The international spring agricultural exhibition “Ką pasėsi…2024” began with a grand opening ceremony, where medals were awarded to the best exhibits. Even two awards went to the team of the “Agrokoncerno” group of companies. The medal of the exhibition was awarded to the autonomous drone launch station DBOX presented by the company “Agrokoncernas” and to the belt seeder “Bednar Matador MO 6000” of the company “Agrokoncerno technika”.
Performs several tasks in one run
Receiving the medal from the exhibition, the director of Agrokoncerno technika company Mindaugas Lapatkinas was happy that the belt seeder “Bednar”, which was presented at the Hanover exhibition at the end of last year, was tested in the fields of Lithuania and showed extremely good results.
“We are glad that the producers trust our team and gave us the opportunity to be among the first to test the „Matador“ strip seed drill in the fields”. The uniqueness of this seeder is that it simultaneously prepares the seed bed, inserts the seed and places the required amounts of fertilizer at different depths. At least three operations are combined at the same time. The machine is equipped with hydraulic coulter protection against loads, which facilitates operation and increases the amplitude of coulter deflection when encountering an obstacle. This is what ensures that the machine can work smoothly even in the most difficult conditions,” said M. Lapatkinas about the medal-winning seeder.
Also, this machine is equipped with a checkerboard tire compactor. This means that each wheel of the machine is mounted on a separate axle, and the central axle is oscillating and equipped with a shock absorber that absorbs shocks and reproduces the unevenness of the ground. These technologies ensure lower horsepower requirements and reduce the likelihood of clogging the machine when operating it in more demanding working conditions.
This planter, awarded with an exhibition medal, and other smart implements from Bednar can be seen in the pavilion of Agrokononcerno technika. There, visitors can also view German quality Weidemann farm equipment and the Lucas G Autospire 240 self-propelled forage distributor.
Field monitoring – without human intervention
This year, the Agrokoncernas stand at the exhibition was set up by the AgroITC Precision Technology Center, which is why a lot of attention is paid to smart solutions, which are undoubtedly the future of the agricultural sector. They help to work more sustainably and economically.
Soon, the first autonomous drone station DBOX for field monitoring will be installed in „Ateities ūkis“, one of the most modern in the country, owned by the company. According to Arnas Radzevičius, commercial director of Agrokoncerno group of companies, it is expected to help solve even several challenges of the agricultural sector.
“We hope that they will help reduce the need for personnel servicing drones, as well as save the time of agronomists. With the help of this station, the drone can be controlled remotely, it autonomously charges or replaces the batteries if necessary. We see a great potential of this technology for field monitoring, information collection and processing,” said A. Radzevičius.
He has no doubt that drones will soon be used on most of the country’s farms. With the help of a drone, it is possible to significantly reduce the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, as well as to objectively assess the spread of weeds in fields and their botanical composition.
Another possibility offered by drones is spot spraying, where only weeds are sprayed with herbicides. All this helps not only to significantly save costs, but also to more sustainable farming, to ensure healthy and high-quality food for the final consumer.
A. Radzevičius received the award for the autonomous drone station together with its creator and developer, professor-partner of Vilnius Tech Antanas Gustaitis Aviation Institute and head of “IT Logika” company dr. Linas Gelažanskas.
“One of the reasons why we chose these partners is that it is important for us to support the creators and innovators of our country. There are brilliant people working in our country who need to be empowered. We notice young businesses, we are looking for various partnerships, because we want to support Lithuanian businesses,” he says.
At the exhibition, you can not only take a close look at the DBOX station, get acquainted with its working principle, but also see other technologies used in today’s farms, such as herbicide-saving software “Cultiwise”, automatic steering technology, smart nitrogen sensors “TopCon CropSpec”.
The team of the Precision Technology Center presents soil tests to interested visitors, and also invites them to familiarize themselves with the capabilities of the digital assistant, the farm management system Agro247.
We are waiting for you in the pavilion of the “Agrokoncerno” group of companies on exhibition days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attending the event is free.
