The Future of Smart Farming: Continental’s Vision for Efficient and Sustainable Agriculture

Press Release

November 13, 2023

At Agritechnica 2023, Continental is presenting its broad product and service portfolio for the agricultural sector, demonstrating how innovative technology solutions support both farmers and manufacturers in overcoming the challenges of the future. During the first day’s press conference, Executive Board members Christian Kötz and Philip Nelles pointed out the importance of the agricultural business as a strategic, fast-growing segment.

Continental is presenting its broad product and service portfolio for the agricultural sector at Agritechnica 2023.

Under the tagline “Our Smart Farming. For your harvest of tomorrow”, the company is presenting a diverse range of sustainable and technologically advanced solutions and concepts – from state-of-the-art tire technology to autonomous robotic solutions. All of them have been developed specifically with agricultural applications in mind, proving how important it is to understand customer requirements. Insights from Continental’s study “Agriculture in Transition”, was also be shared at the press conference, including how farmers see sustainability as one of the main challenges for the future. The study confirms that most farmers take this responsibility very seriously while trying to tackle the challenge of adapting to new conditions caused by environmental change.

The weed control system prototype is based on optical sensor technology and supported by automotive-grade software and AI.

“Our deep understanding of the industry drives us to not only improve efficiency and sustainability for our customers, but to examine every facet, from production to materials. Many OEMs have set themselves ambitious sustainability goals, which closely resemble Continental’s own ambition of becoming 100 percent carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest,” emphasized Philip Nelles, Member of the Executive Board for the Group Sector ContiTech. “Continental aims to support this transformation to a smarter and more sustainable agriculture. As a partner for innovative solutions, we provide farmers with access to technologies that will help them enter the new age of smart farming.”

One of the smart solutions presented at Agritechnica is an environmentally friendly weed control system, designed and developed by Continental Engineering Services (CES), which specializes in providing development services for technology companies across multiple industries. The prototype is based on optical sensor technology and supported by automotive-grade software and AI. The system provides a highly efficient and precise organic method of agricultural weed control by accurately detecting weeds and eradicating them with boiling water instead of herbicides. “This concept demonstrates not just our expertise in agriculture and our ability to develop new technologies, but also how we adapt existing technologies to offer solutions for upcoming needs,” said Nelles.

To ease the transition to smart farming, Continental has launched user-friendly technologies like ContiConnect Lite, the entry to digital tire monitoring. Thanks to a Bluetooth enabled sensor inside the tire, the system gives farmers easy access to essential tire data directly on their mobile devices. No additional hardware is needed. This allows efficient operations, reduced emissions and significant cost savings by helping farmers set the right tire pressure before starting work in the field.

The mobile robotic system for greenhouses, which can accommodate various devices.

Another solution presented at Agritechnica is Continental’s mobile robotic system for greenhouses. This initiative uses a versatile modular design, centered around a self-propelled robotic platform that can accommodate various implements to autonomously perform tasks such as UVC treatment, targeted harvesting and monitoring, around the clock.

The VF TractorMaster Hybrid underscores the performance of the new generation of Continental agricultural tires.

Furthermore, Continental is proud to showcase three products developed specifically for the agricultural sector that have received the official seal of approval of the Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG). The VF TractorMaster Hybrid tire underscores the performance of the new generation of Continental agricultural tires with its fuel-efficient and soil-friendly tire technology. NightViu LED Working Lights improve visibility even during night harvests with high light-efficiency, and the ProViu 360 surround-view camera system increases safety for machine operators as well as their direct surroundings.

Christian Kötz and Philip Nelles underline growth ambitions for the agricultural sector.

The agricultural sector has experienced continuous growth in recent decades and is an important strategic segment for the Continental Group. Christian Kötz, Member of the Executive Board for the Group Sector Tires, underlined the group sector’s focus on its "Vision 2030" strategy, a commitment to lead the global tire industry into a future of sustainable, innovative solutions with consistent customer orientation. The strategy emphasizes the company's growth, operational excellence and innovation, especially in agricultural tire technology.

"Since our re-entry into the agricultural tire business in 2017, we have experienced continued growth. Leading OEMs rely on our products for their original equipment," said Christian Kötz. "With a portfolio that now includes around 110 items in nine different product lines for agricultural machinery, we are serving the market with tailor-made advanced tire technology for optimized total cost of ownership."

Philip Nelles added: “At ContiTech, we have successfully completed eight acquisitions in agriculture technology in the recent years. At the same time, we have extended the agricultural footprint within our own organization at seven Continental locations across the world. We aim to expand this growth even further.”