At Agritechnica, the German company Rauch introduced a new system for precisely spreading fertilizer. Called Spread Control, the system hydraulically changes disc spreading according to the fertilizer product, the rate, and position in the field. It changes the spreading pattern to account for headlands and other areas already treated.

The controls for this system are handled from the tractor cab and operated on the Axis spreader.

Spread Control won a silver medal in the Agritechnica innovations contest.

Electric drive

Looking ahead to electric tractors, Rauch showed a prototype spreader that is operated on electricity produced from a tractor with an electric generator. The Axis-E spreader is a few years from the market. But a Rauch representative says the company wants to be ready with implements that will work with electric tractors like the John Deere electric tractor under development.