Fendt TeachIn automates headland turns

The Fendt TeachIn (TI) Turn Assistant enables “hands-free” turning in the headland at the end of the field. The new Turn Assistant joins the Fendt TI Headland package, a defined sequence of automated steps to complete a seamless turn. The addition of automatic turning allows the operator to focus on other aspects of the field work and is to ensure each pass is perfectly executed.

According to Cody Light, senior manager, Americas, Fuse Go-to-Market, automating the complete turn helps prevent overlapping turns in the field, reduces the use of fuel and overuse of crop inputs and creates less soil disturbance and soil compaction.

Fendt TI headland

In 2020, Fendt introduced TI Headland, an advanced headland management bundle that allows operators to define a turn-operating sequence at the headland boundary based on the tractor and implement being used.

When the tractor reaches the field’s headland boundary, Fendt TI Headland will activate the steps to prepare for the turn by slowing the tractor and raising the implement. Fendt TI Turn Assistant then turns the tractor and implement hands-free.

_{Text continues underneath image}

Manual start and automatic start

“We have two primary modes to operate the Fendt TI Turn Assistant. First is the manual start, which is a simple button push to activate the turn either left or right into the next wayline. Manual start is a great way to begin and get a feel for how this system can operate and some of the features and benefits it can bring,” Light says. “The second mode is automatic start, which automatically turns the tractor on the wayline without any operator assistance once it is active.”

U-Turn pattern and Part Field pattern

Two patterns are available in automatic start mode. The first is the U-Turn pattern, which allows the operator to set the pass pattern across the field. Operators can choose a single row turn or set the pass pattern to skip rows.

The second automatic start pattern is the Part Field pattern, a Fendt-exclusive innovation and a new feature for North American farmers. This pattern allows the operator to work the field in smaller sections by completing all passes in a section before moving to the next.

Text continues underneath image

“Part Field mode allows operators to use hands-free turning and assists with closing gaps or preventing major overlaps due to natural drift caused by GPS satellite movement,” Light says.

Light explains that when operators use the automatic U-turn pattern and skip passes across large fields, by the time they turn back across the field, there may be gaps or major overlaps due to the natural drift of the guidance system over 1-2 hours.

Text continues underneath image

Rabbit trails

“Using a less accurate GPS satellite navigation source, like WAAS, with the U-Turn pattern over a large area can cause the waylines to naturally shift, creating “rabbit trails” or skipped areas when doing something like fall tillage,” Light says. “Breaking the field into smaller sections using the Part Field pattern ensures there are no major overlaps or skips within the tillage operation.”

Fendt Turn Assistant is now available on tractors with Fendt Guide on the Vario terminal. Older Fendt tractors with the Profi+ trim package with VarioGuide can be upgraded to Fendt Guide with a visit to a local Fendt dealership.