Todd: 00:00

From the land grant university at Urbana Champaign, Illinois, this is the closing market report for the 1st day of January 2025. I'm Extension's Tug Gleeson. Coming up, we'll hear a few of the interviews I did with some manufacturers of agricultural equipment during the November National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention.

Todd: 00:21

We'll talk with representatives from

Todd: 00:23

Case IH and Klaus today, both about combines and precision agriculture. Remember, you can always visit our website to hear more at willag.org. That's willag.org, or look us up in your favorite podcast applications. The closing market report is a production of Illinois Public Media. It is public radio for the farming world.

Todd: 00:49

Todd Gleason services are made available to WIL by University of Illinois Extension.

Todd: 00:55

Your name and title first, please, Ryan?

Ryan: 00:57

Yeah. My name is Ryan Lipp. I'm the harvesting product marketing manager for Case IH, and I deal with combines.

Todd: 01:05

So this is the year of the combine, you say. Why is that the case?

Ryan: 01:09

Year of the combine, because we now have 8 models that we offer in our product lineup, and that's starting with our 160 series, which includes the 76160, the 7160, and then we jump up to our 260 series, which is the 72, an 82, and 92, and 9260. So we got 3 models in our 260 series. And then new this year as well, we got the AF series, which is a our large basically our large, AF 9, we call it, the AF 10, and the AF 11. And that's a new new combine for us this year. It's a built up from the ground up, brand new frame.

Ryan: 01:44

The reason for that is to have larger capacity. It's all about increased throughputs, acres per hour, bushels per hour, increased, throughput. So yeah.

Todd: 01:57

When farmers are sizing a combine, what's most important from your perspective for them to account for?

Ryan: 02:04

Well, it's really about the size of their operation, and, you know, what they're looking for is how many acres can they get done in a day. Right? And how how efficiently can they do that, and how productive can they be when they do that. And that includes grain tank capacity, which includes your unload rate. So on our big combine, our AF 10, AF 11 combine, it's a 6 bushel per second unload rate, so that means you can unload faster.

Ryan: 02:33

Our grain tank size is 567 bushels on the grain tank size. So you you can actually you know, if you think about it, when you're going through the field, you wanna be able to make a half you know, if you got a half mile field, you wanna be able to make it through that half mile without having to stop and unload on the grain cart. So with the 567 bushel grain tank size on the AF, 10 and 11, as well as AF 9, you can make it through that half field without having to stop. And then so that at the end of the day, it's gonna increase our efficiency and improve our productivity overall.

Todd: 03:05

I'm concerned about, dollars per acre as it relates to the combine. In a given year, do you have an idea of how many acres you expect each generation of those combines to be able to cover? For instance, or the largest ones, maybe to cover 72 100 acres in, fall season?

Ryan: 03:28

Yeah. It it you know, at the larger farms, you wanna get more done. Right? So you're trying to get it done with a large a larger farm versus, you know, let's say an 8 7000 acre farmer versus a 3000 acre. We won't all wanna get it done as quickly as we can, but how efficient can we do that, and how fast can we do that?

Ryan: 03:46

So in our large combines, you know, we can get a lot done. We can go up to, you know, as far as our grain headers, we got 50 foot grain headers that we can put on these. And actually, we can actually put up to 61 foot that we offer now. It's a lot ahead, and you can get a lot done. And so really, it's just getting that as much as you can in that large farm and how efficiency and how quickly you can get that done.

Todd: 04:08

How about this? In Illinois, the average size of the grain farm and the FBFM or the farm business, farm management records is 1700 acres. What size combine for corn and soybean operation 5050 should a producer consider?

Ryan: 04:23

You're looking at that probably that class 7, the class 8. I know a lot of folks are running class 6 combines in that average, so that average 1700 acres. So I would, you know, in that probably that between that class 6 to class 8, and that's really the ideal, combine size for that size of farm.

Todd: 04:44

Tell me about the sensor package on your combines and what they can do for producers.

Ryan: 04:49

So when we talk about sensors, really what we're talking about is automation. So automation, which we have on all of our combine models from our 6 our 6160 all the way up to our AF 11, it really helps the efficiency of the produce of the operator. You don't necessarily have to have be an operator. You can have not as much experience on driving the combine. The automation is gonna take over a lot of the settings of the combine.

Ryan: 05:15

So that includes our rotor speed, our fan speed, our we call it our feed rate. I call I like to call it cruise control through the field, so the machine will vary the speed. So it takes a lot of that effort, in a in a way, out of the trying to set the comm line. So it'll automatically set it for you, and that's you know, when it comes down to it, it's it's efficiency and productivity.

