It's always heartening to see representatives from competing companies work together to support the common good and address industry-wide challenges. 

For agricultural electronics engineers, such opportunities are the norm at semi-annual Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) Plugfest events. 

The next one is slated for May 7-9 at the Embassy Suites in Lincoln, Neb. 

“As farming technology continues to evolve with time, Plugfest events serve to provide a forum for helping manufacturers ensure product compatibility,” said AEM Technical Director Mark Benishek. “In taking advantage of the unique opportunity to attend a Plugfest event, company representatives are able to leverage industry expertise to optimize product capabilities and positively impact customer satisfaction.” 

Hosted twice a year in the spring and winter (and in both Europe and North America), Plugfest serves as an interacting point between invention and efficiency. Fostering hundreds of working interactions between dozens of high-end manufacturers in a matter of days, Plugfest spearheads a uniquely customer-driven initiative within the industry. Nowhere else can a consumer be so sure that their pairing of technologies will work exactly as intended by the creators, because they’ve already paired it themselves. 

Along with providing opportunities for testing, AEF fosters educational lectures and panels, designed to promote informational bridges and greater communal efforts in the world of agriculture. And though AEF membership is required to present, visitors can observe and are encouraged to attend. 

In addition to bringing together engineers to assess tractor-implement compatibility between a variety of different brands (so as to ensure there are no problems or glitches for consumers trying to match the products up in the field), Plugfests also offer opportunities for networking between industry professionals. 

For registration information, contact the AEF office at office@aef-online.org. 

Check out Precision Farming Dealer's top takeaways from Plugfest 2018 here.