AGCO’s latest sustainability report links the company’s precision agriculture initiatives to progress toward its sustainability goals.

The company released its 2021 sustainability report March 30, providing an overview of 2021 precision investments and achievements.

AGCO CEO Eric Hansotia writes that the company launched 23 new precision ag products in 2021 and announced developments in targeted spraying technology using vision systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The targeted spraying developments include a collaboration with Robert Bosch, BASF Digital Farming and Raven Industries to evaluate spraying technology that can reduce crop inputs. AGCO also made an equity investment in the precision spraying company Greeneye Technology.

Hansotia says the company increased its research and development spending by more than $60 million in 2021.

Other AGCO investments in 2021 include the acquisition of software and hardware development company Appareo Systems, acquisition of app developer Creative Sites Media and an investment in Apex AI, a software provider for driverless solutions.

The report says these investments have the potential to turn AGCO’s on-farm products into an active information network for optimizing and automating operations.

More than 300,000 AGCO machines were connected as of 2021, according to the report, meaning the equipment and its data can be remotely accessed and monitored. The company’s goal is to deliver a 100% connected fleet by 2025.

This year, AGCO plans to launch FendtONE, a consistent interface for the tractor and office used for managing farm processes and data. AGCO first debuted the FendtONE operator interface in 2020.

In 2021, AGCO also successfully tested Xaver, a prototype autonomous row unit for planting. The electric units are meant to work in a swarm to plant fields and are controlled by FendtONE software linked to a phone app.

“These early results have confirmed that our commitment to precision agriculture innovation places us on the right path to addressing sustainability,” Hansotia writes in the report.

The report also details AGCO’s commitment to the Fendt e100 all-electric tractor, as well as other alternative-fuel machines. Click here to read an article with those details and the full sustainability report.