AGCO Open Farm Equipment Guidance System

Sep 25, 2015

From AGCO

AGCO Corporation, a world-leading manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, announced today its next generation of integrated guidance technology for farm machinery to help growers maximize outputs. With this new move, users of AGCO's guidance systems will have greater choice as to which receivers they employ with their farm equipment to process the positioning information sent from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS).

This new offering represents a significant update for VarioGuide, available on AGCO's Fendt machines, and for Auto-Guide for all other AGCO brands including Challenger, Massey Ferguson and Valtra.

As part of Fuse, AGCO's open approach to precision agriculture focused on optimizing the farm, these new guidance offerings bring customers more guidance and correction signal choices than any other manufacturer. With the new Auto-Guide and VarioGuide equipped AGCO machines, customers can choose the accuracy level, the correction source and now also the GNSS receiver-Trimble or NovAtel-that best meet their requirements.

"Growers need solutions focused on reducing farm waste and improving yields," said Matt Rushing, vice president, Global Advanced Technology Solutions (ATS) Product Line at AGCO. "Aligning with our Fuse promise, this new technology is about openness and facilitation, not limitation.

To do this, we're changing the way we deploy our technology to let customers choose what is best for them," said Mr. Rushing. "With the support of new partners like Trimble and NovAtel, our customers now have more freedom and flexibility than ever before, and AGCO adds to its ever expanding list of Fuse partners."

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.