WESTMINSTER, Colo. – Auto-Guide, the hands-free steering product for AGCO Corp. machines, won a silver medal from the German Agricultural Society. Auto-Guide was publicly presented on a Fendt tractor for the first time at the Agritechnica agricultural show in Frankfurt, Germany.

The silver medal recognized Auto-Guide from over 250 entries and supports AGCO Corp.'s innovation in being the first manufacturer to offer factory-installed hands-free steering, according to AGCO officials.

AGCO Corp.'s move to have guidance as a factory option lowers the cost of hands-free steering and greatly increases widespread adoption of the technology, they said. The Challenger MT Series of rubber-tracked 185- to 500-horsepower tractors were the first machines to have Auto-Guide fitted in the factory, in June 2001.

Auto-Guide hands-free steering is based on technology from Beeline Technologies. Beeline was the first company in the world to make hands-free steering commercially available for agricultural vehicles and was only available for field installation after the tractor had been purchased.

The GPS technology for Auto-Guide and Beeline's aftermarket product Arro is based on a dual-frequency, survey quality GPS receiver that is WAAS, OmniSTAR and base station compliant, giving farmers the ability to choose their required signal source and accuracy level. Both products, Arro powered by Beeline Technologies, and Auto-Guide, from AGCO Corp., can be upgraded from sub-meter (40-inch) static accuracy to decimeter (4-inch) to centimeter (under 1-inch) static accuracy.

Improving on GPS, both systems use a that measures and adjusts for the movement of the tractor as it travels across the field. The dynamic measurement unit maintains on-the-ground accuracy even when working on rough and hilly land.

For more information about Beeline Technologies Inc., go to www.agcocorp.com

e-mail: [email protected]