AEM and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) presented the sixth-annual Davidson Prize to the top three innovative products, selected from the AE50 honorees on March 9 during Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida.

Winning entries included:

• Precision Planting for the Radicle Agronomics system, which focuses on saving time and eliminating error-prone processes in soil sampling and testing. The Radicle Agronomics system is designed for professional crop consultants and aims to make daily processes more efficient.
• RedSea for the Iyris Heat Blocking Greenhouse Roof, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) solution. Its proprietary nanomaterial blocks near infrared solar radiation, mitigating energy expenditure on cooling, saving water, and extending the growing season in hot climates.
• TerraClear for the TC80 Rock Picker, one of the most versatile and efficient precision rock picker available today. It can pick rocks between 4" - 26", pull up buried rock, and can cover huge fields with a picking rate of 400 rocks/hour.

“These three products deliver on solutions that truly represent the spirit of J.B. Davidson and the innovative legacy of agriculture,” said Curt Blades, senior vice president of Agriculture for AEM. “I continue to be amazed about the advancement of ag engineering and the positive impacts it continues to have on farmers’ ability to work more efficiently.”

The Davidson Prize was designed to celebrate breakthrough innovations in areas of agricultural, food and biological systems engineering.

“ASABE and AEM came together to create a new award to celebrate innovation in agriculture and bring additional recognition to those who embody the spirit of J.B. Davidson,” said Darrin Drollinger, executive director at ASABE. “The products named as 2023 winners of the Davidson Prize continue to represent the diversity of agricultural engineering, as well as the variety of companies that bring advanced technology and exciting improvements to the marketplace.

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. Winners were selected from the AE50 honorees, announced at the Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference in February.

“I believe J.B. Davidson would be amazed at how advanced farm equipment has become,” continued Drollinger.

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