MILWAUKEE – The Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) announced today that its annual North American 2023 Plugfest will take place during the Commodity Classic in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center, March 8th -10th. The AEF Plugfest provides an opportunity for ag equipment software engineers to gather together from all over the world, putting aside competition to test the interoperability of their ISOBUS products to benefit the agricultural industry.

“ISOBUS is one of those commonplace technologies where it is easy to forget how vital it is in achieving cross-brand equipment compatibility throughout the world,” said Andrew Olliver, Chairman, AEF. “AEF’s Plugfests are an opportunity to celebrate this important technology, and allow engineers to do what they do best: to shape the future and make the world a better place for us all.”

AEF Plugfests, biannual events held in the United States and Europe, began in 2001 to help engineers test ISOBUS products under development, and ensure that manufacturers of tractors, implements and components were interpreting the ISO 11783 standard in a compatible way. The events attract hundreds of attendees and participants, including AEF member companies AGCO, CNH Industrial, CLAAS, John Deere, Kubota, KUHN, and SAME DEUTZ-FAHR, among others.

For three days in a row, engineers will test their ISOBUS products for compatibility with those from their competitors, performing up to 48 different tests in 30-minute timeslots to see what works the first time, and sometimes where improvements are needed to obtain compatibility on the ISOBUS.

New to Plugfest this year, a “High Speed ISOBUS (HSI) Discovery Station” where cameras, displays, engine control units and switches from multiple manufacturers will be connected as software engineers test whether their components are discoverable on the new HSI architecture.

The partnership between the AEF and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has facilitated the opportunity for the Plugfest to be held in conjunction with the Commodity Classic agriculture trade show.

“AEM supports growing the awareness of the AEF and ISOBUS in North America, as well as the AEF ISOBUS database and functionalities, such as Tractor Implement Management (TIM),“ said Anita Sennett, AEF Secretary and AEM Senior Director of Agriculture. “These tools benefit the entire
industry and better serve our farmer customers."

We want to thank the Commodity Classic and the AEM for providing this amazing venue to co-locate our North American Plugfest for the second year in a row,“ said Olliver. “Not only will our Plugfest attendees accomplish their goals, but they will be able to enjoy our networking events at this fantastic Orlando venue. We believe it will be a win-win for everyone involved.”

Plugfest registration automatically includes admittance to the Commodity Classic show. All Commodity Classic education sessions are included in the show registration at no extra cost. AEF membership is required for participant registration and applies to anyone who is directly or indirectly involved with testing activities.

Dealers, farmers and other show attendees are invited to watch the industry's cooperative spirit in action as the software engineers work together to develop tomorrow’s technology. For a tour of the Orlando Plugfest, please contact america@aef-online.org for available dates and times. 
 
 For more information about AEF, please visit: www.aef-online.org.

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