New Holland Agriculture is partnering with E. & J. Gallo Winery, the largest family-owned winery in the world, to test out their autonomous technology applied to T4.110F vineyard tractors. The collaborative pilot program is focused on gathering agronomic and operator feedback on the use of this technology in everyday vineyard activities, with the ultimate objective of delivering autonomous solutions that are driven by the real-world requirements of winegrowers.
The pilot program is the latest step in the New Holland Autonomous Vehicle Program and its exploration of the various applications that can benefit the most from this technology. The Brand unveiled its NHDrive autonomous solution in 2016 at the Farm Progress Show, and to date, has previewed it on the T7 Heavy Duty and T8 tractor series to illustrate possible row crop applications. The new pilot program with the T4.110F demonstrates that New Holland’s autonomous solution is applicable to the brand’s entire offering of tractors, from high horsepower row crop all the way through to its specialty ranges.
Carlo Lambro, New Holland Agriculture Brand President, explained: “Sustainability and innovation are in New Holland’s DNA; that’s how we help our customers to farm efficiently and profitably today – and anticipate the way their needs will change. We believe that specialty operations, and in particular those in the vineyard environment, could significantly benefit from the introduction of autonomous technology, in terms of productivity and sustainability. Our partner in the pilot program, E. & J. Gallo Winery, shares our commitment to innovation and sustainability in viticulture, as well as our objective of providing an autonomous solution that will benefit winegrowers around the world.”
