Kverneland sets world record for plowing with autonomous robot AgXeed

The Kverneland company, in collaboration with AgXeed — a leader in autonomous farming solutions — has achieved historic success, setting the first world record for autonomous plowing.

Kverneland's goal was ambitious — to become the first company in the world to successfully cultivate the largest area in 24 hours using an autonomous agricultural robot. The challenge took place at Birch Farm in Stonegrave, England, and ended with an impressive result — 208 acres (20.8 hectares) of cultivated land.

At the heart of the achievement was the autonomous robot AgBot 5.115T2, equipped with a 5-hull Kverneland LO 300/85 plow.

Plowing was carried out to a depth of 22.5 cm and a working width of 40 cm, preparing the soil for sowing corn and fodder beets.

With 156 hp and rubber chains, the AgBot moved at a variable speed between 5.6 and 8 km/h, with the only delays occurring during maneuvers at the end of the rows.

According to data transmitted by the autonomous robot, its diesel-electric propulsion system consumed 382.72 liters of fuel over the entire 24-hour period, equivalent to an average consumption of 1.84 liters per acre — impressive efficiency.

“We are proud to be part of this technological revolution and are extremely excited about the world record set,” said Adam Burt, plow product specialist at Kverneland UK.

“The combination of AgBot and our LO plow achieved performance that would normally take two full working days with a traditional tractor and operator.”

He added that the LO model with No.28 scoreboards is one of the lightest and easiest to tow on the market — a factor that has contributed significantly to achieving low fuel consumption.

“This record is a clear example of how efficient autonomous machines can be in repetitive farming activities,” Adam said.

Peter Robinson, Sales Manager at AgXeed UK, also expressed satisfaction with the achievement:

“After mapping the boundaries of the field and creating a detailed plan with all the maneuvers, AgBot works without interruption for 24 hours. ”

The AgBot is equipped with a safety system, and for the needs of the test it was equipped with a 1.5-ton front weight to ensure optimal grip when working with a fully mounted five-hull plow.

During the night, the machine was temporarily stopped to refuel its 375-liter tank, then continued to complete the full 24-hour cycle.

The area was independently inspected and verified by James Whitty, a North Yorkshire farmer and former director of the Society of Ploughmen.

As a constant seeker of innovations and new solutions for farmers, the NIK team is actively working on the development of autonomous technologies in real conditions. To show what this actually means, we made our own comparison between the autonomous robot AgXeed with a Kverneland disc harrow and a traditional tractor again with a disc harrow.

The differences are interesting — see them for yourself in this video: