Case IH’s Soil Command system allows operators to adjust the brand’s tillage equipment settings right from the tractor cab, instead of manually. Until now that feature has been available on only some of the red brand’s implements — but now its availability is being expanded.
“We’ve had Soil Command for a few years, but we’re now going to offer it on our Speed-Tiller 475, our high-speed disc, and also offer it on our VT-Flex 435,” C.J. Parker, Case IH’s North American tillage marketing manager, says. “That’s a machine with an adjustable gang angle.
“We’re expanding the availability across the tillage lineup. It’s going to be standard equipment on the 21-, 31- and 41-foot high-speed disc Speed-Tiller 475. It will also become standard on the 25-, 30- and 34-foot VT-Flex 435 vertical tillage tool.
Read Also
Farm auctions evolve with the times
The option is still available for farmers who want to sell assets that way, but a U.S. auction firm expanding into Canada notes the number of live, on-farm auctions has drastically declined.
“Soil Command on all these machines in our lineup really makes for more productivity. It’s simple, on-the-go machine settings. We’re electronically controlling all the adjustments from the comfort of the cab on the go.”
As an implement’s working depth changes, there are adjustments that need to be made to ensure it’s providing the same field finish, such as fore-aft tilt.
“If you go out to manually make those adjustments you may have to put collars on the finisher to adjust the position of it and get that machine operating the way it needs to be,” Parker says. “But with Soil Command, it does that automatically.”
Soil Command is an Isobus-compatible system, so it can be controlled through any compatible terminal on any tractor brand. However, to get the full feature set, the implement needs to be mated to a Case IH or New Holland tractor.
“Soil Command will work in an Isobus-based monitor; we can control machine functions as long as it’s Isobus-based,” Parker says.
The full feature set with Soil Command’s full feature set also allows users the ability to work with field prescriptions and as-applied mapping data, Parker adds, “but that needs to be with a CNH tractor with our new upcoming FieldOps system. You lose that capability when you go to a competitive machine.”
There is no subscription fee for Soil Command, and because it works through a computer mounted on the tillage tool, the function stays with that implement even if it’s sold to a second or third owner.
Also available on Soil Command is an acre counter, which keeps track of how many acres an implement has worked over the course of its life.
“For the longest time we haven’t been able to know how many acres are on a tillage tool,” Parker says. “You kind of guess and judge by the wear and tear. But it will actually have an acre counter the way a planter would. It will also keep track of where you’ve worked and not worked.”
ALSO: VT-Flex 435 gets additional upgrades for 2025
Apart from the addition of Soil Command, Case IH’s VT-Flex 435 vertical tillage implement gets further enhancements for 2025, such as an optional 22-inch reverse crimped, notched blade. That option allows the unit to run it a little bit deeper, making it more aggressive and more capable of managing residue.
“With the gang angle change from zero to 12 degrees, that new blade will help penetrate the soil a little bit easier at those reduced angles,” North American tillage marketing manager C.J. Parker says. “We’ll also have an option for a double tiger paw crumbler — so, two crumblers on the back of the machine to optimize clod sizing and improve field level finish.”
The VT-Flex 435 will also get a wing down-pressure feature to keep the machine level and working at a consistent depth across the entire frame.
“Soil Command on the 435 will also give it independent wing depth adjustment,” says Parker. “Today, you’re going out with a 1-7/8-inch wrench to adjust those wings to the main frame. With Soil Command you’ll be able to do that from the cab.”
