The German Agricultural Society (DLG) has announced that Bernard Krone GmbH Maschinenfabrik of Spelle, Germany, and AGCO Corp., Duluth, Ga., are the recipients of gold medals for the innovative products they will display at the 2011 Agritechnica exhibition.

This year's Agritechnica will be held November 15-19 in Hanover, Germany.

In addition to the gold medals, DLG is also awarding 39 silver medals to recognize other new equipment advancements that will be on display at the show this year.

 More than 300 applications for the award were received by DLG. An impartial judging panel appointed by DLG using defined criteria selected the gold and silver medal winners.

Bernard Krone GmbH was awarded a gold medal for its Non-Stop Round Baler-Wrapper Combination “Ultima.”

Producing round bales is a demanding harvesting operation. The goal is to achieve optimal bale form and compaction with uniformly tied and wrapped bales. Modern baling systems enable high working rates, but these have to be interrupted for tying and unloading. The Non-Stop development allows the work — compacting, tying and unloading — to be performed continuously.

The intelligent control of a preliminary chamber with a preliminary baling function allows automatic operation. The speed of travel of the tractor is adapted to the workload of the baler. The automatic procedure relieves the burden on the driver. The machine throughput can be increased by up to 50%. This raises the working rate and the machine utilization capacity. This high-grade combination enhances work output and quality and lowers energy and labor costs.

Krone will be displaying the unit at Agritechnica 2011, Hall 27, Stand G15.

AGCO Gmbh Fendt, will receive the gold medal for its Guide Connect “Electronic Drawbar.”

For the first time farmers are offered a system in which a driverless tractor on the field automatically follows another tractor driving ahead. The two vehicles communicate via radio and are steered by a high-precision GPS steering facility. The driver of the leading tractor monitors both vehicles and has full access to the operating controls of the following tractor.

Running two tractors simultaneously greatly increases the productivity of the driver. The two smaller tractors can be used more flexibly than one large tractor with similar overall rating and reduce the load on the soil.

AGCO will have the “Electronic Drawbar” on display at Agritechnica, Hall 9, Stand C11.

Agritechnica 2011 will feature 2600 exhibitors from 48 countries in 24 halls.

For a complete list of 2011 gold and silver medalists, please go to www.farm-equipment.com.