As Kubota continues to move toward being an ever-more-significant player in the ag equipment market, its two highest-horsepower tractor lines now come auto guidance-ready.
The brand recognizes many of the farms that use its tractors are also likely to have other major brand machinery and already use the auto-guidance systems those companies provide. So Kubota has opted for an open architecture system, making its tractors compatible with a wide variety of third-party GPS steering systems.
“Open-architecture, open-platform auto-steer is something we have on our M7 and M8 tractors, the two biggest tractors in our lineup,” David Cooper, Kubota’s product specialist for precision farming and technology, says. “It includes the auto steer-ready option.”
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On the older M7s, the M7-1 and M7-2 versions, auto steer-ready was still an option. Now the newest generation of the M7s, the M7-4, and the M8s all come auto steer-ready.
“We allow multiple third-party companies to hook into those components,” Cooper adds. “For example, on the M7 tractors we have a connector that we allow other companies to hook their harnesses into for their GPS auto-steer systems.
“You can easily auto-steer a Kubota M7 or M8 tractor with a third-party system. It allows (farmers) to take systems they already own and use them in a Kubota tractor.”
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While this open architecture approach isn’t unique to Kubota, other brands that claim to offer it for GPS guidance often aren’t fully open, because they may require a fee or an unlock code to install another system. The big Kubotas are plug-and-play ready.
“What happens often with farmers is they’re trained or accustomed to one particular system,” Cooper says. “So by giving them a choice of what auto steer they put into the tractor, they don’t have to relearn something completely new.
“It allows farmers to have a common system across all their different equipment. If they only have one Kubota tractor and a bunch of other brand tractors, it allows them to run the same system across everything.”
The company has made a lot of effort to ensure the orange tractors will function well when any of the other guidance systems are installed, he adds.
“We’ve actually tested these other companies’ (systems) on our tractors. We invited third parties to come in with their systems and put them on our tractors. We tested them out to be sure they work. It allows us to be sure we’re fully supporting our dealers.”
However, Kubota has recognized also offering its own guidance package is becoming increasingly important to some buyers. So now, the Premium M7-4 tractors can be ordered that way, using the company’s own built-in display.
“Over time, we’re hoping to expand on our own system,” Cooper says. “We feel it’s important because it’s something our dealers want. They want to be able to fully support something entirely through Kubota. So we see the need, and it’s something we’re hoping to expand on in the future.
“There’s work being done behind the scenes on technology, for sure, and what’s going to come out in the future.”
