The risks that can occur during the growing period have increased. The annual mean weather values have not changed, but the problem appears to be an altered distribution: it frequently remains dry for weeks, and extreme amounts of precipitation only fall in very small regions. As a result, soil and/or seedbed preparation must be more closely examined, as must precision seed distribution and intensive soil contact.

The challenges facing soil cultivation technology are considerable. Crop production, phytosanitary and soil protection requirements must be given equal consideration, all against the backdrop of severe restrictions on the active ingredients used in crop protection products. This means that all conceivable options for preventing soil degradation, humus loss, diseases and pests must be exploited.

If you rank agricultural machinery topics by the degree of controversy they produce few, if any, would beat chemical crop protection. However, this is also the agricultural machinery sector that is offering a disproportionately high number of new and/or improved ideas for setting the already high standards in application accuracy even higher.

As in 2017, registrations for the Agritechnica 2019 DLG innovations list in the area of fertilization technology were dominated by registrations concerning the topic of farm fertilizer spreading. The Fertilizer Ordinance regulations are also influencing technical development in this segment. The compulsory requirement of increased spreading close to the ground is causing companies to deal with the technical problems, particularly in the case of large working widths.

In the run-up to the 2019 Agritechnica show, held in Hanover, Germany, on Nov. 10-15, numerous products were presented by manufacturers and registered in competition for the Agritechnica Innovation Awards, including advancements in engine emissions, powershift gearboxes and digitization.