DGAP-News: Ekotechnika AG puts stronger focus on smart farming and benefits from the expansion of its sales regions
DGAP-News: Ekotechnika AG
/ Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision/Miscellaneous
Ekotechnika AG puts stronger focus on smart farming and benefits from the expansion of its sales regions
Launched in the 2017/18 season together with John Deere in the Voronezh region, the "Lead Farms" project was expanded last season to cover an area of 3,000 hectares. In this context, the company developed a new scalable concept, which is even more strongly adapted to the specific conditions in Russia. The concept was used to test variable fertilization and optimized sowing for wheat, corn and forage maize during the last farming season. Application maps were created based on satellite maps, plant models as well as weather and soil data. These maps show the potential yields for specific areas and enable precise adjustment of sowing intensity and fertilizer quantities. Another important aspect was the documentation and the associated quality control of the work carried out, which also entail high efficiency potential. Bjoerne Drechsler, member of the Executive Board of Ekotechnika AG: "The tests showed a noticeable increase in yields for both wheat and maize. Where wheat was concerned, the focus was initially placed on optimized fertilization. In this area alone, a 5% to 7% increase in earnings was achieved with the same capital employed. For maize, the combination of sowing and fertilization resulted in clearly positive yield effects of about 10%. The results show that the increased capital outlay quickly pays off - especially if this is extrapolated to the vast areas." In the coming season, the company plans to further expand the tests of the "Lead Farms" project, with another focus placed on crop protection and soil management. Besides fertilization and sowing, these are the biggest levers for increasing yields through the use of smart farming. "The coming season will see us roll out our concept to other pilot customers. This is a long-term process and Ekotechnika is among the pioneers in this sector in Russia," Bjoerne Drechsler adds. New John Deere sales regions strengthen market leadership Since 1 November 2019, Ekotechnika AG has operated in an expanded business territory in Russia. In October, the company had signed an agreement with global agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere. The territories concerned are the Altai and Omsk regions in Siberia as well as Arkhangelsk, Karelia, the Leningrad region, Pskov, St Petersburg, Veliki Novgorod and Vologda in north-western Russia. The territories form two further large sales regions for Ekotechnika, both of which border on existing regions, including Altai, Russia's second most important agricultural region after Krasnodar. As a result, the business area of the EkoNiva Technika Group now comprises a total of five major regions in Russia. "Strategically, the new territories fit in very well with our regional structure and they can be managed without further development of our administrative resources," says Bjoerne Drechsler. "This strengthens our overall competitiveness and increases our sales and earnings opportunities already in the next season for our traditional new machine and spare parts operations and, in the future, for the smart farming segment." Management projects potential additional revenues of between EUR 25 and 35 million from the new territories (total revenues in 2017/18: EUR 164 million). The preliminary figures for the fiscal year 2018/19 are expected to be published in December 2019.
Press / Investor Relations
12.11.2019 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | Ekotechnika AG |
Johann-Jakob-Astor-Str. 49 | |
69190 Walldorf | |
Germany | |
Phone: | +49 (0) 6227 3 58 59 60 |
E-mail: | [email protected] |
Internet: | www.ekotechnika.de |
ISIN: | DE000A161234 |
WKN: | A1R1A1 |
Listed: | Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich |
EQS News ID: | 910099 |
End of News | DGAP News Service |
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910099 12.11.2019