Taking Flight

Left: Raven will join Case IH and New Holland in the CNH Industrial portfolio

CNH Industrial has added to its portfolio with the planned acquisition of precision agriculture company Raven Industries

Machinery giant CNH Industrial has announced it plans to purchase Raven Industries, a United States-based precision agriculture company that has products available in Australia. The buyout, which has an enterprise value of US$2.1 billion (A$2.77 billion) at US$58 (A$76.64) per Raven share, is expected to be finalised late this year and will enhance CNH Industrial’s technological offerings. CNH Industrial chief executive officer Scott Wine says the purchase emphasises the company’s commitment to enhancing its precision agriculture portfolio. “Precision agriculture and autonomy are critical components of our strategy to help our agricultural customers reach the next level of productivity and to unlock the true potential of their operations,” he says. “Raven has been a pioneer in precision agriculture for decades, and their deep product experience, customer-driven software expertise and engineering acumen offer a significant boost to our capabilities. “The combination of Raven’s technologies and CNH Industrial’s strong current and new product portfolio will provide our customers with novel, connected technologies, allowing them to be more productive and efficient.” Brands under the CNH Industrial banner include Case IH and Case Construction, New Holland Agriculture and Construction and Iveco. Raven Industries was founded in 1956 and has three business divisions, one of which is based around precision agriculture, while the others are an aerospace technology and highperformance specialty films. It was recognised earlier this year by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) for its Hawkeye 2 Nozzle Control System and its VSN Visual Guidance system, which uses a stereo vision camera and non-contact radar sensors to navigate through emerged crops. The company had consolidated net sales of US$348.4 million (A$460.4 million) between February 2020 and January 2021.

spray collaboration

Trials of new spray technologies are underway in Europe as Agco sets out plans to work with leading precision agriculture companies to help farmers cut their herbicide use

Above: Agco, Bosch, BASF and Raven Industries joined Xarvio Digital Farming Solutions in initial trials of the PoC collaboration, currently underway in Europe Agco International will work with Bosch, BASF Digital Farming and Raven Industries under a new proof of concept (PoC) collaboration agreement, with the aim of evaluating new spray technologies. The PoC will focus on real-time sending technology, helping users find ways to cut their herbicide usage while making crop protection products more effective. By detecting weeds in growing crops or fallow ground in realtime and, at any time of day, the technology will produce a precise herbicide placement, targeted specifically at the individual plant. Targeted spraying technology has proven to be not only an environmentally friendly concept, but also profitable for farmers, who, by only spraying herbicide where needed, will require less overall volume of the product, which in turn reduces their input costs, labour and time. The collaboration will make use of Agco’s application equipment expertise while Bosch will provide capabilities in hardware, machine learning, artificial intelligence and digital services. Xarvio Digital Farming Solutions has specialised knowledge in an automated, real-time, in-field agronomic decision-making engine for weed management and crop optimisation. Raven Applied Technology, a precision spraying company, is dedicated to sprayer efficacy that enables the precise control and distribution of chemicals for targeted spraying applications. With the knowledge and technologies from the collaboration, Agco hopes to empower farmers to drive more efficiency in their operations while also protecting the environment through a reduction in chemical usage. An initial trial of the PoC is already being evaluated in Europe on a Fendt Rogator sprayer with plans to extend the concept in North America in 2022. Agco senior vice president and general manager – precision ag and digital, Seth Crawford, says the advantages of employing targeted spraying in fields is universal. “Farmers have long been searching for innovative ways to minimise chemical usage and reduce passes through the field to achieve their crop protection goals,” says Crawford. “Combined with the potential for further regulatory pressure, we believe this collaborative spraying effort advances our farmer-first focus and is further evidence that we will work with the best-inclass partners to serve farmers’ needs. “This effort is aimed at validating targeted spraying solutions, delivering a reduction in product use to achieve the same results as broadcast spraying in both pre- and post-emergence with the flexibility of spraying day or night.”