“Technology,” said Leo Bose, harvesting-marketing lead for Case-IH North America. “It drives profitability and bottom line.”

The technology can come in multiple forms including automation, Bose said at this year’s Commodity Classic in Houston. For Case-IH that’s key to Harvest Command, which aims to simplify the job for farmers.

“It can help take the chaos out of the cab,” he said. “I always have to adjust the machine, but Harvest Command automatically does that.”

That technology comes in the new Case-IH AF 11 combine, which Bose called “one of the highest-capacity machines on the market.” It has a 560-bushel grain tank and can unload 6 bushels per second.

John Deere also displayed its newest combine at the show. Bergen Nelson, marketing manager for harvesting equipment and front-end equipment, said the S7 combine features enhanced fluid efficiency, reducing fuel use through a new engine. It also features that key word – automation.

“We are also bringing our new automation technology to these machines,” Nelson said. “We have two cameras on the front of the cab to look out 27 feet in front of the machine. Those cameras are measuring crop height and density, and we are using a predictive yield layer map from our operations center. With those two pieces we can adjust the speed of the combine to make sure we are maximizing the capacity and throughput of that machine.”

The growing season starts with planting. Fendt was on hand at the show promoting its new 30-foot Momentum planter. The Momentum model isn’t new but the enhancements come from the smaller size.

“Not every farm needs a 60-foot planter,” said Arthur Santos, marketing manager with Fendt. “Bringing all the Momentum technology in a small machine, it makes it more accessible.”

The model features a floating toolbar that adjusts with height variations in the soil. That makes it accessible for farmers who have a lot of rolling hills on their land. Santos said the model features some of the largest tanks for liquid fertilizer, with almost 800 gallons of capacity. To counteract any compaction concerns, he said the planter adjusts automatically.

“Farmers don’t have to worry about weight distribution,” he said. “The tire inflation is automatic; the weight transfer is automatic. You can press the button and put it in automatic, and you can just keep planting while it adjusts.”

Deere also was promoting its new tractor to enhance tillage operations. The 9RX tractor has the most horsepower in the market, said Michael Porter, marketing manager for large tractors.

“The model is completely redone,” he said. “We don’t have suitcase weights on the front of the machine and it uses all forklift-ready weights. The engine is what most people are excited about, giving 830 horsepower. We also have a 770 and 710 model.”

Porter said with the added horsepower the machine is able to do tillage on 100 more acres per day than previous models. He said the tractor is able to go faster plus pull wider implements to cover more ground.

“We really encourage customers to start thinking about going wider and deeper,” he said. “There are a lot of customers today that may cheat up on their depth to maintain a 5-mile-per-hour speed, but with this it’s about getting optimal tillage.”