Author name: Annette

AgXeed has announced the appointment of CLAAS Réseau Agricole Avignon as its distribution and service partner effective from 1st of October 2023.

When selecting distribution partners, AgXeed places the highest emphasis on offering comprehensive service and facilitating direct customer access. Therefore, it is important to have partners who are on-site at the customer’s location and yet can guarantee short and transparent channels to the manufacturer.

For AgXeed and its partners, the term service means more than just providing assistance in the event of damage or maintenance. Service starts with the consultation and analysis of the farms, up to the complete implementation of the autonomous systems from AgXeed. By using the integrated software tools, farmers can plan their operations in the field or in advance.

In the field, size will be replaced by continuity and precision. These are new approaches that require partners who are close to agriculture, who understand that we need to manage our resources differently and who are convinced that autonomy can be a solution here. The fact that autonomy in agriculture is already a reality today is proven by several machines that have performed up to 1800 hours since the market launch of AgXeed AgBots in August 2022. For broad coverage of the French market, AgXeed has now appointed Claas Réseau Agricole as sales and service partner. Further partners for excellent coverage of the French market, will be announced later this year prior to Agritechnica.

CLAAS Réseau Agricole, specializes in harvesting technology and agriculture innovation technology. With a highly professional team and enthusiasm for autonomy, CLAAS Réseau Agricole is an excellent partner for the sales and service of AgXeed products in the northwest region of France.

Digital competence in service, a strong personality, an understanding of local agricultural characteristics in sales, and the will to be a strong, long-term partner of the farmers – these are the compelling arguments why AgXeed has chosen CLAAS Réseau Agricole.

Together, AgXeed and CLAAS Réseau Agricole are in a strong position to address the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, providing farmers with real autonomy to manage their businesses sustainably and profitably.

Denis Jouanne, Vice President Retail France:

“CLAAS Avignon is very thrilled, trained and ready to offer the new AgXeed AgBot-solutions to its customers in the departments 13 Bouches-du-Rhône, 84 Vaucluse, 26 Drôme and 30 Gard. With AgXeed AgBots we all move faster into modern farming practices”.

Anastasia Laska, Chief Commercial Officer for AgXeed:

“AgXeed is very happy to partner with Claas Réseau Agricole Avignon in this exciting journey of making the agricultural world more and more autonomous.”

For further information please contact:

Adrien ArliaudDirector CLAAS Réseau Agricole AvignonAdrien.Arliaud@claas.comwww.claas.fr

Jonatan MuellerHead of Sales Southern Europe – AgXeed B.V.Jonatan.Mueller@agxeed.com+33 7 60 16 63 36www.agxeed.com

Harsewinkel/Oirlo/Hasbergen-Gaste, in September 2023. The world’s first cross-manufacturer autonomy association in agricultural technology, “3A – ADVANCED AUTOMATION & AUTONOMY,” received a Silver Innovation Award from the Agritechnica Innovation Commission. The founding partners, CLAAS, AgXeed, and Amazone, view this recognition as validation of their open approach and objectives to accelerate the development, standardization, and market readiness of partially and fully autonomous tractor-equipment combinations.

Shaping the future together – with a variety of technical solutions for farmers and contractors

Progressive process automation and autonomy will be central themes of discussion between manufacturers, farmers, and contractors at Agritechnica in Hanover in November. Thanks to 3A – ADVANCED AUTOMATION & AUTONOMY, this topic will also feature prominently in cross-manufacturer conversations this year.

The award of a Silver Medal by the Agritechnica Innovation Commission to the 3A network affirms that high levels of automation and autonomy are on the horizon and will soon become integral parts of agricultural practices. The founding members of 3A, CLAAS, AgXeed, and Amazone, expressed their delight at being recognized in the lead-up to the world’s leading agricultural technology trade fair. They emphasized that the open, cross-manufacturer approach of the association not only allows innovative large and medium-sized companies to participate but also provides opportunities for smaller manufacturers with limited development resources. The benefits are evident: technologies are developed more rapidly to reach market maturity by pooling resources and expediting standardization. Furthermore, farmers and contractors will gain access to a wide array of manufacturing solutions within an integrated, open end-to-end management system, enabling them to select the best technology for their operations and needs, irrespective of brand and color.

The initial collaborative project of the 3A consortium is a planning and execution software that enables highly automated to autonomous control of tractors and attachments using the AgXeed Box and the standardized ISOBUS interface. This software facilitates interactions between attachments, field robots, AgBots, and tractors for automated or autonomous process optimization. Throughout the entire process chain, from planning to implementation to analysis, the operator and driver experience reduced workload, resulting in increased fieldwork efficiency.The first products developed for highly automated to autonomous practical use of this planning and evaluation software are Amazone AutoTill for soil cultivators, the AgXeed Box, and CLAAS Autonomy connect. Further cross-manufacturer applications in all practical processes of the agricultural sector will follow. Other manufacturers are expected to join the association to actively contribute to the expansion of application diversity.

About CLAAS

CLAAS (www.claas-gruppe.com) is a family business founded in 1913 and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery. The company, headquartered in Harsewinkel, Westphalia, is the European market leader for forage harvesters and combine harvesters. CLAAS also holds top positions globally in tractors, agricultural balers, grassland harvesting machines, and cutting-edge agricultural information technology. CLAAS employs more than 12,000 staff worldwide and generated a turnover of 4.9 billion euros in 2021.

About AgXeed

AgXeed was established in 2018 and quickly became a global leader in autonomous agriculture. Innovative AgXeed technologies focus on addressing the challenges of sustainable food production, including soil protection, resource conservation, and the shortage of skilled labor. AgXeed’s AgBots are user-friendly and lightweight, minimizing soil compaction, promoting healthy plant growth, and increasing yields. AgXeed software and data modeling enable farmers to proactively control and optimize their operations across all phases of the seasonal farming cycle. The AgXeed product range includes three AgBots with different chassis designs and engine outputs, available in over 20 countries. A network of highly qualified distributors supports their market presence. Weitere Informationen: www.agxeed.com.

About Amazone

AMAZONEN-WERKE H. Dreyer SE & Co. KG manufactures agricultural and municipal machinery, headquartered near Osnabrück in Hasbergen-Gaste. The company, with nine production sites and around 2000 employees, specializes in cultivators, seed drills, fertiliser spreaders, and crop protection sprayers. In 2019, SCHMOTZER Hacktechnik, a hoeing specialist, joined the AMAZONE Group, enhancing their expertise in “intelligent crop cultivation.” More information: www.amazone.uk.

Harsewinkel/Oirlo/Hasbergen-Gaste/Soest, in September 2023. Müthing GmbH & Co. KG became the fourth partner to join the cross-manufacturer agricultural technology autonomy group known as “3A – ADVANCED AUTOMATION & AUTONOMY.” Practical testing of the technology developed by 3A for highly automated to autonomous field cultivation using mulchers is already underway.

3A Gains New Partner

The open and cross-manufacturer approach of 3A – ADVANCED AUTOMATION & AUTONOMY has garnered significant interest from both national and international agricultural technology manufacturers. With Müthing being one of the leading European providers of mulching technology, they are now a part of the 3A Autonomy Network. The 3A development partners explain, “In addition to soil cultivation, sowing, and planting, crop residue management is also suitable for highly automated to autonomous planning and implementation. Like all developments in the autonomous network, the primary focus is on reducing the operator’s workload and ensuring consistently high work quality through fully autonomous execution of recurring processes.”

From Semi-Autonomous Mulching to Fully Autonomous Crop Residue Management

Semi-autonomous crop residue management can already be carried out using a conventional mulcher, with the operator responsible for monitoring the attachment and work quality. The next step involves fully autonomous process planning, execution, monitoring, and documentation. Müthing has developed an electrified mulcher for this purpose, equipped with sensors that communicate with the AgBot or the tractor, which is fitted with an AgXeed Box via the 3A interface. This ensures that the work process runs smoothly within specified parameters, maintaining the desired work intensity and quality. Technical parameters such as temperature and powerrecording of the electric mulcher drive, slip monitoring, speed fluctuations on the belt drive, and vibration monitoring are recorded. In case of excessive vibration or persistent drive overload, the autonomous unit is halted, and the operator is promptly informed.

Through intelligent control and continuous adaptation to prevailing working conditions, autonomous units will automatically adjust driving speed to the amount of crop/biomass in the future. Other companies have also expressed interest in joining the 3A group and have initiated initial discussions with the founding partners.

About 3A – ADVANCED AUTOMATION & AUTONOMY

3A is the first cross-manufacturer autonomy group in agricultural technology. Its mission is to expedite the development, further enhancement, and market launch of technologies for highly automated to autonomous fieldwork, simplifying standardization of interfaces and communication protocols. The initial solutions developed by the group include the AgXeed Box, CLAAS Autonomy connect, and Amazone AutoTill. The association, founded by CLAAS, AgXeed, and Amazone, will receive a silver Innovation Award from the Innovation Commission at Agritechnica 2023.