Visitors to the TEAGASC Crops and Spreaders open day will be able to get a unique insight into retrofitted precision technology, with live demonstrations of Trimble’s latest autopilot and ISOBUS controls.
The live demos will feature a JCB Fastrac fitted with the state-of-the-art Trimble GFX-750 display, and the Autopilot Automated Steering System, which can be directly fitted to Steer-Ready vehicles or retrofitted into the hydraulic system to make it Steer-Ready, offering one-inch accuracy.
“There is a lot of interest in retrofitting autosteer and ISOBUS controls at the moment, given the availability of EU grant funding for up to 60% of the cost of precision technology,” explains Mick McCarthy from Trimble dealer Vantage Ireland.
The Fastrac will be hooked up, via retrofitted ISOBUS control, to a Rauch Axis-M 30.2 EMC twin-disc spreader, to demonstrate full dynamic section control and variable rate application.
Vantage will also have two static demonstration tractors showcasing different precision control systems including Trimble’s new Field-IQ ISOBUS ECU, which can be retrofitted to almost any sprayer, enabling section control, variable rate control and general sprayer management.
In addition, visitors can take a look at the new Field-IQ ISO weather station. This fits onto any tractor, giving real-time information on wind and gust speeds and direction, as well as temperature and relative air humidity, to enable instant decision-making in the cab.
Internal temperature and barometric pressure sensors help predict changing weather patterns, and the station can also calculate the Delta T value, a standard indicator for determining acceptable spray conditions, demonstrating the droplet lifetime in relation to the evaporation rate.
For those more interested in the software side, Trimble’s pioneering precision farming software will be on display following its launch at the Cereals Event, with the AutoSync feature seamlessly transferring information between tractors and smart devices.
This feature automatically syncs guidance lines, field names, boundaries, landmarks and operator information, giving real-time information across computers, phones and Trimble displays using the Precision-IQ field application. This reduces human error and eliminates the need to manually share data via USB, improving overall farm record integrity.
“The advantage of using Trimble equipment is that it’s brand agnostic, so it works with any brand of machine or tractor,” says Mr McCarthy. “Trimble systems are market-leading in this country and the support from Vantage Ireland makes adopting precision technology a really straightforward process.”
Visitors to the TEAGASC open day can visit Trimble / Vantage on stand C24.
For more information visit agriculture.trimble.com
