Hailing new solutions!

For nearly a year, our farmers have worked in conditions imposed by the WTO. The new economic situation stimulates more efficient work and helps us compete more successfully on the global market. No success is possible without modern technological solutions.

Searching for new technological solutions, specialists from AgroCentre and its customers attended the Agritechnica 2013 international agricultural exhibition. This year there were a record number of new products, in excess of 400 items.

“Agritechnica is the main venue where farmers from all over the world can seek new prospects,” says Nikolai Ivanishchev, Director General of AgroCentre-Holding LLC. “Much of what was new at the previous exhibition is now operating on fields across the globe. The leading manufacturers of equipment regard our farming business as a going concern. This exhibition witnessed many interesting innovations and technological solutions expressly adapted for work on Russian fields.”

The exhibits of AGCO Corporation generously offered the AgroCentre specialists a great variety of brands and models to consider. The guests were introduced to world-famous products from Challenger, Valtra, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and GSI.

The farming full-liner Challenger presented a new sprinkler, RoGator 700 (2,650 l). Its developers point out that thanks to its new four-cylinder engine, AGCO Power (165 hp), this machine will operate on all types of seemingly non-arable lands, as if they were ideal fields. In terms of performance, the engine compares to a six-cylinder counterpart. This was achieved thanks to the felicitous combination of the engine and its hydrostatic drive. As a result, the entire drive arrangement operates smoothly, providing efficiency 20% higher than that of other machines.

The capabilities of the sprinkler, offered at a very attractive price in the basic configuration, are quite impressive. Unlike rival models, the RoGator 700 sprinkler provides most of the essential functions, such as automatic section deactivation, anti-skidding device, full drive arrangement, rod and terminal section deviation in the standard configuration.

Challenger presented the latest items in the series E tractor product line (tractors in the 350-400 hp power range). The machines are powered by the AGCO PowerLine diesel engine (7 cylinders, 9.8 l capacity). These feature a smooth distribution of torque in a wide range of revolutions and increased torque at lower revolutions.

The farmers were also familiarised with Massey Ferguson, another interesting brand from AGCO. Presently it will really make its presence felt on the Russian market.

“In 2014, Massey Ferguson combine harvesters will start to be built in Russia, at Golitsyno near Moscow,” says Richard Markwell, Vice President and Director General of Massey Ferguson in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

JCB greeted guests and the AgroCentre delegation by offering them telescopic and front loaders for farming jobs. Those are upgraded compact versions of the TM180 and TM220 fitted with a telescopic jib. The chief modernisation concerns the machines’ engines. The new engine, JCB Diesel, differs from its predecessor by higher power, greater torque, lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions. In addition, the Farm Master 435S Agri loader got a more powerful 145 hp engine and improved hydraulics. The machine is fitted with a new, load sensitive variable volume piston pump, which increases the hydraulic system output to 156 l/minute.

The stand of the Swedish company Vaderstad greeted the Russian guests with new smart products. Among them was the E-services attachment installed for using an iPad to control Tempo and Rapid seeders. This facilitates seed control, provides information on the machine’s operating parameters, deactivates individual sections, supervises markers, keeps the logbook and orders spare parts straight from the field, all thanks to the E-parts attachment. Another new product from Vaderstad can be safely described as “a special gift for Russia.” This is the Tempo cultivating seeder with an innovative technology of seed embedding called Power Shoot. This novelty, that stole the show at the previous Agritechnica, is now manufactured in a 12-row version.

The Optima V seeder for row crops, displayed on the Kverneland Group stand, drew eager attention from the AgroCentre specialists. This model has showed itself to advantage on Russian farms and is now manufactured with a telescopic jib, enabling a quick change of between-rows spacing from 30 to 80 cm.

Also on display was the KNOCK-ON fast plough share replacement system. By a hammer and chisel, without turning the nuts and bolts, it is possible to replace the share tip. The procedure takes up a tenth of the time needed for replacing the entire reversible share.

The product line of Kverneland light mowers came by a new model, 5095Рњ. This is designed expressly for large fields. It comprises two wide cutting tools of the mowing type, 3.6 m wide, which increase the operating width to 9.5 m.

Towards the end of the visit to Agritechnica, the AgroCentre specialists saw the Massey Ferguson facilities close up by visiting the tractor plant in Beauvais, France (see details on page 11). In operation since 1960, in 1994 it became the property of AGCO Corporation. Each day, 75 tractors in a power range from 65 to 300 hp roll off the assembly line here. Massey Ferguson is one of the world’s most famous farm brands, a pioneer of many unique developments. Among them are a three-point mount for tractors, serial assembly of the first modern grain combine harvesters, crop production maps and automatic control systems.

“The current economic situation drove many farmers to learn to economise, cut costs and optimise production,” says Vladimir Solovyov, Executive Director of Vozrozhdeniye LLC. “Now, when we choose a machine, we study the economic effect it produces. We’re very glad that AgroCentre arranged a meeting for us with the leading manufacturers of agricultural equipment and introduced us to new agrarian developments and promising solutions.”