2011 January

Archive for January, 2011

Helping to Keep Farmers Safe

January 13th, 2011 | Author: AGCO

Todd Howatt, Senior Project Engineer, Product Safety and Compliance at AGCO,

has been appointed to the Technical and Safety Council (TSC) of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the North American-based international trade group representing the off-road equipment manufacturing industry. Mr Howatt replaces Ed Swenson, Director of Engineering at AGCO’s Hesston facility, as AGCO’s voting representative to the Technical and Safety Council.

Ed Swenson served two years as TSC Chairman. During his chairmanship the TSC has provided an increased focus of safety with specific seminars on key topics relative to member products and standards. In addition, Swenson has provided leadership in driving the adoption of global ISO standards and the funding of standards development work through AEM.

Todd Howatt, who is responsible for AGCO’s safety and homologation compliance at AGCO’s Jackson facility, will continue the mission of the TSC to ensure early recognition of merging issues and seek their satisfactory resolution; to provide an industry forum for the exchange of technical information, provide encouragement and assistance to product groups and other AEM groups that conduct technical activities and programs; to encourage the establishment of programs aimed at minimizing accidents involving members’ products; and to advise the AEM Board of Directors on technical matters.

AEM, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with offices in the capitals of Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Beijing and a European presence in Brussels, represents more than 800 companies in the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining and utility sectors.

AGCO is committed to agriculture equipment safety and is an active member in AEM. Congratulations, Todd on your appointment!

Do you have ideas how to use technology to help keep yourself and your family safe on your farm?

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Farmers Provide Fresh Milk to Haiti Schools

January 12th, 2011 | Author: AGCO

Providing to a community in need is nothing new to farmers. It has been a year already since the horrible earthquake in Haiti left millions homeless and hungry. The World Food Program has launched a pilot project where local farmers supply milk to schools in their area to help the farmers gain a foothold on their local market while they are providing much needed nutrition to the children. One of those farmers is Jean Claude Belizaire in Port-au-Prince.

In addition to the milk from his own herd, Jean Claude collects the milk from neighboring farms and brings it in plastic containers to the local dairy at Bon Repos. This is one of 13 dairies that belong to Haiti’s Lèt Agogo co-operative of small producers. Farmers receive 75 gourdes (around $2.00) per gallon.

“This is a great way for small producers like me to do business,” says Jean Claude who gets paid extra for being a collector. “It’s been a very hard year but at least dairy farmers around here have a secure market for their milk.”

Milk is an important staple of the Haitian diet but many Haitians have no choice but to buy expensive imported varieties – or go without. With an estimated half a million cows in Haiti, there is huge scope for increased domestic production and it is farmers like Jean Claude Belizaire who are showing the way.” Source: Pilot Project Puts Fresh Milk On School Meals Menu | World Food Program USA

Who are some farmers in your area that have done a good job providing to people in times of need?

*Photo courtesy World Food Program

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Autonomous Farming from AGCO & TOPCON

January 10th, 2011 | Author: AGCO

AGCO and TOPCON are partnering to develop precision farming solutions to enable growers to reduce input costs, increase yields, and work faster and more efficiently.

In the future, autonomous machinery will allow professional farmers to reduce labor costs, increase the speed of their seasonal operations and manage their assets more effectively. Take a look at the video below: