St. Joseph, Mich., and Anaheim, Calif.—The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) presented the inaugural Davidson Prize to three outstanding innovative products. The awards were presented Tuesday, February 27, at Commodity Classic, in Anaheim, California.
Like the AE50 Awards, from which the winners are selected, the Davidson Prize was designed to celebrate breakthrough innovations in areas of agricultural, food, and biological systems engineering. Davidson Prize winners are thus the cream of the year's marketplace innovations.
Winning entries included:
- Trident 5550 liquid/dry combination applicator from Case IH
- John Deere S700 Combine
- Robovator Mechanical Weeding Machine
“We’re excited about the advancement of engineering and the positive impacts it has on farmers’ ability to work more efficiently,” said Curt Blades, senior vice president of Ag Services for AEM. “These three products deliver on solutions where there were needs, demonstrating how improved technology can save time and resources on the farm.
“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.
About the Association of Equipment Manufacturers—AEM is the Milwaukee-based international trade group representing the off-road equipment manufacturing industry, with more than 950 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related sectors worldwide.
About the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers—ASABE is an international scientific and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems.