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New Holland: working to redefine agriculture as we know it

Release Date: 04 Dec 2017
Lars Skjoldager Sørensen, Head of Harvesting Product Line
  • New Holland Agriculture sponsor of the Agriculture & Food Summit in Paris
  • The future has already started: alternative fuels and autonomous farming machinery
New Holland Agriculture participated as a Sponsor in the Agriculture & Food Summit organized by Politico, a global nonpartisan politics and policy news organization based both in Washington, DC, and Brussels, held in Paris on November 30. More than 130 policymakers, agriculture and food industry experts, and farmers gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities of sustainable food production and the ways in which our growing world is inspiring innovation and industry potential.

As Lars Skjoldager Sørensen, Head of Harvesting Product Line, said in his partner remarks, “…steering the agri-food industry forward is key if we are to meet the challenge of sustainable development. Our role as agricultural equipment manufacturers is to provide farmers with clean and efficient machines that increase productivity – since more yield from the same land with less input means making more food available to more people.”

New Holland offers the widest choice of products to allow farmers to get more from their land: ever more efficient equipment to optimise the harvest while respecting the soil, advanced technologies and systems to improve efficiency and productivity, and solutions that pioneer carbon-free agriculture by promoting energy independence and the use of renewable fuels.

All this is part of New Holland’s Clean Energy Leader strategy: a path towards sustainable, efficient farming that makes it possible to “do more with less” while protecting both the agricultural and natural environment.

The future is now: alternative fuels

The recently unveiled methane powered concept tractor is the key element in the CO2 neutral virtuous cycle of the Energy Independent Farm™ where the energy it needs to power its operations, heat farm buildings, and run its equipment, is produced from crop residues and waste from farm-grown energy crops.

When using methane, the overall emissions of the methane powered tractor are 80% lower than those of a standard diesel model. It produces at least 10% lower CO2 emissions. When the tractor is fuelled with renewable, farm-produced biomethane, its CO2 emission profile can reach virtually zero.

Business-wise, the methane-powered tractor performs like its diesel equivalent in terms of power and torque, guarantees the same autonomy and generates a reduction of up to 30% in running costs.

The future is now: autonomous farming machinery

The NHDrive concept tractor is a driverless machine monitored and controlled in real time via PC or tablet, with remote access to both tractor and implement operational data. It is capable of performing a wide range of tasks (from ploughing to seeding) in full autonomy, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Being equipped with a cab, the NHDrive autonomous tractor can still be driven by an operator where complete autonomy is not yet possible like in front-loader work and road transport, thus providing one more degree of flexibility.

The NHDrive tractor is able to work alongside other autonomous machines and can also work in tandem with tractors or combines driven by an operator.

“The methane powered and the autonomous tractors represent very important steps towards a new model of responsible farming management and at New Holland we are working for offering, day after day, innovative and sustainable solutions to farmers all around the world”, concluded Lars Skjoldager Sørensen.

04/12/2017
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