed and hitch position. It automates repetitive tasks, like stopping for a bale, so the equipment can work faster and more accurately.
Other technologies such as Section and Rate Control ensure that seed and fertilizer are placed exactly where they are needed, significantly reducing waste and maximizing your return on investment.
Section and Rate Control uses industry-leading technology to place seed, fertilizer or application inputs exactly where you want them. This ensures you never waste seed or fertilizer and gives every acre exactly what it needs to thrive.
The highest level of smart farming involves machines that proactively adjust their own settings based on real-time field conditions.
Soil Command allows you to monitor and adjust your tillage settings in real-time to create a perfectly level seedbed. You can easily coordinate field-specific tillage prescriptions with customizable presets or make the on-the go, in-cab, single-touch adjustments that deliver consistent and precise tillage passes, regardless of the operator’s skill level.
Harvest Command proactively adjusts the combine as crop conditions change using exclusive patented technology. It uses 16 sensors to automatically adjust your combine's settings as crop conditions change throughout the day.
These tools optimize performance and consistency across every acre, ensuring that even under changing conditions, your machine maintains peak productivity without constant manual adjustment.
Integrating precision ag technology addresses the core challenges of modern production through four key advantages:
These categories work together, and many farmers are already using Guidance or Connectivity today. You can choose the level of help that fits your specific farm and your way of working.
Explore the full Case IH precision technology portfolio, or talk to your Case IH dealer about how today’s technology can help you run a more profitable operation.