The Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers presented the inaugural Davidson Prize to the top three innovative products, selected from the AE50 honorees at the recent Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California.
The Davidson Prize was designed to celebrate breakthrough innovations in areas of agricultural, food and biological systems engineering.
“We’re excited about the advancement of ag engineering and the positive impact it has on farmers’ ability to work more efficiently,” said Curt Blades, senior vice president of Agriculture for AEM. “These three products deliver on solutions that truly represent the spirit of J.B. Davidson and the innovative legacy of agriculture.”
Winning entries included the Trident 5550 liquid/dry combination applicator from Case IH; the S700 Combine from John Deere and the Robovator Mechanical Weeding Machine from F. Poulsen Engineering of Denmark.
“We partnered with AEM to create a new award to further celebrate innovation in agriculture,” said Darrin Drollinger, executive director at ASABE. “The products featured represent the diversity of agricultural engineering, as well as the variety of companies that continue to bring advanced technology and exciting improvements to the marketplace. J.B. Davidson would be amazed at how advanced farm equipment has become.”
The Davidson Prize is named for J.B. Davidson, the father of modern agricultural engineering. It gives a nod to the storied past of agricultural engineering and pays homage to those engineers, like J.B. Davidson, who aspire to find a better way. Winners were selected from the AE50 honorees that were announced at the Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference in Louisville.
