This month saw the return of Agritechnica, one of the largest events for the global agricultural equipment industry. Given agriculture is one of the top customer markets for the fluid power industry, particularly the hydraulics segment, it is no surprise that a large number of fluid power companies exhibited at the event. Because of the importance of the agriculture industry to the fluid power and electromechanical motion control markets we cover, and to coincide with Agritechnica, we decided to theme this month’s newsletter around the topic of agricultural equipment.
We’ve of course got a look at some of the new technologies launched at this year’s show as well as trends shaping agricultural equipment designs which were spotlighted at Agritechnica 2025.
Our top story is a Q&A with representatives from two agricultural equipment manufacturers, CNH Industrial and AGCO. I thought it would be nice to get an OEM’s perspective for a change on how they have seen hydraulics used in tractors, combines and other farm machinery evolve in recent years, what features or capabilities they are looking for, and what future technological needs they will require.
Spoiler, agriculture, like so many other industries, is looking for hydraulic components which are more efficient and feature built-in intelligence to aid with automation, maintenance and more. Use of efficient hydraulics can reduce fuel use and thus operational costs for farmers while smart components can help them be more productive as they face labor shortages and the need to feed an increasingly growing global population.
The need for smart and efficient fluid power components is not a new concept, but certainly one that has gained in importance in recent years and will continue to be a driving factor for many going forward. What trends are you seeing in the agricultural equipment industry? What features or capabilities are you hearing customers in this sector ask for, and how are they being applied in hydraulic and pneumatic systems? Reach out to me any time at [email protected] to let me know your thoughts on these or any other topics.
Sara Jensen, Editor, Power & Motion
