DMancastar Finning, ‘Saturday, January 17, 199$
Agco Launches
Touch-Screen GPS
ATLANTA, Ga. - If you can
point and touch, you can use
Fieldstar.
• That's because Fieldstar, the
new GPS precision farming sys
tem from Agco, features and
exclusive touch-screen com
mand center that displays vital
yield data and combine perfor
mance with just the tap of a fin
ger.
Called, the Datalbuch com
mand center, it will be available
as a part of Fieldstar in Agco
brand combines, including all
rotary and conventional models
of Gleaner and Massey
Ferguson, starting in January
1998.
"We believe Fieldstar is die
most user-friendly GPS package
out there," said Jerry Weaver,
general marketing manager,
Fieldstar™ at Agco. "Our engi
neers have created a central
control unit that records and
displays all key harvest func
tions involved in GPS-farming
just by tapping the screen.
"In field tests this fail, form
ers loved the way it worked," he
said. "Now they have GPS data
right at their fingertips.:
In addition to the touch
screen display, Fieldstar
includes a yield sensor mounted
in the clean grain elevator, a
moisture sensor that continually
samples grain flow at the grain
bin loading tube, a DGPS receiv
er and antenna mounted on the
cab, and a communications unit
I—tailed out of sight to seduce
cab clutter.
A dot matrix printer in also
available far installation in the
cab to providt on-the-go print
«uts in bard copy format
The office support package
includes two data transfer
cards, a data card reader and
Windows-compatible mapping
software. The mapping software
is programmed to transfer field
data to color yield maps, l\ar
graphs, pie charts, and individ
ual field profit maps. Each data
card is about the size of a credit
card and holds 30 hours of har
vest information for easy down
loading to the farm office com
puter.
Minimum computer require
ments for Fieldstar are a 486
DX2, or higher, computer using
Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
with 8 meg RAM, or higher, 20
meg of hard drive space and a
color monitor VGA. A tape drive
backup is also recommended.
Agco offers two satellite signal
correction options—differential
New Belt Feeders For
Lengths Up To 200 Feet
POUND, Wis. - The new Patz
Model 1208 Feeder uses a 12-
inch belt and deep-trough, open
center pan sections for feeding
up to 1,000 pounds per minute.
The Model 1608 Feeder uses a
16-inch belt for feeding up to
radio beacons and satellite dif
ferential. Differential radio bea
cons, opefated by the U.S. Coast
Guard and Army Corps of
Engineers, is a free service buy
only covers farm land near
coastlines and navigable water
ways. The satellite differential
option covers every acre of
North America but has a sub
scription fee.
"The Datalbuch screen dis
plays information in bar graph
format" noted Weaver. "It's also
very easy to customize the order
in which combine functions and
crop data are displayed to meet
operators' preference.:
Three screens can be
accessed with a tap of the finger,
Weaver noted. The transport
screen indicates ground speed,
local time and GPS status. The
main menu screen is used to set
up daily harvest programs, and
covers combine settings, crop
settings and system diagnostics.
The harvest screen reports
yield, yield dry, moisture, crop
temperature, elevator speed and
also ground speed.
Data can be summarized by
trip, field and job categories,
including acres per hour and
bushels per hour. Yield, mois
ture, and capacity graphs are
also sub-divided into current
and average readings.
Yield and moisture sensors
constantly relay information to
the oommumcations an it which
acts as the brain of Fieldatar. It
ivimtiinaa harvest data with GPS
loaatiim signals «od passes ft fo
the Oatalbadi center for in-cab
display and logging onto the
data card.
A forerunner to Agoo's pre
sett Fieldstar system has (wen
commercially used in Europe in
Massey Ferguson combines
since 1992. "This experience,
along with extensive field test
ing in the U.S., has played a
major role in the development of
a total GPS package that's
designed to work together and is
easy for producers to use,:
Weaver said.
Agco plans to expand por
tions of Fieldstar to its White
planter brand, which introduced
the first variable rate seed drive
in 1996. This technology permits
farmers who operate selected
models of White planters to
manually adjust seed popula
tions on-the-go from the tractor
cab. The Data Touch unit of
Fieldstar has been designed to
go from combine to tractor for
use in future variable rate appli
cations like these.
1,690 pounds per minute.
■ Economical single-motor
drive can feed one or two lots
with the bunk split lengthwise.
One motor drives both the feed
carrying belt and the continu
ous-loop, cable-driven plow.
Vermeer
PELLA, lowi Vermeer has
introduced their first entry into the
the “big square” bale market
The new Vermeer Command-
RAM harvests up to 45 tons of hay
per hour. It creates an ideal bole
size, in dimension and weight, for
economical handling and hauling.
