New Holland and Raven Industries donate precision agriculture simulators to FFA chapters – AgriNews

NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — New Holland North America and Raven Industries, on the occasion of supporting and celebrating National FFA Week’s Give FFA Day, announced the donation of agricultural technology education simulators to 11 FFA chapters across the United States.

After a rigorous selection process, the FFA chapters picked as finalists are:

• Botkins FFA — Ohio

• Cedar Crest FFA — Pennsylvania

• Chicago Ag Sciences FFA — Illinois

• Dodgeville FFA — Wisconsin

• Graves County FFA — Kentucky

• Imbler FFA — Oregon

• Mosinee FFA — Wisconsin

• Rossville FFA Chapter — Indiana

• South Hamilton FFA — Iowa

• Stockbridge Valley FFA — New York

• Whitehall FFA — Wisconsin

“For 75 years, New Holland Agriculture has been a proud sponsor of National FFA, and we are excited to continue to support the future of agriculture in new ways,” said Ben Sheldon, precision agriculture segment lead for New Holland Agriculture North America.

“Involvement in FFA allows students to explore a broad range of career pathways to help discover their passion. Through this donation, we hope to raise interest in the precision agriculture technology sector and showcase the opportunities it offers the next generation of agriculturists.”

National FFA is grateful for New Holland and Raven’s continued support and dedication to creating opportunities for our members, said Molly Ball, president of the National FFA Foundation and chief marketing officer of the National FFA Organization.

“This precision ag technology will help FFA members gain hands-on experience and develop new skills that will serve them well in future careers,” Ball said.

Technology Applications

Designed as an educational simulator for teachers and students, the technology presents market-leading precision tools and accessories in a compact format that easily fits into any learning environment.

The simulator includes two key elements of Raven technology: the Viper 4+, Raven’s premier in-cab display, and the RS1, Raven’s three-in-one GPS, Connectivity and autosteer sensor.

Together with a monitor, receiver, cabling and adapters, steering wheel and auto-guidance collar, these elements simulate real-world farming applications to create a hands-on training experience.

“In a world revolving around technology, Raven sees the importance of providing unique training opportunities to convey the robust capabilities of autonomous farming technology,” said Mitch White, sales strategist for Raven Industries.

“With the Raven RS1 demo simulator, we are providing an opportunity for students to learn about the breadth and depth of a career path focused on precision ag technology.”

Along with the technology, each of the selected FFA chapters will receive access to training resources to support their use of the simulators.

These include detailed explanatory videos and a dedicated training session provided by a qualified New Holland or Raven precision technology staff member on how best to operate and optimize the functions, setup and basic operation of the simulator.

Sparking Interest

New Holland and Raven further collaborated to provide complimentary precision agriculture technology curriculum to any FFA adviser or agriculture teacher in North America.

These online resources have been designed to equip teachers with the tools and materials to successfully implement a precision agriculture curriculum in the classroom.

Course materials will cover the basics of precision farming, connectivity and benefits to producers.

Specific subjects covered in the curriculum include how to use rate controls to deliver inputs at the right place at the right time and a special section on the future of technology, like autonomous farming equipment.