Machinery and Tech News: Class-10+ Combine Hits North America, Taranis Launches GenAI Assistant

Jul 25, 2024

Claas unveiled its new Lexion 8900 Terra Trac combine this week at the Ag in Motion farm show in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The newest entry to the Lexion lineup delivers 779 max horsepower from an efficient 16.2L MAN engine – an increase of 89 hp over the Lexion 8800 model, according to the company.

Claas says the class-10+ combine is well suited for large-scale small grain operations. While the machine is new to North America, it’s been offered in select regions around the world since 2019.

Other notable features include:

  • 510-bushel grain tank
  • 5.1 bushels per second unloading speed
  • APS Synflow Hybrid system maximizes harvesting performance and efficiency by controlling threshing and separation systems independently.

Cemos Automatic system automatically adjusts machine settings in real-time based on crop flow and changing crop conditions.
Broad range of available CLAAS combine headers, including the new 50 ft./15.3 m wide CONVIO FLEX 1530 flex-belt draper header.

Taranis Harnesses Generative AI With Ag Assistant

Taranis announced the launch of what it is claiming to be the industry’s first AI-powered agronomic engine, Ag Assistant.

"Our GenAI model was trained on a growing library of more than 500 million leaf-level data points along with relevant, vetted industry information," says Jason Minton, chief commercial officer, Taranis. "Ag Assistant will enhance the speed, accuracy and quality of service agronomists can provide growers.”

In addition to Taranis’ proprietary agronomic data library, Ag Assistant also captures, analyzes and contextualizes information from weather maps, machinery data, university research, crop input companies, and other peer-reviewed, credible sources, Taranis says.

The Taranis multimodal Ag GenAI model then cross-references and applies all gathered information to the detected threat(s) in the grower’s field. The output is a report that categorizes and summarizes all identified threats, providing the agronomist with a recommendation for remedy. The report is delivered to the Taranis digital platform, where both the agronomic advisor and enrolled grower are alerted to management opportunities in hours rather than days.

Learn more about Ag Assistant here.

Coalition Fights Back Against Spray Drone Ban

In response to proposed legislation aimed at banning drones manufactured by Chinese companies, a coalition of agricultural spray drone distributors is banding together to form an industry advocacy group, according to a recent press release jointly issued by the companies.

This coalition, consisting of Agri Spray Drones, Bestway Ag, Drone Nerds, HSE-UAV, Pegasus Robotics and Rantizo, intends to represent, protect, and advocate for the interests of the agricultural industry in the use of spray drone technology.

The coalition states:

"Recent legislative proposals, like H.R 2864 which passed in the House version of the NDAA, seek to ban drones manufactured by Chinese companies due to security concerns. However, the proposals currently being presented and discussed fail to consider other methods to address security concerns while also avoiding the significant impact such bans would have on the agricultural industry."

Read more about this group's effort to fight back against a potential nationwide Chinese spray drone ban.

Click here to see more...
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