The solid 38-inch x 46-inch six-tie
packages (which can weigh up to
1,600 pounds) enable operators
with standard flatbed trucks to
transport 33 percent mote “big
squares” (versus the 4-foot x
4-fool packages). They also pro
vide a mote stable foundation for
uniform stacking and storage.
CommandßAM features a
unique, state-of-the-art hydraulic
plunger drive system which com
presses the hay in the chamber on
ly “on command” when the
chamber is full In addition to im
proving hay distribution during
the plunging process and produc
ing mote uniform and consistent
slices for feeding, the hydraulic
drive system sharply reduces an
nual repair, maintenance and
equipment replacement costs by
using fewer moving parts, elim
inating high-wear plunger chains.
MOLINE, 111. - Featuring 11
feet of cutting width, the John
Deere WF1655 wide-area front
mower grooms large open areas
in half the time of traditional 72-
inch mowers to reduce labor
costs.
With its three-deck mower
setup (one front and two wing
mowers), operators can also
count on smooth power from the
hydraulic drive system. This
system allows the decks ta float
and follow ground contour with
out belts or shafts restricting
movement.
The 51-hp WF1655 is
equipped with a dean-burning
overhand-valve Yanmar diesel
engine for ample power.
Increased flexihittty results
in higher productivity for com
mercial grounds care techni
cians, sports-turf managers and
Satellite Link Used To
Introduce Weed Control Technology
CHICAGO. 111. Two of rim
latest discoveries in weed control
wen introduced to American
farmcn recently by way of an
other new technology: direct
satellite-Upk television.
American Cyanamid need the
studio* of Channel Earth (channel
283 on the DirecTV service) to
present via satellite information
about Raptor™ herbicide for soy
beans and Lightning™ herbicide
for IMI-com® hybrids.
Raptor is the newest member of
the imidazolinone family of herbi
cides. “It offers broad-spectrum
contact and residual control of
For feeding up to six lots dif
ferent rations, an instant
reverse motor drives the plow. A
control panel uses reed switches
to control the plow for flexible
layouts of lots.
These feeders can be cus
tomized by adding options such
as hoppers, convey sides, feed
deflector, belt wiper, wind
boards, and covers.
Goes ‘Square’ Baling
Din new Vermeer Com
mandßAM harvests up to 45
tons of hay per hour. It cre
ates an ideal bale size, In di
mension and welBM, tar eco
nomical handling and haul
ing.
sprockets, gears and gearboxes.
“The simpler, hydraulic drive is
designed to decrease downtime
when the hay’s ready and increase
production over an entire season,”
according to A 1 Van Dyke, sales
manager of Vermeer’s Agf Divi
sion. "The reversible hydraulic
drive feed system, operated from
the tractor seat, can save hours of
hand work unplugging a baler.
Hydraulic relief valves geminate
time spent replacing shear bolts.
Buie maintenance and service re-
Hydraulic Drive
Allows Decks to ‘Float’
golf course superintendents.
The WRl6ss’s mower docks
operate independently, allowing
operators to raise a wing mower
to pass by a tree or mow a tight
area. "Hie wing decks also turn
off and ob automatically when
raised and lowered.
The WF1655 delivers strong
torque with miserly fuel econo
my, and provides high visibility
with extra trimming ability
in an overall well-balanced
machine.
When mowing hillsides or
slippery areas, extra traction is
available .by the
WFMSSSb foll-tiasto' nr on
demand four-wheel drive and
differential lock. Additional fea
tures inchsde i > 11
for iiygewM6ie4o
aids operator a
tilting steering coluwft for added
comfort and operating ease.
arose dnm 30 beandhaf and gmas
weeds, pins NMianri flexibility
that’s uumstrbii by m* ntber
postcmergencc eonmct and re
sidual heriscide," aw Pat Camp
bed, vice pstrident af— rirting at
Lightning is lha newest hstbi
cide for use on Odl-Oon hybrids,
which have been specially bred to
tolerate imidazolinone herbicides.
“Lightning is an imidazolinone
herbicide applied postemergence
that provides contact and residual
control of most grasses and broad
leaves." Campbell said. “That in
cludes foxtails, crabgrass, woolly
K ' C *
quircments are significantly
duccd.
“And daily maintenance i
service takes just minutes. A
mote'
servi
sary.
forks
also
Van
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to haylage.
FaHturiog n feat*
MMh, Vw mm Otar* 1
«Mmmi front mower
mmorncNDinai. _
«n t» isgan that ami
coats.
OHMS, wild PKM millet,
vetUeC coddebw mi:
‘Thete new products
ttrale the American
commitment to bringiog
die belt crap protection >
modem technology has to
Campbell said.
Channel Earth is the Tl
satellite-link channel dev
clusively to serving
ranchers, and
It is estimated that a
DirecTV’s more than
lion subscribers live •