AGCO to Introduce IDEAL Combine at 2018 Canada Farm Progress Show

AGCO Corporation , a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, will introduce the IDEAL™ combine to North American growers during the 2018 Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina, Saskatchewan, June 20-22. This will be the first public appearance for the combine in North America, and growers may see it at the AGCO lot, #8103.

 

With the introduction of the IDEAL combine, AGCO brings to market the first “clean sheet” design of a combine in 30 years and the culmination of six years of vigorous testing in a wide range of crops and harvest conditions. At the Canada Farm Progress Show, growers can learn how the IDEAL combine will deliver superior performance and exceptional uptime plus radically simple operation and maintenance.

 

“AGCO’s global research and development team started with a clean sheet and held extensive interviews around the world with growers about their harvesting needs and priorities before developing the IDEAL combine. The IDEAL combine is a direct result of those interviews.” says Caleb Schleder, tactical marketing manager for combines. “Nearly 50 prototypes were built and tested in the lab, in the field and around the globe in challenging conditions to develop this unique, common platform combine. IDEAL has been an immense project. The result is a machine that is designed to harvest all grain crops and operate in nearly all conditions.”

 

IDEAL is a high capacity combine with an efficient, first-in-the industry approach to its processing system that excels in productivity yet is gentle on grain and maintains valuable straw quality. The IDEAL also features unprecedented grain unloading volume and speed; simple, efficient use of power and the capacity to harvest high-yielding crops day in and day out. The combine’s all new approach to automation blends harvesting performance benchmarks and necessary combine settings, enhancing ease of harvest for expert operators and improving efficiency of new operators. The combine will be available in Class 7, 8 and 9, ensuring the right capacity to maximize harvest for all operations.

 

“Taking a global approach when developing products ensures AGCO’s equipment delivers the best solutions that truly take crop production practices to the next step for growers worldwide,” says Schleder. “The introduction of IDEAL represents AGCO’s commitment to furthering our customers operations and builds upon the success we’ve achieved with our 1000 Series tractors and RoGator® C Series row crop applicators. We’re anxious for our customers to experience it in the field.”

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.