Todd: 05:38

So I do have a question about that. Farmers probably buck some about automation.

Ryan: 05:43

Yep.

Todd: 05:44

Maybe a lot about automation. I know across the the, equipment area, automation is really where each, each brand is looking forward to make some changes. How important is it for the combine operator to trust your automation?

Ryan: 06:06

Well, it comes back down to how good how good of a job are you doing. Right? So you wanna get out and look on the ground, you see what you're looking at, see how the combine's doing. And how important it is is, well, I can now look at, see what I'm doing, what's the loss monitor say on the combine display. We talked about sensors earlier.

Ryan: 06:27

We're using the sensors to monitor our grain loss. We have a camera 1 camera on the combine that's looking at grain quality, grain sample. So we can actually look at visually, look on our display, and see that image of the grain quality. So if I see that, then I'm gonna relate that, correlate to the how well, how's what's the automation doing to fix that? And so, I can use the technology, I can ground proof it, and look on the ground, I can see a visual, and now I'm gonna be able to connect all the dots, and then say, hey, yep, it's actually doing what I'm telling you, what it's what I'm wanting to do.

Ryan: 07:06

So, really, at the end of the day, it's just getting a little more done, but with a little less effort.

Todd: 07:11

Is this automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, possibly the same meaning for all three words?

Ryan: 07:22

Let me just repeat that. Artificial you said artificial ins Artificial intelligence.

Todd: 07:27

Machine learning.

Ryan: 07:28

Machine learning and, automation. Yes. In a way, yes. It really is looking at because when you're talking about automation, you're looking at how many hits the kernels are hitting on the on the loss sensors. So the machine looks at that and says, okay.

Ryan: 07:44

Well, here's where my loss graphs are gonna be. So now it's gonna adjust and accommodate. But you as an operator still have the control over the machine of what you wanna see and how sensitive you want that machine to be. So you at the end of the day, you still have some control over it. So but once you tell it, then it's going to adjust to how you want it to be, and then it will learn from that.

Ryan: 08:08

So yeah.

Todd: 08:09

Ryan Lipp, thank you.

Ryan: 08:10

Yep. Thank you much, Todd. Appreciate it.

Todd: 08:12

Ryan Lipp is with Case IA just on the idea of automation and artificial intelligence along with machine learning. Across the board, if you've listened long enough, you know that most of the brands are thinking about machine learning and what that really means for the farmer and particularly how that helps them at harvest with the sensors and that the combine can oftentimes be better at adjusting itself because of the sensors than the producer can, while they're going through the field because the combine's taking in so very much information. I'm University of Illinois Extension's Todd Gleason. Kendall Quandahl is here. She's with Case IH, works in the precision agriculture side of the company.

Todd: 09:21

Thank you, Kendall, for, joining us. I I'd like to talk about some new products that you have on the marketplace or introducing related to implement GPS. I'll I'll I'll I'll put it in terms of that. So not only does do we know where the tractor is, but you also know where the implement is in its space. Can you tell me about why that's important and how you and how you actually implement it?

Kendle: 09:52

Absolutely, Todd. So when we think about a really precise application like strip till and if we're investing in something like that, we wanna make sure we can come back and plant our corn exactly in that same strip. And when we think about the mechanics of a drawbar implement, think about it very similar to the way a semi would turn. When the track the semi truck turns, the trailer is gonna cut towards the inside of that curve as an example. The same thing happens with our tractor in our planter, our tractor in our implement, where as you're making a turn or you're on the side of a hill, that implement is gonna drift down the hill or towards the inside of that curve, which makes it really hard to come back for a secondary application and hit that exact same spot because each implement is gonna act just a little bit different.

Kendle: 10:44

So with active implement guidance from Case IH, we're actually able to put a receiver on the planter and then use some kind of steerable, hitch or ground engaging steerable, mechanism to actually control where exactly that implement is.

Kendle: 11:03

So So

Kendle: 11:03

we're gonna use the same guidance line that the tractor is using, and we're gonna physically move that planter or strip tail bar back and forth to make sure we're tracking that exact same

Kendle: 11:14

guidance line. So that way, when

Kendle: 11:14

I come back with another implement,

Kendle: 11:14

we're using that exact precise line. We're using that exact precise line over and over and over throughout the season.

