The first Valtra Technology seminar took place during the last week of August when clients from the Sugar Cane Sector were invited to learn and discuss the benefits of new technologies on Valtra products. The main topics discussed were automatic and lightbar guidance, record keeping and variable rate application. One hundred and ninety participants from 45 sugar cane mills attended the event.

To begin the discussion Mark Moore Strategic Planning Manager for AGCO Advanced Technology Solutions, explained how farmers were using these technologies worldwide and their importance in the sugar cane sector considering the economic outlook for the years to come. Alexandre Landgraff, Marketing Specialist, then detailed each technology in an interactive presentation where the participants filled in questionnaires giving their opinions and specific requirements.

This was then followed by two presentations made by representatives from the Sugar cane mills, “Usina Guaíra” and “Usina Pioneiros” . They explained their pioneering experiences in record keeping and precision farming, discussing their results and also the difficulties encountered during the introduction and use of each system.

After lunch the participants were invited to see a tractor performing a sugar cane planting operation using automatic steering with centimetre accuracy. They also had the opportunity to see the GTA Console I installed in a locally built Valtra tractor.

The results from the questionnaires showed that there is a huge potential for AGCO Advanced Technology Solutions within the sugar cane segment in Brazil.