Case IH’s AFS Harvest Command Improved compliance with mass limits

Western Australia is likely to see the greatest impacts of climate change on crop yields, with substantial projected declines in winter rainfall

Each new 250 Series combine now also includes a subscription to Case IH’s AFS Connect

TELEMATICS

AFS Harvest Command continues to raise the bar in combine automation

All under control

Case IH’s AFS Harvest Command, available on the Case IH Axial-Flow 250 Series combine harvesters, monitors everything from ground speed and engine load all the way up to feed-rate control and sieve settings, which are based on the feedback received from the loss sensors, a grain camera and sieve pressure sensors.

These sieve pressure sensors are unique to CNH Industrial brands, including Case IH’s AFS Harvest Command product, providing for the relay of data concerning the load on the sieve, which in turn allows the system to determine the difference between sieve overload and blow-out losses. A grain camera monitors grain quality, including cracked and broken kernels, as well as foreign material, allowing for the adjustment of settings as required.

In fact, the AFS Harvest Command automation on the 250 Series uses 16 sensors to control a total of seven combine functions.

“AFS Harvest Command is designed to maintain the greatest efficiency for the operator in all conditions, improving grain quality and grain savings through sensing and optimising machine settings,” says Tim Slater, Case IH Australia/New Zealand product manager for hay and harvest.

Recently, the number of crops it’s designed to operate in has been expanded beyond corn, soybeans, wheat and canola to now include barley and rice.

Each new 250 Series combine now also includes a subscription to Case IH’s AFS Connect with file transfer and telematics.

AFS Connect is a tool that enables a machine in the paddock to be monitored by a customer from anywhere with an internet connection.

“The customer can also then give permission for their dealer to see similar information, which can help diagnose any potential faults and more efficiently deal with any necessary repairs,” says Slater.

“Machine, harvesting and yield data are automatically sent to the AFS Connect portal where it’s processed and ready to be viewed via web browser or mobile device. This negates the need to download the data from a USB in the combine, improving the safety of data and offering a more convenient option.

“Two years on from the launch of AFS Harvest Command, these most recent updates and opportunities for customers only enhance the efficiency and productivity benefits that make this the most impressive combine automation product on the market.”

CLIMATE CHANGE

New management practices and new technologies have helped Aussie farmers offset the rising impats of climate change on crops, according to a new ABARES report

Heating up

Australian farmers are getting better at handling dry conditions, according to federal government statistics about the impact of climate change on agriculture.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Insights report found that Western Australian cropping farmers, in particular, had withstood the dry conditions during the 2020 winter harvest with crops “far exceeding expectations given the seasonal conditions experienced”.

Across the board, ABARES has cited technology and management practices as areas where farm productivity has increased.

Productivity has risen 68 per cent in the cropping sector since 1989 when adjusted for climate, while the wider broadacre farming sector has risen by 28 per cent in the same timeframe.

“These gains in productivity have offset the negative effects of climate over the last 30 years, such that actual industry productivity levels have still increased or at least remained stable,” the report says.

These productivity gains have been necessary because seasonal conditions have reduced the annual average farm profits by 23 per cent in the past two decades, the report found, which is $29,200 per farm.

Despite this, Australian farms have shown strong adaptability in the past decade, helped also by strong commodity prices, particularly for livestock.

“A combination of productivity growth, better prices and increases in farm size have resulted in an upward trend in farm profits over the last decade, at least until the droughts of 2018–19 and 2019–20,” says ABARES.

“Much of the adaptation effort on farms has been directed towards improving performance under dry conditions.

“Within the cropping sector, for example, there have been a variety of management practice changes implemented in recent decades (including conservation tillage and soil amelioration) focused on preserving soil moisture as an adaptation to reduced growing season rainfall.”

Another finding of the report is the “risk of very low farm returns due to climate variability” has doubled during the same time period from a 10 per cent frequency to 20 per cent.

South-western and south-eastern Australia have been the areas most impacted by the changing conditions, says ABARES.

This trend was tipped to continue according to 2050 projection scenarios.

“Cropping farms in Western Australia are more heavily impacted than other regions under most climate scenarios, due largely to the more substantial projected declines in winter rainfall and the resulting effects on crop yield,” says ABARES.

Cropping regions in Australia’s north-east, particularly around Queensland, are forecast to be the least impacted by climate changes in the next 30 years.

ABARES also says there are several factors which will impact future productivity, which includes the extent of climate change impact in Australia compared to other nations.

“It remains hard to predict future productivity growth, particularly the extent to which new technologies can improve the water use efficiency of crop and pasture systems beyond current levels,” it says.

“In the long-term, there may be pressure for more transformative change, at least where productivity growth is insufficient to offset the effects of climate change.

“This could include the emergence of new land use activities such as carbon abatement, biodiversity conservation, or renewable energy generation as complements to traditional farming.”