The 5th edition of the Agritechday took place right before the start of the SIMA show in Paris, on 5th November. The one-day international conference ‘Agritechday 2022’ was organised by AXEMA and sponsored by EurAgEng. This year’s event focussed on automation and smart, accurate spraying solutions, in line with the political targets pushed forward by the European Commission in relation to the Green Deal. The line-up included a good selection of high-level presentations, which were greeted with interest and participation by attendees. 

The Agricultural industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) was present on specific invitation from AXEMA, represented by Andrew Oliver – CNHi and AEF vice-chairman - to explain to the mixed audience of academic and industry researchers, what AEF is and what needs it covers, with particular attention to the new key enabling technologies under development or already in use. These included: Tractor Implement Management (TIM), Wireless in-field communication (WIC) with G5, and High-Speed Interface (HSI) which allows a 1000 times faster amplification of data streams for, among others, synchronisation of sensor data feeds or for digital camera feeds. The presentation also highlighted the development of Agricultural Interoperability Networks (AgIN), which would allow the seamless data exchange of ag machinery data in support of the digital transformation and as part of the setup of an agricultural data space.

CEMA had a chance to take the floor during the keynote speech at the end of the event, with a presentation by Gilles Dryancour – John Deere’s Vice-President Corporate Affairs and chairman of the CEMA Strategic Committee – who discussed the role of agricultural machinery in decarbonising agriculture. As detailed in the CEMA Position Paper on the topic, overall, the contribution to CO2 emissions from machinery in a heavily European mechanised agriculture is about 1% of the EU Greenhouse gas emissions. The agricultural machinery industry is engaged in helping farmers reduce their CO2 footprint. Precision technology, leading to a significant increase in efficiency, already contributes to a GHG reduction in relation to fuel, pesticide, and fertiliser use. The goal is to get to the optimal use of the most suitable machine within an optimised agricultural production process. Currently, the role electrification can play in this regard is still unclear. Though there are some clear benefits in low-power tractors and specific operations and cultivation, for electrification to be considered a game changer in agriculture there will need to be breakthroughs in battery technologies; some of them are looking very promising. For the short term and even for a more distant future, sustainable biomass fuels and e-fuels could contribute to the decarbonisation of farms and several new concepts of biomethane and multifuel tractor are, or will become soon, available on the market. The digital transformation which will bring better data streams and advanced data analytics will be a key enabler for precision farming and carbon farming. The establishment of a clear EU roadmap on carbon farming will also be an important part of this transformation.

Among the clear conclusions to the session were:

  • Combustion engines remain important for agricultural machinery in the long-term. Therefore, an EU long-term strategy is needed, including on targets and incentives to encourage farmers to use renewable and low carbon fuels.
  • Neutral carbon farming awareness raising of farmers, contractors and advisers towards state-of-the-art technologies and practices must be promoted.
  • New business models must ensure a fair income to farmers that adopt carbon farming practices.