A24-L*ncuter Farming, Saturday, November 4, 2000
Deere Creates
New Management Solutions
LENEXA, Kan. In
order to help farmers better
utilize new technology with
their equipment and with
their operations, John Deere
has created an Agricultural
Management Solutions
(AMS) group. The objective
is to integrate technology into
farm equipment and to de
velop agricultural solutions
around a customer’s business
practices.
“We’ve identified four
Coming up with new ways to solve on-farm tasks. Key to making precision ag
riculture work lies in understanding how to integrate the technology and apply
site-specific information in making decisions that meet whole-farm manage
ment goals.
Precision Ag
Management
erators to easily share elec
tronic data files or reports
with their crop consultants,
and even upload the files and
consult with suppliers and
experts on-line,” said Porter.
JDmap works in tandem
with the Vantage Point Net
work (www.vantagepoint.
com), an on-line information
system serving agriculture
and the farming community.
The payoff comes when the
producer uses this informa*
tion to determine exactly how
many bags of each seed vari
ety is needed, thus reducing
overstocks and saving pre
cious working capital and in
ventory costs. In addition, the
farmer can capture early pur
chase discounts, while at the
same time potentially creat
ing maps for variable rate
seeding to take advantage of
the specific yield characteris
tics of each acre in a field.
However, this detailed
basic management areas that
focus on farming opera
tions,” said Barry Schaffter,
vice-president, Agricultural
Management Solutions
(AMS). “These include pro
duction activities, equipment
management, agronomic and
information services, and
farm business management.”
The AMS group will in
tegrate new technology into
farm equipment and offer
products and services to help
analysis would not be possi
ble with just a yield monitor
or a GPS receiver. It takes an
integrated package to take
raw information and tran
slate it into usable informa
tion.
Whether growers are
taking in heavy-hitting con
cepts such as the driverless
tractor or deciding whether
the latest in technology is a
financially sound purchase,
how they will manage that
new technology is in the fore
front of their minds. Olson
said information-intensive
management practices will
become increasingly import
ant as producers adapt to the
growing complexity and risk
exposure in farming. “Mana
gers need improved informa
tion technology, greater
information processing capa
bility, and better decision-
making aids
precision agriculture.”
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farmers take advantage of
this technology to become
more productive and profita
ble.
“With the fast pace of
computers and new technol
ogy,” said Schaffer, “farmers
need help on how to best use
this technology. Customers
have told us that if we can’t
show them how to save a
dime with the new technol
ogy, they don’t want us to put
another nickel into the ma-
Precision agriculture’s technology potential has been discussed for years,
but producers and experts say that unless a new technology adds dollars to the
bottom line today, such hi-tech tools are really no more than a hi-tech diversion.
that’s
Review
chinery.”
The main goal of AMS will
be to help customers reduce
input costs, increase yields,
gain more efficient use from
their equipment, and en
hance opportunities for in
creased income through
commodity management.
Deere 4710 Self-Propelled
Sprayer Boosts Productivity
LENEXA, Kan. Built
on an innovative four-wheel
independent-strut vehicle
suspension system, the new
4710 Sprayer from John
Deere features increased
power, faster field and trans
port speeds, larger solution
and fuel tanks, and increased
underframe clearance.
The 4710 Sprayer is
powered by a 6.8-liter John
Deere Powertech® engine
that generates 200 horse
power at a rated speed. When
the engine lugs down, in
muddy or loose soils, for in
stance, the turbocharged
engine delivers a 10 percent
power bulge above rated
horsepower (up to 205 hp).
A new four-range hydros
tatic transmission allows
working speeds up to 20.2
mph and transport speeds up
to 29.6 mph. The .primary
brake is integrated into the
Hydrostatic Master Control
and a service brake, located
at the operator’s right foot,
provides more braking con
trol.
The 4710 has a 95-gallon
fuel tank with an 800-gallon
solution tank. For easy acces
sibility, all solution valves
“John Deere offers a full
line of equipment with the
latest in high-technology sys
tems,” said Schaffter,” and
we want to offer our custom
ers, worldwide, a full
solution package for their
farming operations.”
and the solution tank quick
fill are consolidated into two
manifolds that can be ac
cessed from the ground.
The patented vehicle sus
pension system positions a
large strut and air spring
under each wheel to isolate
and absorb bumps and jolts.
A scissors-type linkage helps
keep the wheel tracking
properly, similar to the link
age on an airplane’s landing
gear.
Three boom suspension
systems are designed to
maintain uniform spray cov
erage, helping to reduce
spray drift. A large hydraulic
accumulator in the lift cylin
der controls vertical suspen
sion and cushions bouncing,
while a center-pivot roll sus
pension keeps the boom level
with the ground on terraces
and sidehills. Yaw suspenr
Sion ties the left and right
wings together around a pi
voting central axis to work in
concert and prevent the boom
from “flapping,” even in
high-speed turns. Sixty
inches of underframe
clearance provides the added
space required for many late
season applications such as
tasseled corn.