At the recent TechAgro show in Brno, John Deere was awarded gold and silver medals for its latest combine and planter technology.

John Deere’s S700 Series combine harvester has won a TechAgro Grand Prix Innovation Award. The judging panel commended the combine’s new ICA2 (Integrated Combine Adjustment 2) and Active Yield automatic features as a big step forward in harvesting efficiency and intelligence.

John Deere international territory manager Padraig Brady (left), product specialist Jiri Ptacnik (from John Deere dealer Strom in the Czech Republic) and John Deere international combine product sales specialist Jan Geiger (right) with the TechAgro 2018 Grand Prix Award for the S700 Series combine harvester

The new S700 combine harvester range was announced in summer 2017. Integrated Combine Adjustment 2 (ICA2) is the first system for completely automatic optimisation of the combine on the market, or so claims John Deere.

Also Read: New Deere S700: Can this combine do the thinking for you?

After optimising machine settings such as forward speed, grain quality and losses and cleanliness of the sample using ICA, the ICA2 system changes the settings automatically to maintain the pre-selected output at a constant level.

According to a study conducted by the University of Gottingen in Germany, ICA2 can apparently improve utilisation of the combine’s built-in capacity by an average of 20%.

John Deere S700, Howard Emmett weighs up the running costs of a new combine

“We are delighted to receive this award, which is valued recognition of the work done by John Deere product designers and engineers to bring this new product to market,” said Carsten Heftrig, John Deere’s combines product marketing manager for ‘Region 2’.

“The new S700 Series is the biggest advance yet in improving harvesting technology and deserves its new name of the ‘Automated Combine’.”

Following a gold medal at the 2015 SIMA show in Paris, John Deere’s 1725NT high-performance planter has now been recognised with a silver medal at the TechAgro fair.

The machine reportedly provides “new levels of accuracy at planting speeds of up to 16kph (10mph) and beyond”.

What is TechAgro?

The TechAgro fair in Brno in the Czech Republic is the biggest event of its kind in central Europe, with more than 120,000 visitors. It ranks among the three largest agricultural equipment shows in Europe.

The exhibition recognises innovation in the farm machinery business with its Grand Prix competition. A total of 91 exhibitors applied for the awards in 2018; an 18-member jury selected 17 of these.

Prizes and plaques were handed over at the show’s awards ceremony, which was attended by the Czech Minister of Agriculture.