Farmers who watched with curiosity as the Clarkson’s Farm TV show made use of an automated tractor in its last season will now have a chance to try out the AgXeed AgBot in Ontario.
Grand River Robotics is the importer of the Dutch-made cabless, automated tractor, which has three models ranging from 75 to 230 horsepower.
WHY IT MATTERS
There aren’t many automation options for tractors in Ontario yet, but the arrival of the AgXeed will bring a proven option to the marketplace.
Harry Linde, general manager of Grand River Robotics, which supplies automation to farmers with Lely milking and feeding equipment and the 360Rain automated manure and water irrigation system, said they went looking for more automation to sell.
The adoption of 360Rain has been above their expectations, and he expects there will be interest in the AgXeed.
AgXeed is one of the most mature automated tractor technologies in the world. More than 100 units are operating in Europe, Australia and North America.
The tractors are powered using a hybrid diesel-electric drive. A diesel engine powers electric motors that put more power directly to the tracks, which limits moving parts.
Grand River Robotics expects its first tractor, a 230 horsepower tracked version, to come off the production line in the Netherlands in October.
“This one fits our portfolio and provides a solution for a lot of farmers trying to automate with a shortage of labour,” said Linde at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, where the company announced that it will be supplying the AgXeed to farmers in Ontario.
Like other companies Linde and Grand Valley Robotics work with, such as Lely, AgXeed was built from the ground up as a company to build an automated tractor. It wasn’t retrofitted.
The latest version is the T2-7, a 230 horsepower tractor that has moved the company’s market beyond specialty and horticulture crops to row crops, said Linde. Livestock farmers have also shown interest in the tractor in Europe, he said.
Check out detailed specs, photos and more…
AgXeed AgBot 7.230T2
“We saw that as an opportunity. There’s not just a focus on the automation of a tractor; they’re focused on routing,” he said, with software to reduce compaction.
Unlike other automated tractors, which have limited implement options so far, the AgXeed is doing many field tasks from strip tilling to plowing, mowing, raking, manure spreading and drag lining, said Linde.
What about autonomous tractor safety?
The system is designed with multiple levels of safety, Linde said.
That includes bumpers in the front, cameras and a LiDAR system.
“That was something that was a big concern for us; there’s a liability, a lot of houses close by to acreages around here,” he said.
There are still some standards to figure out around how the unit will meet Canadian standards, but that’s the work Grand River Robotics and AgXeed are going to have to do, said Linde.
“Generally speaking, farmers in Ontario are a lot more accepting of automation. The adoption of automation is a lot quicker than what I’ve seen in the last 25 years.”
There are already two other AgXeed units in Canada at PGS, a dealer near Taber, Alta.