Kendle: 11:24

So let me

Todd: 11:25

ask a secondary question about this. Because you're using it off the planter, does that mean that the planter is the master track? So, really, it's if you're making strips, it's when you're making the strips in the fall, it's following the planter line as opposed to the planter following the strip line. Do you understand what I'm asking? Which which is the master and which is the slave in this case?

Kendle: 11:50

So in this situation, the primary line is gonna be really up to the the the producer. So if you think about a strip till operation, if the strips are going in first, that's the line you're gonna use throughout the season. If you're in a situation where you wanna use it in a, maybe a side dress application, so your planters making that first pass, you'd use your planter lines from the spring, whereas you would you would shift that as as needed.

Todd: 12:20

Okay. So this this brings me to my next question. So let's work off something relatively easy that everybody will probably be doing or many people across the Midwest will be doing. I wanna know where the anhydrous bar is putting down my nitrogen so that I can place my crop where I want it next to that. Do we have the ability with the equipment that you have, and I assume it's an extra piece of equipment that will run-in front of the anhydrous bar, but not certain about that, to put make that anhydrous bar the master?

Kendle: 12:55

Yes. We would be able to do that. So what you would wanna do is having that be your I'll say it's your first pass of the season. Even if it's applied fall of 24, it's really the start of your 2025 season. So that would be the, really, that first pass, that primary core pass that we're using.

Kendle: 13:15

So we're gonna record that line that we used in that tractor and with that, in HydroSpaR and then carry that using field ops or another data management source, carry that throughout the rest of 2025 to make sure we're using the the precise location that we started with.

Todd: 13:34

What's the equipment package that has to be implemented in order to pull that off? So is is it just something you put on the anhydrous bar that tracks where it is? Is it something that something else that's in front of the anhydrous bar?

Kendle: 13:49

So there's a couple components, and we try to make it really easy to, implement this across an operation. So, really, there's there's 2 main components that that we need. We need a receiver on the implement. So we're tracking where that implement precise location is. And then we need some kind of steerable hitch.

Kendle: 14:12

So in in our system today, primarily in the Midwest, you're gonna be using a steerable drawbar hitch. So that's actually going to go between the tractor and your implement, and it's going to move where that drawbar is in relation to the back of the tractor.

Todd: 14:28

And that all comes off of the GPS unit on the tractor?

Kendle: 14:32

So in a in an active implement guidance system, this is actually a a really unique opportunity and that we steer the tractor and the planter almost independently. So the tractor is gonna follow its exact line, and the planter is going to steer itself to make sure that it's following that exact same line. So we kinda do we kinda do both independently, ensuring that we have a really repeatable pass throughout our entire season.

Todd: 14:58

That part I've got, I wanna know whether the GPS unit that's mounted on the tractor is responsible for steering both.

Kendle: 15:05

Un un understood. So actually, there'll be a GPS receiver on both. So your tractor will have a receiver to make sure we've got that precise location, and then your implement will have a receiver so we have that precise location.

Todd: 15:18

How does it work in practice in the field? Is it actually pretty accurate?

Kendle: 15:23

Extremely accurate. So the the accuracy of any guidance system is, dependent first off on our correction signal. So how accurate of a GPS correction signal are we using? And then, of course, the the quality of our calibrations. So we have the opportunity to get if we're using an RTK, equivalent source, really have both the tractor and the implement driving on a sub inch accuracy level.

Todd: 15:48

Thank you very much, Kendall.

Kendle: 15:49

Thanks, Todd.

Todd: 15:51

Kendall Quandahl is with Case IH, joined us here at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City.

Todd: 16:06

You're listening to the closing market report from Illinois Public Media. It is public radio for the farming world on this very first day of January 2020 5. I'm Illinois Extension's Todd Gleeson reminding you to visit our website. The address is willag.org. That's willag.org.

Todd: 16:25

There, you'll find our daily agricultural programming to listen to on demand anytime you'd like. Just click and play from willag.org, or you can search it out in your favorite podcast applications. In fact, there's a podcast tab there on the website. If you do that, you'll find a way in each of the players with the closing market report, commodity week, and even the Illinois nutrient loss reduction podcast to subscribe to those podcasts. It's right there in the players under the podcast tab.

Todd: 16:55

Again, where? At willag dotorg. On that home page, you'll also find information from the agricultural economists. That's the farmdoc team along with the crop scientist and the animal scientist here on the Urbana Champaign campus of the U of I. Those are updated almost every day of the year with fresh content from the professors and scientists and researchers that work for University of Illinois Extension and the College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

Todd: 17:41

Josh Lynch is now here. He is from Kloss and based out of Denver, Colorado. Interesting place. Nice, great place to live. Why, let's start with that.

