RACINE, Wis. — Telematics will soon be changing the way farmers
produce and harvest hay, and in a good way.
“With telematics, farmers can remotely capture data from harvesters and
tractors,” says Kevin Shinners, Ph.D., Professor of Agricultural Engineering at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“A farmer can sit at a computer and see if the harvester is moving in the
field and can tell when another truck or crew is needed,” says Shinners. “If we
can track things like fuel use and tonnage in each field, we can really start to
get a handle on costs, figure out where there are inefficiencies and determine
how to overcome those problems.”
The productivity benefits of this type of system are obvious, but Shinners
cautions that now people need to learn how to use all of the available
information. “As researchers, we need to help producers exploit that information
to make management decisions.”
Brett DeVries, Case IH Hay and Forage Marketing Manager, explains how new
technologies will push hay productivity advancements even further. “With a bale
weight system, you can monitor and control bale density, shape, weight and
length, all from the cab. You can monitor the moisture content in each bale, so
you know exactly what you’re putting up.
“With telematics, we’ll also be able to direct all that information to an
office computer, along with real-time information about how the equipment is
operating, how much fuel is being used, engine speed, etc.,” he says. Starting
this spring, Case IH dealers will begin retrofitting AFS Connect Manager™ and
AFS Connect Executive™ packages on fleets of both Case IH and competitive
equipment as part of its commercial introduction of Case IH telematics
technology.
A Radio Frequency Identification bale ID tag system can also help assure hay
quality, says Shinners. “A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag on a bale
can store a lot of important information related to the quality of the bale,” he
says. “It includes which field it’s from, where in the field it was made in and
the bale’s moisture content. With that information, a producer can feed the
highest-moisture bales sooner and store the driest-moisture bales longer. The
information can help a producer make decisions on which bales to use first and
how to price them.”
Farmers can see Case IH AFS Connect™ telematics technology, new Case IH
balers, bale weight systems and RFID tags firsthand at Case IH dealers. And,
they can take advantage of the great offers on the full line of Farmall®, Puma®
and Maxxum® tractors, as well as balers and windrowers, through the Case IH
Field of Deals sales event that is running now through April 30, 2012.
For more information on the Case IH Field of Deals
sales event and sweepstakes, including official rules, visit www.caseihdeals.com.