AGCO Corporation has announced plans to build a state-of-the-art test farm in Casselton, North Dakota.
The 300-acre operation, dubbed the “Dakota Smart Farm,” will be a sustainable farm, specifically focusing on precision agriculture technologies and high-value retrofit solutions.
Dakota Smart Farm will be contiguous with other plots at Grand Farm’s Innovation Campus. Grand Farm is part of a larger education and research initiative to accelerate technology innovations for farms of the future.
AGCO-owned company Appareo, based in Fargo, North Dakota, will lead the farm with agronomists, scientists, engineers and agricultural experts to execute agronomic studies and host educational tours on sustainable and precision ag farming practices.
“AGCO is excited to build the Dakota Smart Farm and dedicate resources to developing sustainable agricultural practices and new technology,” says Seth Crawford, AGCO senior vice president and general manager, precision ag and digital. “By combining the power of precision agriculture with retrofit technologies, we can enable more farmers to achieve higher productivity, profitability and sustainability.”
The Dakota Smart Farm will be a living laboratory to develop and refine technologies that optimize crop production, resource utilization and overall farm management. In addition to precision agriculture, the farm will focus on retrofit technologies for many brands of farm equipment - enabling farmers to embrace the latest technologies without entirely replacing their equipment.