Todd: 17:51

Why is why are you in Denver?

Josh: 17:53

Sure. So we're split up in a field teams that cover different regions of the US and North America, and I cover the western part of the states. So from Texas to the Dakotas, and Denver is a good central location.

Todd: 18:06

Well, given that, we're talking to you today because we're gonna talk about, well, mostly combines, but the information coming off of a combine, how that can be fed into the cloud, and the digital assets that CLAUS is wanting to offer to producers. Can you tell me, what that is and how producers might be able to take advantage of it?

Josh: 18:29

Sure. The the platform that we have is called CLAUS Connect 3.0. It's a web based platform, cloud based platform that users can gather all of their information in one spot. In the past, we had multiple locations where they were gaining access, so multiple passwords, things like that. So this is all in one location.

Todd: 18:49

It's cloud based. How much of it can be automated off of the machinery line or other places? Because the one thing farmers really don't want to do because it's just time consuming and and possibly confusing as well given the number of products they're using. How much of that can be automated into the system?

Josh: 19:11

Sure. So farmers can take their entire fleet, mix brand even, and and then plug it all into our class connect platform. From there, they can gain access to their operators manuals, their lubricant advisors, maintenance records, dealership information, telemetry data, all of that's gathered in one Is

Todd: 19:33

this all about the machinery or is it about the whole of the operation itself?

Josh: 19:37

So CLAUS Connect 3.0 gathers all of that information in one spot. Not just in the machine data, but the entire fleet or operation data can be plugged into Klaas Connect as well.

Todd: 19:49

I think I'm asking a quite, a different question. So is it about inputs or machinery or both?

Josh: 19:57

Both. Yeah. So it it would be about both both inputs and outputs.

Todd: 20:03

Why should they use CLAUS Connect?

Josh: 20:05

CLAUS Connect is a one stop shop. It saves saves a lot of time, gains connection with their dealership, both on from a service level if there's a machine failure, but as well as parts lookup, diagrams, yield data, and how much fuel is sitting in their fuel tank.

Todd: 20:23

What can Kloss see if the producer allows them, and how does that help them?

Josh: 20:30

Sure. They they can see real time data yield management. They can, which would help them in setting the machine properly to maximize uptime and efficiency efficiency, crop production, yield management, things like that.

Todd: 20:44

Is there automation on the machine, in this case, the combine that can manage this on its own, or does it need Clos Connect in order to be more efficient or even to do it? Thank you. Yeah.

Josh: 20:55

It doesn't need KlossConnect to run the automation. KlossConnect's the is the platform to gather all of the data so that the farmer can u utilize that information.

Todd: 21:05

So it's a post harvest use in this case or maybe in the evening to see how things actually went for the day. Correct.

Josh: 21:13

It would be a post or during harvest even. They can really fine finalize the settings on that machine and, ultimately end up with more in the in the tank or in the field or whatever. Is there a cost? There is no cost. And as of this year, all of our self propelled machines come with a 5 year, telemetry license with within Klaus Connect.

Josh: 21:35

And older machines that are outside of that, they can be retrofitted to utilize the Klaus Connect system.

Todd: 21:41

I don't know what the telemetry license is. Can you tell me about that?

Josh: 21:45

Sure. So in the past, we had something called telematics, which takes all of our, machine information and pulls it into one spot. So all of that's, talking about yield and field management and things like that.

Todd: 21:59

Thank you very much, Josh. I appreciate it.

Josh: 22:01

Yeah. You're welcome. Thanks, Todd.

Todd: 22:03

Josh Lynch is with CLAUS. He joined us here at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City.

Todd: 22:10

You've been listening to the closing market report from Illinois Public Media. It's public radio for the farming world. The first trading day of the year starts tomorrow at 8:30 AM CST at the CME Group in Chicago. Be sure to tune in if you can to WILLAM 580 for our opening market report, and then we'll have updated information at the end of the day for our Thursday afternoon with mattbennett@agmarket.net that you'll be able to hear right here on this radio station during our closing market report. You You can always find both of those and other items as well on our website.

Todd: 22:48

The address is willag.org. That's willag.org, or search us out in your favorite podcast applications. Look for the closing market report in Apple, as well as Spotify, and even in YouTube. Thank you for listening. You have a great afternoon.

Todd: 23:06

I'm U of I Extensions, Todd Gleeson.