New products at the Agrosalon

The Agrosalon-2012 dedicated agricultural exhibition brought together more than 300 manufacturers of farm machines. They introduced Russian farmers to the newest and "smartest" equipment. AgroCentre used the exhibition to show off the results of its work and plans for the future. True to tradition, it arranged for customer visits to its partners' stands.

This year AgroCentre continued its fast growth. Among other things, it expanded the network of its divisions, opening service centres in the Penza, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan oblasts. It also plans to start building a large science and technology park in the Lipetsk oblast. It has acquired new partners, such as the Kolnag (potato production machines) and Valley companies (irrigation equipment). The range of its spare parts is growing steadily and their delivery time frame is getting shorter. The amount of special offers and discount sales of equipment and spares has also grown.

“This year we demonstrated excellent results, supplying farmers with 1,400 units of self-propelled and mounted equipment to the tune of more than 3 billion rubles”, says Nikolay Ivanishchev, AgroCentre-Holding LLC director general. “This attests to the farmers’ willingness to modernise their production by acquiring modern machines and introducing new technologies in order to be competitive on the market. We help farmers to avoid getting lost in the world of agricultural equipment and to make the right choice for their farms with due regard to the scale of their production, the technologies employed and the strategic goals ahead”. 

The excursion started with a visit to the AGCO exhibition stand. The company presented over 20 units of self-propelled and mounted equipment for all types of field work. Among them were new products like the Challenger RoGator 1100 sprinklers. They are fitted with a perfect sprinkling system that has no counterparts in the world. High sprinkling precision is achieved by delivering the working fluid to adjacent sprinklers with a pressure difference of only 0.07 bars even on the longest boom with width spray coverage of 36.5 m. The new sprinklers are multi-purpose machines. They can be used for introducing both liquid chemicals and granulated mineral fertilisers. RoGator is the first system to be powered by the AGCO Power engine that has reduced fuel consumption by 6%.

Another debut was a new generation of series MT500D Challenger tractors. These feature a new engine and a more comfortable cabin. 

Beginning this year, series D tractors have been assembled in Russia. The upgraded Challenger 647C grain combine harvester got a new engine, AGCO Power (267 hp) and a permanent residence in Russia. For the first time, AGCO came up with a Challenger 6600 vertical tilling system which is excellently suited for work in Siberian conditions.

At the Vaderstad exhibition stand, farmers familiarised themselves with the Tempo F8 seeder, the most precise machine in its class, employing a new seed embedding technology. Based on this, the seeds are "ejected" from the seed chute at a speed of 40m/s. This minimises vibration impact and maintains exceptional seeding precision despite the high speed and soil irregularities. Tempo F8 was awarded the silver medal of the exhibition for employing a unique high pressure batcher that assures high speed seeding with unprecedented precision.

Vaderstad presented new discs for the Carrier cultivator.

“The new discs feature a larger diameter (610 mm instead of 540)”, says Artyom Ozhogin, sales manager of the Tyumen branch of AgroCentreZakharovo LLC. “As a result, the cultivator can till the soil down to a depth of 15 cm. It also became possible to change the discs' angle of attack”.

JCB demonstrated a wide range of new loaders. The upgraded JCB 527-58 Agri loader made its first appearance here. This was created expressly for work on poultry farms.

“The developers added new options”, says Semyon Kostin, JCB business adviser on farming equipment in Russia and the CIS. “These include blue headlights that don't disturb the birds and reduce their stress, heated mirrors, 2,000 mm forks for removing fowl crates and a large 1.6 cubic metre bucket for loading and unloading grain, fowl fodder and droppings”.

The farmers watched a new telescopic loader, the Loadall 550-80 Agri Plus. It is the strongest in its class and is capable of lifting a 5 tonne load to a height of 8 metres. The Powershift transmission enables the machine to move at a speed of up to 40 km/h. Another especially popular new product was the JCB PowerBoom 260 mini-loader. Thanks to a unique design, the PowerBoom uses a single boom jib instead of the traditional double boom type. The single boom machine is less of a hindrance to the operator’s all-round observation, making the work site safer and the operator's job more productive.

At the Kverneland exhibition stand, farmers saw the new DG 12000 grain seeder with an operating width of 12 m and bin capacity of 6,000 l. Its chief attraction is a new CX-Ultra coulter consisting of metallic and coat/plastic discs. The metallic disc features a small angle of attack, 3 degrees, and a smaller camber, which assures precise seed embedding at the right depth. The company presented a new smart system of automatic control for mounted and towed equipment, IM Farming. This includes several devices. One of them, the IsoMatch Tellus virtual terminal won a silver medal for its ability to monitor and control several machines at a time.  

At the Kolnag exhibition stand, potato growers familiarised themselves with the Miedema SB 451 receiver bin, the smallest in its class. This is the most economical and productive machine for receiving, pre-cleaning and size grading potatoes and onions. The advantage of the Miedema receiver bins over rival machines is the absence of hydraulic motors and resistance to voltage fluctuations. The AVR Rafale haulm shredder with a receiving three point mount has a number of innovative advantages. One of them is on-the-rotor beater outlay, which completely follows the ridge shape, improving ventilation and enhancing the haulm cutting efficiency. The silver medal of the exhibition went to the Trioliet Solomix 2 24ZK mixing fodder distributor. The machine is designed for large dairy farms. It can accept 10 tonnes of fodder at a time and feed up to 1,200 milch cows.

In view of the prevailing drought in many parts of Russia, the farmers took interest in irrigation systems. AgroCentre offered the Valley systems, its solution to this problem. At the company stand, the farmers saw part of the sprinkler installation and familiarised themselves with a newly developed product, a unique control panel that monitors all operations of the installation.

The AgroCentre specialists briefed farmers on the NivaControl precise tilling system.

“The system makes it possible to use farming machines to the full extent of their capabilities, cutting expenses on labour, fuel, seeds and fertilisers. This reduces the production cost and improves product quality”, says Maxim Gorelko, AgroCentreZakharovo precise tilling expert. “One of its advantages is versatility. NivaControl helps to learn the precise field area and to control crop yield, the seeding rate and the fertiliser introduction intensity. ”