Intelligent, efficient,money-saving technologies: confirmation from two farming companies
whichhaveadoptedNewHolland solutions formany years.
P
resenting two family-
run farmswith two
different production
andmanagement cultures
and traditions – one in
Piacenza and the other in
the province of Foggia. But
they dohave one thing in
common: they are both
convincedof the potential
of the systems involved in
the PLM (Precision Land
Management) programme,
the PrecisionAgriculture
projectwhichNewHolland
has beenoffering and
developing since 2008.
Smartworking
In the farm runby theArata
family inRivergaro, in the
province of Piacenza, the
agriculture of the future
is already inoperation
on400hectares of land
where tomatoes, cereals,
grain and sweetcorn are
cultivated. Paolo and
Filippo, the twobrothers
who run the farm, decided
some time ago to invest
innew PLM technology to
12
PrecisionAgriculturewins
thehearts of Italian farmers
seeding, planting, fertilising
and treating. This avoids the
superimposedpassages and
wastedproduct distribution
that are inevitablewith
manual steering, however
skilled. For example, the ease
of use of these systems has
greatly simplifieddelicate
operations such as the
transplantingof tomato
plants, by increasing the
precisionof the plant rows,
which thenbenefits the
executionof all successive
operations."
Perfection
in thefield
PLM systems have also
become indispensable
"working companions" in
MatteoMelillo's farming
company. His operations
cover 300hectares of land
in the province of Foggia,
specialising in the cultivation
of vegetables, beets and
cereals.
"Personally, I'm really
satisfiedwith the decision
I made, about six years
ago, when I startedusing
automatic steeringdevices,”
he says. “At the beginning
I used an EGNOS corrective
signal with an EZ-Guide 500
manual steering system,
which already offered
perceptible benefits."
After this, further New
Hollandpurchases – the
T8.420 and T6.160 –were
fittedwith complete
IntelliSteer
TM
systems and
IntelliView
TM
IVmonitors,
while the T6060was fitted
with anAutopilot system
and an FM1000display.
All the vehicles use anRTK
radio correction, capable
ofmaintaining trajectories
with amaximum error of 2
cm - thanks towhich, in the
words ofMatteo: "We have
achievedperfection in the
field!"
Matteo has clear ideas
about the validity of the
PLM system: "It offers
notable savings through
reductions inwasted
fuel, fertiliser and plant
protection products, and
also by cutting down
operative time. This has
been particularly important
in recent years, when
uneven climatic conditions
have progressively
reduced the amount of
time available for certain
operations.We also know
that NewHollandworks
constantly to further
develop and improve these
systems, and that it listens
to our feedback and our
needs."
Precisely to improve this
dialogue and extend the
services offered, New
Holland has recently
activated a dedicated
PLM Customer Support
telephone service, with
a toll-free number for all
those using its Precision
Farming systems.
In terms of possible future
investments in the PLM
sector, Matteo has this to
say: "Me andmy children
andmy farmworkers all
use guidance systems for
all the operations we carry
out, and from this year also
for off-furrow ploughing.
Precision Agriculture
has in practice already
changed and improved
our way of working, and
wewill certainly continue
to invest in NewHolland
PLM Precision Agriculture
systems."
"These NewHolland
solutions offer notable
savings through reductions
inwasted fuel, fertiliser
and plant protection
products, and also by
cutting down operative
time."
MatteoMelillo
"We're so satisfiedwith our
PLM satellite systems that
we had our most recently
purchased tractor – a
T8.420 – factory-fittedwith
the IntelliSteer
TM
automatic
steering system."
Paolo and FilippoArata
increase productivity, reduce
operation costs and ensure
highproduct quality. They
own a total of 16 farming
vehicles, andNewHolland
tractors play a key role in
activitieswhichdemand
maximumoperational
reliability andprecision.
"We're so satisfiedwithour
PLM satellite systems that
we hadourmost recently
purchased tractor – a
T8.420 – factory-fittedwith
the IntelliSteer
TM
automatic
steering system," states
Paolowith conviction.
"We have fitted twoother
vehicleswithAutopilot
automatic steeringunits,
with FM1000monitors that
use the reliable RTKnetwork
radio signal suppliedby
theAgraria Terrepadane
Consortium."
When asked about the
specific advantages gained
by farms that adopt such
systems, Filippohad this to
say: "This technologymakes
it possible for the tractor to
steerwith total precision,
as thoughmovingon rails,
in all itsmainoperations –
