Equipment manufactured by Case IH was supplemented with an innovation censor

Case IH Company completes its equipment range with an innovative sensor designed to control tillage equipment and sowing machines.

Gentle tillage is a key indicator of productivity in the state-of-the-art agriculture and a key specialization of Case IH Company. The combination of a state-of-the-art sensor system with the advantages of Case IH tractors allows farmers to significantly reduce the amount of material to be applied while increasing its efficiency.

At Agritechnica-2015 Topsoil Mapper exhibition the first soil sensor was presented designed to control tillage equipment which received silver award for innovations from the German Agricultural Society of DLG. The technology allows automatic control of hydrophilic tillage equipment through the ISOBUS system taking into account condition of the soil.

Case IH collaborates actively with Geoprospectors GmbH, Austrian developer of this technology, in order to expand a long-term partnership in the development of sensors for soil analysis. At the same time, Case IH distributes exclusive Geoprospectors products in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Heterogeneity of agricultural soils requires different depths of their cultivation in areas of the field that differ in soil type, its compaction and moisture content. Measurement of these indicators with sufficient accuracy and reliability is possible only in real time as during the season they undergo significant changes.

In the course of long-term design work the Austrian company of Geoprospectors GmbH developed a sensor system capable of real-time determination of the relevant soil parameters and sending data to a computer of tillage equipment that uses them to adjust the tillage depth. These sensors are installed in the front of the tractor. The measurement results obtained are directly converted by the sensor’s computer into the commands to control the tillage equipment, and then they are sent via the ISOBUS control bus to the working computer of the machine.

Thanks to Topsoil Mapper, Case IH dealers today offer the world’s first fully integrated ISOBUS which is compatible solution for tillage equipment. In addition to the sensor, the complete system package includes an ISOBUS field computer with an aggregate equipment control function designed to upgrade any hydrophilic tillage equipment.

The Topsoil Mapper device is available for order as a sensor or a special technical solution mounted on the front ballast of the machinery. This solution is interesting first of all in cases where the front attachment for tillage operations involves installation of a ballast unit.

After connecting the sensor and the working computer of the tillage device to the ISOBUS connectors operation can be started. The system does not require complex calibration and the driver selects one of the available control programs and immediately begins working. Standard programs are provided for small and deep ploughing as well as for dumpless tillage. In some cases individual user settings can be adjusted. The Topsoil Mapper system and the computer of the aggregate equipment are controlled exclusively through the ISOBUS terminal of the tractor. The tillage depth values are registered by the terminal task controller. The GPS system is used to link the sensor indicators to the geographical coordinates on the map of current operations.

Until now, soil maps have been created using a separate operation. The Topsoil Mapper system now allows you to record updated information on the soil properties during the working passage. This data can later be used for further operations planning. Topsoil Mapper can be used at any stage of the growing season and under any weather or field conditions making it a versatile tool for mapping soil parameters. Data is exchanged using standardized exchange formats such as ISOXML or Shape.

Any introduction of a new technology requires in-depth consultation and support. That is why Case IH as the exclusive trading partner in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Ukraine undertakes the functions of product launch, sales and service for Topsoil Mapper. Thanks to its extensive retail network specializing in precision farming products in these countries, Case IH guarantees all its customers the best support that is to allow them to use promptly the benefits provided by this technology.

CNH Company offering its customers the Topsoil Mapper system and a kit for upgrading aggregate equipment provides them with a valuable solution that provides a number of benefits. These include, for instance, reduction in fuel consumption which means saving money as well as resource-saving tillage technology. “Tillage depth control marks are a new direction for the future development of differentiated field treatment”, said Maximilian Birle.