Precision agriculture equipment was on prominent display at the recent National Farm Machinery Show. Chuck caught up with one of our friends from Topcon Precision Agriculture, Joe Robertson, who was showing their new AGI-4 Receiver/Steering Controller, the first truly modular ISO-compliant steering system.
“It’s a roof receiver that also has all the steering control built in it, so everything is in one component. But in addition to working with our 350 and 150 systems, it can work with other ISO [virtual terminal] or ISO11783-compliant systems. So with a single component on the roof, you can do steering and run it through your existing console in the cab,” Joe said, adding they are testing it to see if it will be compatible with even more systems. “It’s easy to upgrade, you plug it into the system you already have. You don’t have to buy a whole lot of extra. It’ll run on your system.”
Joe said it will be available to order sometime in March, with more information available now on the Topcon Precision Agriculture website and the specific AGI-4 Receiver/Steering Controller page. It’s just one of many products Topcon has that covers more than just steering: variable rate control, data mapping and management, and nutrient sensing devices mounted on the roof instead of the spray bar, just to name a few.
You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Joe here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/nfms/nfms-13-topcon-robertson1.mp3″ text=”Interview with Joe Robertson”]