Agritechnica 2025 to Highlight Trends Impacting Agricultural Equipment Design

Agritechnica 2025 kicks off on November 9 and will once again highlight the latest technological developments taking place within the agricultural equipment industry as well as the trends shaping machine and system designs.

The biannual event held in Hanover, Germany, has become one of the largest international events for the agricultural equipment industry. It is where machine OEMs and component suppliers — including those in the fluid power and broader power transmission industry — from around the world go to showcase their technologies aimed at making farmers more productive and efficient.

Automation

Tied to the digitalization trend is automation which also relies on sensors, software and other components to improve the control of machines and systems. Steering of tractors, combines and other agricultural equipment has been semi-automated for years, allowing farmers to focus their attention on higher priority tasks while the steering system navigates through the crop rows.

Advancements in recent years in drive-by-wire systems, cameras, sensors — many of which will be on display at Agritechnica 2025 — are enabling higher levels of autonomy, enabling a number of tasks to be completed without human involvement. And in some cases, humans are being completely removed from the machine cab. Like many industries, agriculture is facing a skilled labor shortage; with autonomy, farmers can continue to plant and harvest crops as usual even if they have less personnel.

Learn the differences between the varying levels of autonomy used in agricultural and other off-road machinery in the article “The 5 Levels of Autonomy in Off-Highway Equipment.”

DLG noted that semi-autonomous systems in combine harvesters such as automated threshing adjustments based on moisture levels, slope compensation for safe maneuvering through fields, and sensor-controlled fans and sieves to minimize grain loss are examples of some of the technologies now being utilized in the agriculture market, and which can be seen at Agritechnica 2025.

Robotics has slowly been entering the market as well, and will also be a technology of interest at the show. For instance, some companies have developed small robots capable of maneuvering through crop rows for weeding operations. They operate continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if necessary, freeing farm personnel to work on other things or go home to their families at a reasonable time without sacrificing productivity.

DLG has stated that agricultural OEMs Claas, John Deere, Case and Fendt will be among those showcasing their latest autonomy technologies at this year’s Agritechnica.

Watch our video interview below with Noah Schwartz, Lead Perception Engineer at John Deere to learn more about the technologies used in its autonomous tractor first introduced at CES 2022.

Electrification and Alternative Fuels

Use of alternative drive technology is increasing in the agricultural equipment industry. While reducing emissions is prompting the transition to diesel alternatives, for many it is more about the operational benefits that can be achieved since this equipment is used for work and there needs to be a good business case for implementing an alternative energy technology.

These alternative drives can be found in the form of engines powered by alternative fuels such as methane and biodiesel as well as battery-electric powertrains.

At Agritechnica 2025, New Holland Agriculture plans to debut its T7.270 Methane Power CNG (compressed natural gas) tractor which will be commercially available in Europe starting in Spring 2026. The tractor is powered by a 270 hp engine and designed to offer performance on part with its diesel counterpart. It is capable of running on biomethane derived from livestock manure and fugitive methane captured onsite, allowing farmers to be the source of their own fuel and thus reduce operational costs.

DLG is seeing electrification make its way into the agriculture industry as well, though uptake remains limited to smaller machines in the 100-130 hp range. As with other off-road machinery applications, electrifying larger equipment is a challenge due to the large batteries required to meet horsepower demand. Charging can be difficult in farming applications as well.

But for those in which smaller electric-powered machines can be used, famers can benefit from the advantages of using an electric machine such as reduced maintenance due to fewer mechanical parts.

Read the article "The Impacts of Electrification on Fluid Power Systems" to learn more about how electrification is impacting the hydraulics and pneumatics commonly utilized on agricultural equipment.

DLG noted in a pre-show press release that several companies will be showing their electric machines, including John Deere who intends to show its 130 hp battery-powered tractor at the show.

Chinese manufacturer ZSHX Advanced Tractors will also show its XEEVO E904i tractor which was designed from the ground up to be a battery-powered machine. Its drive concept features two electric motors arranged side by side. One is used for the drive, the other for driving the rear PTO and working hydraulic pumps. It is powered by a 105 kWh capacity battery installed in the front half-frame of the tractor for optimal weight distribution.

Through these trends we can see where the agricultural equipment industry is at today from a technological perspective as well as the influence will continue to have on shaping the design of machinery and the systems which power them, such as hydraulics, for years to come.