15 Fendt, for example, will commercially launch its 70 horsepower e100 Vario all-electric tractor in North America in 2025. The tractor is powered by a 650 V high-capacity lithium-ion battery with a capacity of approximately 100 kWh. It can operate for up to five hours on a charge, can handle traditional or electric implements, and can be charged up to 80 per cent in about 40 minutes using a standard CCS type 2 plug. Crawford visited a manufacturing plant in Germany earlier in 2023 to see the first units come off the line as European farmers will be able to purchase the e100 Vario beginning in 2024. “It still looks like a tractor and drives like a tractor,” he said. Those tractors were put into use and received positive feedback. “On a livestock farm, what the farmers found was the operation was very simple and seamless,” Crawford said. “And when you’re doing chores in the morning and at night, that allows for a few windows of work followed by a window for charging. And because of how quiet it is, there’s less stress on the animals.” Some AGCO products are also compatible with biofuels. The new line of AGCO Power Core engines can be used with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) renewable fuel. This type of diesel is produced from waste, residue oil and fats, like used cooking oil. These new engines will be installed in the Fendt 700 Vario tractors, Crawford said. AGCO is also working on hydrogen-based fuel cell technology, a biomethane natural gas unit, and a concept hybrid tractor for its Massey Ferguson and Valtra brands. “The concept tractor combines a battery-powered motor with a smaller internal combustion engine as an interim route to all-electric farming,” Crawford said. Looking to 2030, AGCO has set a goal it feels is achievable. By that year, the company hopes to automate the crop cycle with autonomous planting, baling and grain handling capabilities currently in development. “At each step (field prep, planting, crop protection and harvest), we want farmers to get their tractors and implements to the field and then leave it, and it will get the job done,” Crawford said. “But we also have to make sure the job is being done right and that we can check up on it from anywhere.” Multiple autonomous features are already available. AGCO combines can automatically connect to headers, and planters can sense and make adjustments to ensure even weight across the toolbar, Crawford said. A new member of AGCO’s autonomy family could be available to producers sooner than later. A semi-autonomous grain cart could be available on a retrofit basis within the next two harvest seasons, Crawford said. | pag PHOTO: gpointstudio – stock.adobe.com
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