Farm406

innovative tools & equipment 15 farm406 Despite its magnificence, when folded the planter is only 4.3 meters wide - the smallest transport width of the category, without the need to disassemble any component. The planter is easily transported on plank trucks simply by removing the fertilizer hopper and the outer wheels from the center chassis. Fendt Smart Frame Linked to the system that comes with vApply Granular is the Fendt Smart Frame. This apparatus ensures that all rows are always in contact with the soil and controls seed depth for even planting. With it, the planting rows are not attached directly to the planter chassis, but to a bracket split into three sections. Each section is driven by two hydraulic cylinders, each to keep the rows always touching the ground. DeltaForce In addition, by replacing the pressure spring of each planting row, there is the DeltaForce, also an exclusive release from Fendt MOMENTUM which, through sensors, guarantees the necessary pressure to cut the straw and apply the seeds at the same depth. San Francisco-based startup, FarmWise and Roush, a full-service product development supplier headquartered in Livonia, Michigan have teamed up and built a dozen prototype self-driving robots this year, with the intention of scaling to additional units in 2020. The idea is these autonomous weeders will replace herbicides and save the grower on labor. By using high-precision weeding, the robotic farm hands can increase the yield of the crops by working day and night to remove unwanted plants and weeds. After all, herbicides are in part because weeding is a terrible job. • ROBOT WEEDERS Handling the Dirty Part of Farming Early FarmWise prototype of the self-driving robot.

• Cover