AGCO, Case IH and John Deere jumped at the chance to address elite precision dealers during the first ever OEM panel at the Precision Farming Dealer Summit in St. Louis. AGCO’s Seth Crawford, Deere’s Matt Olson and Case IH’s Kendal Quandahl fielded questions about their strategic direction for business and outlook on autonomy.

There was a big product unveiling at the Precision Farming Dealer Summit. Verge Ag launched a new solution within its Launch Pad portfolio, called Equipment Explorer. And as Verge VP of Enterprise Operations Chad Matthies tells us — it’s unique because it’s designed specifically for dealers.

This week’s Technology Corner spotlight shines on Indianapolis-based agtech company Smart Apply and their Intelligent Spray Control System, which combines precision spraying and data to enable specialty crop growers to cut back on chemicals and water.

It didn’t take long for the team at Sabanto to make their mark in the ag tech industry. They started building their first autonomy kit from scratch in a 3-car garage in September 2019, and just 7 months later were autonomously planting in the field.

Verdant Robotics announced the close of a $46.5 million series A funding round – one of the largest investments in ag robotics to date. Verdant Co-founder Curtis Garner says the funding will enable the company to scale its fleet, build more machines and cover more acres.

Precision Planting’s new sprayer technology ReClaim is officially available to buy in the U.S. and Canada. We first learned about the product about a year ago at the company’s annual winter conference. ReClaim is a boom recirculation system designed to make sure farmers get their boom fully primed with the right concentration of products without having to spray a drop of chemical on the ground, eliminating crop damage and hot spots at the edge of the field.

We got an up-close look at the machine in action at the John Deere Training Center. We caught up with Deere Product Tillage Manager Steve Sporrer and asked him why the company is re-entering the strip-till game, and how the new unit pairs with their precision technology.

We’re taking the Technology Corner on the road to FIRA USA 2022, the premiere ag robotics and technology forum at the Convention Center in downtown Fresno, California. When you walk in, the first thing that catches your eye is GUSS – the autonomous sprayer for orchards and vineyards.

Independent dealer Linco-Precision, based in El Paso, Illinois,  has purchased the Precision Farming assets of Dairy One Cooperative, based in Ithaca, New York. Linco-Precision works in 12 Northeastern states and partner with growers and retailers across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio and now New York.

AMVAC’s SIMPAS system is taking prescription application to a new level. Retailers and farmers got an up-close look at the new technology during a special summit in Rockford, Illinois this past week.