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Proposing an Original Solution of Implements Combined with Smart Agriculture to Farmers in Europe

In 2012, we welcomed Kverneland AS into our group, and set about creating new value through implements and smart agriculture.

The world’s population stood at around 5 billion in 1990, and had increased to around 7.8 billion as of 2020, with estimates suggesting a further rise to in the region of 9.5 billion in 2050.*1 As a result, there is growing concern about food shortages, which has become a common issue worldwide. In order to solve this issue, in addition to rice farming, of which about 90% is concentrated in Asia, it is also necessary to improve the efficiency of dry-field farming, which is widely practiced around the world and covers about four times the area that rice farming does. Europe, in particular, is a large-scale dry-field farming region, and contributing to dry-field farming in Europe will in turn lead to solutions to worldwide issues.

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Dry-field farming, which is utilized throughout the world, occupies roughly four times the area of rice farming
「M7001」に接続された、刈った牧草を収集するインプルメント“レイキ”
A rake implement connected to an M7001 tractor to collect cut grass

Dry-field farming in Europe would require large agricultural machinery designed specifically for this purpose. However, Kubota was a latecomer in this field and had many competitors. In order to overcome these obstacles, new ideas and technologies were essential. We began to conduct various surveys on the European dry-field farming market, leading us to focus on implements. An implement is an important piece of equipment that is towed by a tractor to perform a range of specific tasks, such as mowing and fertilizing soil. In Europe, various types of implements are used according to the scale of the farm and the type of crop. Many local farmers also told us that they wanted to make their work more efficient. Based on the results of these surveys, Kubota came up with the idea of linking the tractor, which is the power source, and the implement, which performs the work, and operating them as a single integrated unit.

運転席から、連結したインプルメントの操作や確認もスムーズにできる
Smooth operation and confirmation of attached implements from the driver's seat

In 2012, Kubota welcomed Kverneland Group (KVG), a long-established European manufacturer of implements, into its ranks. KVG was a key player in the advocating for and development of ISOBUS, an international communication standard that links tractors and implements. As Kubota had also been developing its own precision agriculture (smart agriculture*2), KVG became a powerful partner for Kubota’s full-scale entry into the European dry-field farming market. A perfect match for the M7001 series, developed in France in 2015 as Kubota’s first large tractor for dry-field farming that incorporates smart agriculture technology, our original “tractor and implement” solution, which can be operated in unison with the implement through ISOBUS, reverberated with the agricultural sector. This technology helped to provide farmers with a whole host of values, such as increased efficiency, convenience, and simplicity. Through smart agriculture, Kubota will continue to contribute to increasing food production while promoting more efficient dry-field farming and reducing the environmental footprint through precision work that eliminates waste, such as by increasing the size and power of tractors and promoting automation between tractors and implements.

notes
  • *1Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)―State of World Population 2020
  • *2A new type of agriculture that uses robotics and ICT to achieve ultra-labor-saving and high-quality production.
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